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Nurse visa or the H1C visa is a temporary nonimmigrant visa which enables foreign nationals to enter the US for performing services in the health sector as registered nurses (RN).
How to Apply For H1C visa:
An American employer hospital should file a petition for you under H1C visa category. The petitioner should necessarily be a hospital. On approval of the same you should make an application for H1C visa in the US embassy or consulate in your resident country. If you are in the US the application should be submitted to the USCIS field office.
Eligibility For H1C visa:
To apply for a H1C visa you should satisfy the following conditions:
- Obtain proper license to practice nursing in the country where nursing education has been obtained.
- Pass the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing School (CGFNS) certification program as required.
- Be eligible by complying with licensure requirement at the place of employment.
- The employer hospital under which you are required to work should satisfy some of the eligibility requirements to make petition for you under H1C visa.
Length of Stay and Extension For H1C Visa Holders:
- You can stay for a period of 3 years under H1C visa. The period is counted whether you stay in the US or abroad. Extension of stay is allowed provided you had been employed for a less than 3 year period, after which extension of temporary stay is not allowed.
- There is no restriction to travel in and out of the US under H1C visa.
- You can bring your dependents along under H4 visa.
- There is a cap on the number of H1C visas issued in a year. This cap also continues on a per state basis depending on the population in each of the states.
- You are allowed to change employers in the H1C visa provided the term of stay has not expired.
- This visa is confined for employment with the employer hospital, hence in case of new job a fresh petition should to be filed.
- A full time study is not possible under H1C visa.
- The return transportation cost should be borne by the employer where the employment has been terminated.
H1C Visa Holders Whether Qualified to Apply for other Visas & Citizenship:
You are eligible to apply for visa in any other status except that the employer should file a petition in this regard. You can apply for a Green Card with the consent of the American employer. The green card application can be made under any one of the following options namely, through employment, close relatives, national interest waiver, extraordinary ability and permanent residence through Schedule A.
In which case your H1C Visa Application will be rejected:
The H1C Visa application is likely to be rejected where:
- The H1C visa applications are incomplete or they are not filed in time.
- The registered nurses failed to qualify the specified eligibility criteria.
- The employer hospital has failed to meet the attestation requirement.
- The employer is not a hospital.
- The ceiling limit has crossed.
Conclusion for H1C Visa:
Nurses can also enter the US under H1B category. This category requires the applicant to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. A visa should be applied for under the H1B category. |
