Amid shortage, nurses abroad wait longer for visas

Qualified and experienced nurses are in high demand. And the Health Resources & Services Administration projects a shortfall of tens of thousands of registered nurses annually.

Visas for nurses are running out yet again — months before the end of the fiscal year. And for healthcare providers seeking talent abroad, this is a problem. Qualified and experienced nurses are in high demand, and the Health Resources & Services Administration projects a shortfall of tens of thousands of registered nurses annually.

For U.S. healthcare providers and the foreign nurses who want to work for them, the wait to get a visa to the U.S. is growing.

“Unfortunately, there are many more in the queue waiting for visas than there are visas available,” said Sinead Carbery, with staffing firm AMN Healthcare.

For a nurse applying today, Carbery said the wait time has increased to roughly 2.5 years. “And unless we do something legislatively, it’s only going to get worse.”

Without creating more visa slots, she estimates wait times will grow by six months every year.

“It’s very challenging for the professionals themselves, because they’re overseas, they want to come to the United States, they get in line. And then the line timeline just keeps changing,” said Carbery. 

Nursing visa backlogs have fluctuated significantly over the past decade.

Immigration attorney Chris Musillo noted it actually got better during the pandemic: “From an immigration visa perspective, it allowed the U.S. government to prioritize certain kinds of workers.” Like health care workers, which we desperately needed.

But now that the visa process has returned to normal, the backlog is back. And healthcare providers aren’t happy, according to immigration attorney Elissa Taub.

“I’ve told employers at this point, ‘Honestly, I can’t tell you how long it’s going to take for this nurse to come. This avenue is not going to be a good way for you to fill your needs today,’” she said. 

Some employers are testing out other, limited visa options, while others may opt not to recruit foreign workers at all, said Taub.

But “I do think that demand is going to remain high because some employers are so desperate,” she said. “They’re like, ‘Look, let’s just get them in the system and go, right, and just see what happens.’”

But those desperate employers turning to foreign workers have another option, per NYU nursing professor Allison Squires: do more to retain nurses. Studies show roughly one in five registered nurses left their jobs in 2023. 

“Where the work needs to happen though is really around the work environment,” Squires said.

She said that creating safer, more supportive work culture will help employers retain both U.S.- and foreign-born nurses.