107th Congress

Immigration and the Nursing Workforce

Message to Congress ANA believes that the U. S. healthcare industry has failed to maintain a work environment that is conducive to safe, quality nursing practice and that retains experienced U. S. nurses within patient care. ANA supports continuation of the current certification process to apply to all foreign-educated health care workers regardless of their visa or other entry status. ANA opposes efforts to exempt foreign-educated nurses from current H-1B visa program requirements.

The Issues Surrounding Immigration and the Nursing Workforce:

• The practice of changing immigration law to facilitate the use of foreign-educated nurses is a short-term solution that serves only the interests of the hospital industry, not the interests of patients, domestic nurses, or foreign-educated nurses.

• ANA condemns the practice of recruiting nurses from countries with their own nursing shortage.

• The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 requires that all foreign health care professionals, except physicians, must be certified by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) or another independent, government-certified organization qualified to issue credentials. The certification process verifies that the foreign health care worker's education, training, or experience meets all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for entry into the United States. In addition, any foreign license submitted must be validated as authentic and unencumbered. If the health care worker is a registered nurse (RN), the nurse must have passed an examination testing both nursing skill and English language proficiency.

• The cause of instability in the nursing workforce must be addressed. Over-reliance on foreign-educated nurses serves only to postpone efforts required to address the needs of the U.S. nursing workforce. Foreign-educated nurses brought into the United States tend to be placed in jobs with unacceptable working conditions with the expectation that these nurses, as temporary residents and foreigners, would not be in a position to complain.

Return to U.S. Federal Affairs.

Search	Contact ANA	Join/Renew Membership	Members Only	Online CE
NursingInsiderSpecial Offersnursesbooks.org © 2008 The American Nurses Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved Copyright Policy | Privacy Statement