Immigration Not Yet A Perfect Answer To Nursing Shortage

Facing a severe nursing shortage, one option for the United States is immigration.

But even though the federal government has given registered nurses a special designation which streamlines the employment-based permanent residency (green card) process, much would have to change for immigration to fully address the acute nursing shortage.

Under a "Schedule A" designation, registered nurses, along with physical therapists, are exempt from some of the steps that would normally be required in an employer-sponsored green card process. For example, normally a U.S. employer can only proceed with sponsoring a foreign worker for a green card if the employer first goes through a "test of the labor market" (known as the PERM Labor Certification process) and advertises for the position to determine whether there are any U.S. workers who satisfy the minimum educational/experience requirements for the offered position. If no qualified U.S. workers apply, the employer can