DOL's Recent Acute Care RN Classification Upgrade Strengthen Hospitals' Ability to Alleviate RN Shortages through H-1B Visas
- Mira Mdivani, Mdivani Business Immigration Lawyer
- 52 minutes ago
- 1 min read
A bit of good news today to enable hospital onboard and retain acute care RNs:
Background:
Hospitals in the Midwest, especially in rural areas, are often faced with acute shortage of Registered Nursers. Recruitment and retention has become increasingly difficult. Our hospital clients petition USCIS for H-1B visas to staff some acute RN positions with international candidates, and have seen pushback from USCIS because of outdated DOL data regarding the acute nurse job classification.
Good News:
Based on recent data from the healthcare industry, DOL has recently upgraded Acute Care Nurses COS 29-1141.01 from Job Zone 3 to Job Zone 4. This is very significant because most Job Zone 3 occupations require a bachelor degree or equivalent, which is a requirement for obtaining H-1B visas for international acute care RNs.
Why This is Good News for Midwest Hospitals:
In practical terms, our rural hospitals may see DHS issue less RFEs, giving hospitals better ability to bring acute care RNs to take care of critical patients in our communities.
