FOREIGN NURSES FINDING BORDER HARDER TO CROSS

The Miami Herald - Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Author: CHRISTINA HOAG, choag@herald.com

Foreign nurses who work at American hospitals on temporary occupation visas are facing higher hurdles to enter the United States.

Under new rules from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, they must meet the same provisions as required of those of their counterparts who enter on permanent visas.

The measure affects some 5,000 nurses nationwide, the vast majority of them Canadians who commute across the border to work in such Northern states as Maine and Michigan, according to the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Some 85 people attended a daylong session on the visa process for nurses held Monday by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools at the Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel in Miami Beach.

``No one was screening these nurses,'' said Judy Pendergast, director of planning, marketing and communications for the commission, which is charged with testing foreign nurses and verifying their credentials.

Canadian nurses had been exempt from the 1996 immigration law that requires foreign healthcare workers to prove their English proficiency, pass a U.S. licensing exam and present their educational credentials for review. They now have until 2005 to take those steps.

``It's bringing them into compliance with the law,'' said Kristin Hellquist, associate director of policy and external relations for the Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Miami immigration lawyer Stephen Bander noted that the measure comes as U.S. hospitals increasingly recruit foreign nurses.

``The problem is there's a shortage,'' Bander said. ``It's very frustrating for nurses and hospitals that need assistance.'' Caption: photo: seminar on federal rules for hiring foreign healthcare workers (a)