A national pause on nurse green cards has left thousands of international healthcare workers in limbo, with hospitals working diligently to stay connected with their prospective employees, NPR affiliate KCUR reported June 27.
In April, the State Department announced it would not accept any more EB-3 visa applications for foreign nurses this year due to an administrative backlog. Only those who submitted applications by June 1, 2022, will be eligible for visa interviews. An EB-3 visa is required for an overseas nurse to work in the U.S.
The pause is prompting concerns that international nurses who've already committed to working in U.S. hospitals may get impatient and start to look elsewhere for employment, according to Eric Wallis, DNP, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Henry Ford Health in Detroit.
"We haven't seen that at this point," he told KCUR. "And we're really excited and happy about that. But that is certainly a risk at this moment."
The health system has more than 400 international nurses who accepted jobs with the system and is planning to hire 200 more later this year. Dr. Wallis said the system is working to stay connected with the new hires and lobbying for U.S. lawmakers to open up additional visas for nurses.
Stormont Vail Health System in Topeka, Kan., is another such system working to maintain relationships with the more than 100 nurses from the Philippines who have accepted job offers. To stay connected, the system holds monthly calls with the nurses and sends them messages from Stormont Vail President Robert Kenagy, MD.
"We have monthly Zooms with all of our nurses," Tiffany Beyer, the system's international recruitment manager, told KCUR. "We send them weekly emails and Dr. Kenagy's updates and things like that to keep them feeling part of our Stormont Vail family."