Janice Buehler (top left)
Director of Recruitment,
Employee Relations, and Workforce
Planning
&
William McKinney
Academic Services Specialist/Immigration,
Human Resources
Cedars-Sinai Health System
Dennis Yee
President, Central California Association
of Health Care Recruiters
Recruitment Consultant
Children’s Hospital Central
California
How will the new Department
of Homeland Security visa certification
ruling affect the hiring of foreign
health care workers in organizations
in your region of California?
Buehler/McKinney:
The effects of The Department of Homeland
Security’s promulgation of the
final rule effective July 25, 2003,
implementing both statutes of Section
343 making some non-physician health
care professionals seeking admission
to the United States primarily to
work in certain health care occupations
inadmissible for temporary and/or
permanent visas unless they can present
a certificate from an authorized credentialing
organization vary, but not to a large
extent, from organization to organization
within this geographical area.
If an organization was heavily dependent
on foreign nurses from Canada under
Trade NAFTA and, if qualified, foreign
nurses sponsored on H-1Bs, the effects
would be felt much harder than within
our organization. The only reason
I mention TN and H-1B is equally sized
organizations are limited relative
to the visa categories under which
they can sponsor foreign nurses.
A disconnection exists between organizations
within the Western region relative
to communication channels regarding
the new regulation and its impact.
A perfect example is the Section 343
Educational Session, which was attended
primarily by attorneys. Few health
care organizations were in attendance
and even fewer affected health care
workers. Additionally, it’s
also surprising to note how few recent
foreign-born nurse graduates have
been consulted or consulted correctly
regarding Section 343 requirements
by their respective nursing programs.
Yee: The new ruling
that takes effect at the end of this
month will have a significant impact
in the Central California region.
With the nursing shortage already
affecting the state and the new state-mandated
nurse-to-patient ratios in effect,
the new ruling imposes another barrier
to expedite qualified RNs into the
state as well as retain those who
are already here on a TN visa.
Can you give an estimate
as to the percentage of foreign nurses
in your organization who are in need
of visa certification?
Buehler/McKinney:
The majority of our foreign nurses
are in compliance or in the pipeline
awaiting issuance of the certificate.
In the past year, we have been proactive
in the delivery of information relative
to Visa Screen credentialing requirements
to all organization levels via manager
meetings, e-mails, memos, one-on-one
consultations, etc.
Additionally, we have created our
own version of a VisaScreen general
information packet and distributed
it not only to new hires, but also
to those affected classifications
inquiring about employment at Cedars.
A part of this packet includes ICHP’s
[a division of CGFNS] Visa Screen
application packet.
Yee: We have about
20 RNs who will require visa certification
within the next year. We have asked
them to renew their TN visas before
July 26 to give them some additional
time to submit their visa screen applications
and meet the requirements. As far
as the other organizations in the
region, three of the larger hospitals
do have a fairly large number of foreign
nurses on staff (more than 100).
What can staff/recruiters
do to assist foreign nurses in need
of visa certification?
Buehler/McKinney:
The message needs to be delivered
to those impacted by the credentialing
requirements of Section 343. Organizations
can create materials to distribute,
which should contain an FAQ section
about VisaScreen [visit www.cgfns.org/
for ideas] and a contact list [CGFNS,
TOEFL, etc.]. Assign a staff member
who understands the requirements or
who can liaise with outside counsel
relative to questions and material
distribution. This is the law and,
at this time, noncompliance is not
an option.
Recruiters need to network with each
other through the National Association
for Health Care Recruitment and their
local chapters about the impact of
the VisaScreen requirement over the
next six months. Additionally, if
the impact is significant, recruiters
should be proactive in generating
a “grass-roots” movement
of letters to their U.S. senators
and congressional representatives.
Copies of these are available on the
association’s website.
Yee: As recruiters,
the best way to assist foreign nurses
in need of visa certification is to
provide them with accurate, timely
information and details regarding
the process, contacts via Internet
sites, access to assistance from immigration
attorney, and communicating with the
candidates on a weekly basis.
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to Article
A
major change in federal policy requires
RNs who aren’t citizens to
obtain a special health care worker
visa certification to work in the
United States. This ruling, which
originally applied only to foreign
health care professionals seeking
permanent occupational visas, also
will apply to RNs seeking temporary
occupational visas. Nurses from
Mexico and Canada, previously exempt
under the North Atlantic Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), must comply by
obtaining the visa certification.