Nurses play an invaluable role in society. They serve as the backbone of the U.S. healthcare system and are integral to the health and wellness of Americans. As such, many hospitals experience high demand for qualified workers, yet face gaps in the domestic labor force, so as a result, they turn to the H-1B visa to fill these positions.
Hospitals That Sponsor H-1B Visas for Nurses
As a foreign nurse, you will need a sponsor as per H-1B visa requirements, and in the majority of cases, a hospital will usually be your sponsor. Identifying hospitals that sponsor H-1B visas can be done through:
- Job search platforms (Indeed, ZipRecruiter)
- Larger visa sponsorship databases (myvisajobs.com)
- Recruitment agencies
- Individual hospital career pages.
- H1Bgrader.com is another resource you can use to find hospitals offering H-1B visas for nurses. You can fill in the search field for nurse and related terms to see which companies are hiring, the approval rates, and the denial rates of companies in the past, and filter it by location.
Some H-1B sponsors in the healthcare field include:
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Cleveland Clinic and others.
On that same site, you can also see an index of H-1B sponsoring companies along with their max salary, H-1B approval rate, and total LCAs. If you use other employment search engines like Indeed.com, and a job posting does not specify whether a nurse H-1B visa sponsorship is available, then it is worth contacting the company and inquiring whether they are open to such an arrangement.
H-1B Nurse Eligibility Requirements:
Though a nursing position seems to be a qualifying match for an H-1B visa, a general RN or LPN position does not qualify as a valid position in need of an H-1B for nurses. However, if a state requires at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing to obtain a nursing license, an RN position in that state would generally be considered a specialty occupation.
In general, to qualify for an H-1B Visa a nurse must:
- Have an education level of a bachelor’s degree or higher or equivalent specialized experience (3 years work experience = 1 year of education)
- Obtain a nursing license by completing a nursing program and passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).
- The occupation requires qualifications that are typical of the position within the nursing industry
- Specialized responsibilities: RN positions with specialized responsibilities that may be eligible for an H-1B visa for nurses include:
- addiction nurses
- cardiovascular nurses
- critical care nurses
- emergency room nurses
- genetics nurses
- neonatology nurses
- nephrology nurses
- oncology nurses
- pediatric nurses
- peri-operative nurses
- rehabilitation nurses
This is not an exhaustive list. There may be other specialist positions available at hospitals that meet H-1B eligibility requirements
Recommended read: Get H-1B Visa Without a Degree.
Petition Requirements of H1B Visa for Nurses:
USCIS lists some of the documents that a petitioner should submit as evidence:
- The nature of the petitioner’s business
- Industry practices
- A detailed description of the duties to be performed within the petitioner’s business operations
- Advanced certification requirements
- ANCC Magnet Recognized status
- Clinical experience requirements
- Training in the specialty requirements
- Wage rate relative to others within the occupation
Learn about the Memorandum Requirements for H-1B Nurses.
If you were selected in the 2025-26 H-1B visa lottery, contact VisaNation attorneys for filing your H-1B petition.
Priority of Acceptance:
All must qualify under the general position, education, Department of Labor, USCIS, and U.S. employer H-1B requirements.
- Certified Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are generally the first to be accepted for the H-1B petition. Examples of specialized nursing occupations under the APRN category are:
- certified registered nurse anesthetists
- clinical nurse specialists
- certified nurse midwives
- certified nurse practitioners
The position also requires the nurse to be a certified RN (registered nurse). To become an RN, the nurse must have a minimum of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with additional education.
- The second level of acceptance applies to nurses who qualify for administrative occupations which require a graduate degree in nursing or healthcare administration. Examples include: “Nurse Managers” and Supervisory Nurses.
- The final level of acceptance applies to individuals with a nursing specialty in areas such as critical care or preoperative nurses.
Approved H-1B applicants may also come to those who are not APRNs. However, non-APRNs must have successfully passed examinations based on clinical experience, emergency room nursing, operating room, occupation health, rehabilitation nursing, critical care, oncology, and pediatrics.
The H-1B Lottery for Nurses
If you qualify for an H-1B visa for nurses, your petition will likely be entered into the annual H-1B lottery. This lottery was put into effect due to the large number of petitions that are received each year. Overall, there are two major sections of this lottery:
- Regular cap – 65,000 petitions.
- The master’s cap – 20,000 petitions. This cap is for those with an advanced degree.
The lottery works by randomly selecting the first 65,000 petitions in the regular cap. For those with advanced degrees not selected in this first round, a second round is conducted with 20,000 visas randomly allocated to those with advanced degrees. This essentially gives those with an advanced degree two chances of being selected.
Recommended read: H-1B chances of selection
It is important to note that there is no other way to increase your odds of selection. It doesn’t matter if you are applying for an H-1B for nurses or an IT manager; the chances are the same. If you are not selected in the lottery, then you will need to wait until the following year or find an alternative visa.
If your petition is selected, then it will be processed by the USCIS. Of course, there is still a chance that a petition could be selected and then denied. To avoid this, ensure your case is handled by an expert immigration attorney.
If you were selected in the 2025-26 H-1B visa lottery, contact VisaNation attorneys for filing your H-1B petition.
