View Full Version : gaining a green card
Hi
My wife is currently undertaking a midwifes course in the U.K does anyone know once she is qualified if this will allow us to live in Florida and be able to obtain permanent residency green cards.What is the process if this is so.
We have been looking to buy a business over there but this is hopefully a better option.
Thanks
Colin & Julie Vickers
Thet don't actually have midwives here as far as I know ..
But if she has an RN in nursing with a couple of years experience
should have no problem getting a job here.. the procedure takes quite a long time though... she has to take the NCLEX exam which I believe now can be done in the UK.... start to finish with the system from people I know doing it now is about 2 years...
This way will lead to a GC..
chrisflowers
10-06-2005, 04:18
She is lucky.
If you are a doctor, your UK qualifications are not recognised and you have to re-qualify in medicine, do your 'boards' and then fulfill the requirements for a license to practice in Florida.
I qualified in medicine 25 years ago, and do not know very much about certain topics anymore as I am a cancer specialist and do not deal much with other parts of medicine.
Nurses have it great, and there are some wonderful jobs out there. Be prepared to work long hours though - there is no 9-5 in the USA.
Most babies in the US are delivered by obstreticians with a much higher proportion of caeasarians than in the UK, the reason is it is a litigation orientated country and delivering a baby naturally with the help of a midwife is seen as just too dangerous. If she is just doing midwives qualification, I dont think it will help, if she is doing it as an extra course having completed general nursing, then it does, though as Ray says it is a lengthy process.
chrizzy100
10-06-2005, 05:42
General nursing is a must have.....my friend trained as a childs nurse and could not work here as a nurse.....
We have midwives in MA....but its hard work...long hours...and you're always worried about being sued.....
E. Cosgrove
10-06-2005, 11:35
There are midwives in the US but they work more like our own independant midwives here in the UK. If your wife is looking to work as an autonomous practitioner as we do here in the UK then she has no chance, if she wishes to work as an obstetricians handmaiden then thats a different kettle of fish.
It's hard enough here in the UK with the threat of litigation, in the US it's almost impossible.
I was told by a midwife from Texas that the US were crying out for midwives as the OG consultants were moving more to gynae becuse of the threat of litigation, however, I have yet to see any real evidence of this.
Question would it get her labor certification?? It is rhetorical, does anyone know? The thing about being a general nurse is that there is such a shortage here ( 15% understaffed) that they waive the need for labor certification for a green card and that makes it a whole lot easier. The way to go would be to contact a nursing agency that places people in the US ( google search) and ask the question.
andy and ann hales
16-06-2005, 21:22
I am an RN here in the UK
I am just about to start my NCLEX training (you can,as of this year, take the exam in London) with the help of a UK agency.
They say we should have our green cards for me and my family, between 9-18 months.
The agency says I go into Florida with a 2 year contract after that I can do what I want. I can keep the green card if I stay or leave nursing and even if I came home all we have to do is enter the US once a year and that keeps it valid.
As said before best to check with an agency about midwifes
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by andy and ann hales
The agency says I go into Florida with a 2 year contract after that I can do what I want. I can keep the green card if I stay or leave nursing and even if I came home all we have to do is enter the US once a year and that keeps it valid.
[/quote]
I think you will have difficulty holding onto your green card if you aren't resident in the US, entering once a year wont be sufficent to qualify you as permanent resident, and you could well have your green card taken of you.
You need to spend at least six months a year in the US to keep your green card valid, though I think you can ask for special dispensation to spend more time away if you have a valid reason. The current time limit to get a green card through nursing is far longer than 9-18 months ( in Florida which works through the Texas service centre) though it may be true in some areas of America. I am on an immigration forum where there are a lot of green card nurses and some have been pegging away at this for 2-3 years and still arnt here. The processing times have come down a little since some of these applied but not that much. DM me if you want the web address.
chrizzy100
17-06-2005, 01:47
A lot of people mix the USA up with OZ where you can go back just once every 5 years to redo your permanent resident permit......but you have to be in the USA most of the time to keep your greencard........or you'll lose it......
Chapter and verse on having a green card and then leaving the country.
Keeping Your Green Card
To maintain your green card you must establish a permanent residence in the U.S. If you leave the U.S. for one year and return, depending upon the facts of your case, INS may revoke your green card. INS airport inspectors often question green card holders about their ties to the U.S. If the inspector believes you have abondoned U.S. residency he may take your green card pending a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Proof of permanent residence includes owning U.S. property, renting or owning a house, paying U.S. taxes, maintaining U.S. bank accounts, credit cards, paying utilities etc. There is no set formula for proving you maintained U.S. a permanent residence. Its a matter of proving your intention through fact and circumstances.
The U.S. government does not want people holding green cards as a convenience. You must really have a permanent residence in the U.S. and you must pay U.S. taxes on your world wide income.
If you have a green card and you know you will be out of the country for a long period of time, in excess of six months, you should apply for a Reentry Permit. The reentry permit is a travel document that INS considers as proof that you paid U.S. taxes and that you have no intention of abandoning your permanent residence in the U.S.A.
To obtain a reentry permit you must file form I-131 with photographs, proof that you have a green card and a statement describing your reasons for departing the U.S. for a long period of time. Acceptable reasons include family illness, transfer to a job in a foreign position, business reasons. Reentry permits are valid for two years.