I am considering pursuing an associate’s degree in nursing in California. Do you know how to find an employer who would sponsor my work visa?
Monday June 22, 2009
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I am considering pursuing an associate’s degree in nursing in California. I’m Italian and just got my master of arts in psychology in Italy. My goal is to work as an RN in California. I got contrasting info from college counselors, nurses’ forums and various Web sites, about if and how I would be able to get a job and stay in the country after my graduation — in other words, find an employer who would sponsor my work visa. I called a few California hospitals and keep hearing that right now they’re not hiring foreign staff nurses, visas have been frozen for the past year, and they have no idea about what their policies might be in two years. Do you have any further information, comments, or advice?
Alina
The job market for all new nurses, not just foreign nurses, is very tight right now in many parts of the country including California. Read “New Nurse, New Job Strategies” http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/newnurse.html. That being said, the job market should start to open up in the near future. Once economic conditions start to improve, and they are already on the mend, many nurses are predicted to retire and/or reduce their hours, creating a huge deficit. So the situation could change dramatically over the next few years.
Best wishes, Donna
Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of “Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional” and “The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career.” Information about the books is available at www.Nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.Nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.Nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call 800-866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.