Cap Exempt Petitions
If you can work for a university, nonprofit research institution or government research agency as a nurse, you may be exempt from the H-1B cap. There are only three major categories of H-1B occupations that would be considered cap-exempt:
- An institute of higher education
- A not-for-profit organization associated with an institute of higher education
- A not-for-profit governmental research organization
Also, if you submit a cap-subject petition and it is selected, you will be considered cap-exempt for any subsequent I-129 petitions that you need to have filed for job transfers or visa extensions. However, if you are approved for a cap-exempt position and decide to transfer to a cap-subject one later on, you will need to file a new petition that will be subject to the cap.
How Can Registered Nurses Improve Their Chances of Getting an H-1B Visa?
Registered nurses with just a two-year associate’s degree will need to pursue further education to increase their chances of getting an H-1B visa. In the absence of a bachelor’s degree, a registered nurse will have to make up for that with a qualifying amount of job experience.
USCIS requires H-1B beneficiaries to have at least three years of specialized training and/or work experience for each year of the college education that he or she lack. So a four-year degree would be equivalent to 12 years of experience.
Additionally, the beneficiary should also have recognition of expertise in the specialty by progressively being in a position directly related to the specialty. So, without a bachelor’s degree, a registered nurse may still be granted an H-1B visa if he or she can demonstrate the years of training or experience in the specialty position. Acquiring certain certifications in nursing will also help, such as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN).
Conversely, being in an administrative role is another potential advantage for nurses. A good example of this is occupying an upper-level nurse manager role in a hospital administration position. Managerial or administrative positions typically require at least a bachelor’s degree, which may help count as equivalent experience to the H-1B qualification requirement. Nurses in this category are generally supervisory level RNs and often hold graduate degrees in nursing or health administration.
H-1B Processing Time for Nurses
Under normal processing, H-1B processing time normally takes between 4 and 8 months, but that can be shortened significantly to 15 business days with premium processing (an additional $2,805).
See how we helped a NICU nurse get selected in the H-1B lottery and then have her petition approved by November 2o24, despite the obstacles and challenges that were presented!
If you are looking to get a green card for nurses, you will need to take your priority date into account, which may add a significant amount to your processing time.
Speak with your immigration attorney if you would like to make the transition from H-1B to green card status.
Learn more about processing time as well as approval reasons and delays.
How Much Does the H-1B Visa Cost?
The basic fees for an H-1B are listed below. The costs below are to be paid by the employer. The optional fees that would be relevant to a nurse would be certain attorney costs since some employers might not cover them, any credentialing and licensing fees relevant to the nursing position would be the responsibility of the nurse and premium processing might not be covered by the employer but can be paid by the nurse if elected. Note that employers cannot require the nurse to pay for the mandatory H-1B fees.
- Registration fee: $215
- I-129 basic filing fee – The standard fee is $780; for small employers and nonprofits, this fee is $460
- ACWIA fee – $750-$1,500 depending on the number of full-time workers
- Fraud Prevention and Detection fee – $500
- Public Law fee (applies to companies with more than 50 employees with over half on H-1B or L-1 status) – $4,000; USCIS may exempt this fee
- Premium Processing (optional): $2,805
- Our attorney fees – VisaNation Law Group’s legal fees are tiered. It’s best to schedule a consultation to learn more.
If you were selected in the 2025-26 H-1B visa lottery, contact VisaNation attorneys for filing your H-1B petition.
7 Steps for Nurses to Work in the U.S. from India
The requirements for any nurse from India to come and work in the U.S. are relatively the same as for any other foreign-trained nurse. Here is a quick summary of the steps that an Indian-trained nurse might have to take to work in the U.S.
- Education and Work Experience Requirements – This involves having completed a bachelor’s degree in nursing, being an accredited nurse in India, and having at least 2 years of work experience as a registered nurse.
- Language Requirements – Quite often, foreign nurses must complete the IELTS exam and achieve at least 6.5 on the overall grade and 7 for the speaking portion.
- NCLEX-RN Exam – You must pass the exam developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing in order to show the equivalency of your foreign education and work experience. The exam can be completed in India.
- VisaScreen Certificate – It is essential to complete this part, as this screening will allow you to be certain that you meet all of the required qualifications for work as a nurse in the U.S.
- Apply for a Visa – At this point, you should already have a valid job offer from a U.S. employer. You must then submit an application for an employment-based visa. In many situations, it would be H-1B, TN visa, L-1 visa, EB-2 or EB-3 visa – this depends on many other factors.
- Finish the Visa Process – You will likely need to attend an interview and submit a variety of documents during the process. You need to make sure that you comply with all of the immigration regulations and finish the entire process.
- Receive Your Visa and Start Your Job – After you have received your visa, you can freely travel to the U.S. and start your new employment as a U.S. nurse. Find out how you can get your H-1B stamped in the U.S.
How VisaNation Law Group Can Help:
VisaNation Law Group’s immigration lawyers are able to advise foreign nurse practitioner clients on which work visa or immigration category would be best suited based on the client’s qualifications and position requirements.
We understand that government forms can be challenging to complete. VisaNation Law Group lawyers are skilled in assisting clients with H-1B documentation and any supplementary evidence needed to support their case.
Contact us to find out if you can take advantage of our consultation and have one of the qualified immigration attorneys provide a general overview of your visa options. If you are not eligible for an H-1B visa for nurses, there are many other visa options that can be explored. We intend to inform you of your options to ensure that you’re making an informed decision.