Historically, there has been a nursing shortage in the USA since the mid-1930s. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 caused an influx of foreign-born nurses to the USA, including those from the Philippines. Such a move helped to alleviate the critical shortage of nurses after WWII ended. 

Since then, the US government has been trying to mitigate the shortage of nurses in the country. The Immigration Nursing Relief Act Act (NRA) of 1989 was enacted by the Senate creating a special visa category for foreign nurses called H-1A. Under the NRA of 1989, thousands of nurses from foreign countries were able to work in the USA, some of whom were Filipino nurses. The NRA of 1989, however,  did sunset on September 1, 1995.

Since 1960, over 150,000 Filipino nurses have migrated to the USA. In 2019, one out of 20 registered nurses in the USA was trained in the Philippines.

When the NRA of 1989 did sunset in 1995, immigration attorneys tried to file work visa petitions on behalf of foreign nurses under the H-1B1 category, said visa category of which requires a baccalaureate (bachelor’s) degree. The USCIS (immigration office), however, held that foreign nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree generally do not fall under the H-1B1 category (with a few exceptions), the reason being that  in the USA even an associate degree holder can be a registered nurse.

Arizona is one of several states in the midst of a nursing shortage. According to the report from  McKinsey & Company, the country may see a nursing shortage of between 200,000 and 450,000 RNs by 2025 if healthcare stakeholders and federal leaders do not take action to address the dwindling workforce. The government has taken a proactive approach to the nursing shortage by making the EB3  employment-based immigrant (green card) category “current” which  means that immigrant visas are immediately available to foreign nurses upon approval of the immigrant petitions filed on behalf of the foreign nurses.

At present, the filing of EB3 visa petitions is the fastest and most viable way of getting  foreign nurses to work in the USA.  Work Connect Pro is the link between hospitals and other healthcare facilities (HCFs), on one hand, and foreign nurses, on the other. The hospitals/HCPs will be the EB3 sponsors/petitioners, while the foreign nurses will be the beneficiaries of the said sponsorships/petitions.

It is noteworthy to say that educating and training nursing students, standing alone, won’t solve the nursing shortage problem. A study conducted in 2015 predicted that over one million RNs will retire from the workforce between now and 2030. Increasing the number of nursing schools or expanding their admission capacity to solve the nursing shortage is not a feasible and viable solution due to one basic reason: there also exists a shortage of nurse educators in the USA. Nurse educators earn less than what the RNs make. And just like some RNs are retiring, quite a number of nurse educators are retiring, too. 

1. Prevailing wage determination from the US Department of Labor. Aforeign worker can not be offered a salary lower than the wage prevailing in the county where a foreifn nurse will work.

2. Job posting requirement - an internal job posting for 10 consecutive business days will have to be done on the premises of the sponsoring hospital/healthcare facility (HCF) where the US workers can read the posted notice.

3. Filing of the Immigrant Petition for an Alien Worker with the USCIS (immigration office) to be signed by the sponsoring hospital/HCF. It is to be noted that a labor certification application will have to be filed along with the immigrant petition, but this labor cert application is just a formal requirement considering that foreign nurses (and physical therapists) fall under Schedule A, Group I pre-certified occupations.

4. Once the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker is approved by the USCIS, the case is sent to the State Department through the National Visa Processing Center (NVC). The nurse applicants have to submit their Applications for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration to the NVC. After processing the immigrant visa applications, the NVC will then  turn over the visa applications to the proper US Embassy/Consulate abroad for consular processing and visa interview.

5. The proper US Embassy/Consulate conducts the immigrant visa interview and, if all the visa requirements are met, issues the immigrant visa in favor of the nurse applicant.

Fees are payable to the USCIS for the filing of an immigrant petition in favor of a foreign nurse. Likewise, fees are to be paid to the NVC for the processing of immigrant  visas. Additional fees also have to be paid for medical exams and the issuance of green card.