Options for nurses while waiting for visa availability - Part 2
If you are a nurse and your US visa is on retrogression, what should you do in the meantime? Let's pick up where we left off in the previous column.
2.) You should develop your clinical skills. Make sure your clinical knowledge and training are updated. Attend continuing education seminars and trainings and take certification exams. Learn more about your practice and upgrade yourself. Do not be complacent. Just because your I-140 was approved, or you already passed CGFNS/NCLEX does not mean you can just sit around and feel you can already work here in the US.
3.) Pursue higher studies like a master's degree in nursing or other related fields. As you get specialized, you gain far more understanding and knowledge better than just someone who obtained a bachelor's degree. If you have a master's degree, you can teach at a graduate school and that adds value to your work experience.
4.) Take your English exams. Hone your proficiency in English. This may not be very difficult for most Filipinos, but conversational English as used in the US, is very different from the English we learn in Philippine schools. As with taking the English exams, make sure you check if the exams are still valid within the prescribed number of years, or else you have to retake.
5.) Prepare your civil documents. Make sure everything is ready and in order. Are the entries in your birth/marriage certificates accurate or do they need to be corrected via court proceedings? Do you need to obtain certified true copies of any documents? These things take time and you have to do these as soon as practicable. You do not want to find yourself in a rush gathering all these documents when you receive notice for interview at the US Consulate.
6.) Some of you may ask, "Can I work someplace else aside from the US?" I say check your contract. If you already signed a contract with a US employer check your contract if it allows you to work for another employer while waiting for your priority date to become current. You may be restricted from doing so, or need written permission from them to do so. You are bound to a contract if you have signed it. Believe me, I have already defended nurses who were sued by their employers for breach of contract. That is not a situation you want to be in.
7.) Lastly, it would not hurt that you and your family to learn other life skills such as driving, cooking, doing laundry, and other activities of independent living. Life in the US is very different and it is especially challenging for those who come here but were used to having helpers.
In the meantime, continue to hope and pray that priority date becomes current sooner than you expected. As I said, there is a nursing shortage here in the US and not just nurses but highly educated, talented, and competent ones. Get yourself ahead of the game!
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