What are the green card routes for nurses? In practice, for most foreign-trained registered nurses, the answer is an employer-sponsored green card using Schedule A, Group I: a Department of Labor list of occupations it has already found to be short of US workers. The employer files the labor certification form with USCIS together with the I-140 petition, usually in the EB-3 category. In our reading, a smaller group of nurses, mostly in research, education or leadership, may fit the EB-2 national interest waiver (NIW), which needs no employer. This guide covers both, plus the health care worker certificate most nurses need before the green card is issued.
- Professional nurses are on Schedule A, Group I, so there is no PERM recruitment; the employer files with USCIS
- The nurse needs a CGFNS certificate, a full and unrestricted state license, or a passed NCLEX-RN
- Most registered nurse jobs fit EB-3; an employer's EB-2 petition needs a job that actually requires an advanced degree
- A separate health care worker certificate is needed at the visa or adjustment stage, and must be used within 5 years of issue
- For Schedule A cases, the priority date is the date the complete I-140 is properly filed
- An NIW is possible, but USCIS says working in a shortage occupation is not enough by itself
What does Schedule A say about nurses?
Schedule A is a list in the Department of Labor's regulations. It opens with the finding that matters:
"We have determined there are not sufficient United States workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available for the occupations listed below on Schedule A and the wages and working conditions of United States workers similarly employed will not be adversely affected by the employment of aliens in Schedule A occupations." 20 CFR 656.5
Group I covers physical therapists and professional nurses. For nurses, the regulation lists three alternatives: the nurse "(i) Who have received a Certificate from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS); (ii) Who hold a permanent, full and unrestricted license to practice professional nursing in the state of intended employment; or (iii) Who have passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing." (20 CFR 656.5(a)(2)) The Policy Manual notes that CGFNS changed its name to TruMerit in December 2024, and that USCIS regulations have not yet been updated (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part E, Chapter 7, footnote 41).
In practice, this means the employer does not run the recruitment test that PERM labor certification normally requires. Our guide to why some routes skip labor certification explains what PERM involves.
How does a Schedule A petition work?
The employer applies to USCIS, not to the Department of Labor (20 CFR 656.15(a)). According to the Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part E, Chapter 7, the employer must:
- Offer full-time, permanent employment at no less than the prevailing wage.
- Get a prevailing wage determination from the Department of Labor's National Prevailing Wage Center, and file within its validity period.
- Give notice of the job to the bargaining representative, if there is one, or otherwise post it for employees for at least 10 consecutive business days, between 30 and 180 days before filing.
- File Form I-140 with an uncertified ETA Form 9089 and the nurse's Schedule A evidence.
The nurse's evidence must show the CGFNS (TruMerit) certificate, the license or the NCLEX-RN pass, which the beneficiary "currently has (and had at the time of filing)" (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part E, Chapter 7). The priority date, your place in the visa queue, is "the date the completed, signed petition (including all initial evidence and the correct fee) is properly filed with USCIS" (8 CFR 204.5(d)).
Two limits are worth knowing. Nurse cases can only go through Schedule A, not regular PERM (20 CFR 656.15(f)). And the Schedule A decision by USCIS cannot be appealed to the Department of Labor's appeals board, though USCIS says the employer can appeal to its Administrative Appeals Office (20 CFR 656.15(e); Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part E, Chapter 7). Nurses cannot self-petition through Schedule A: the job offer and employer petition are required.
EB-3 or EB-2 for a nurse?
It depends on what the job requires, not on the nurse's own degree. The Policy Manual says: "The minimum requirement for professional nursing occupations is generally less than a bachelor’s degree and these occupations are therefore considered under the skilled worker classification." Some advanced or specialized nursing jobs may require a bachelor's degree (EB-3 professional) or even an advanced degree (EB-2) (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part E, Chapter 7).
The EB-2 chapter is blunter: "Although many such nurses possess advanced degrees, they are filling nursing positions in the United States that generally do not require advanced degrees." Citing O*Net, it names managerial jobs and advanced practice roles such as clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner as the ones that generally require advanced degrees (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5).
On the USCIS EB-3 page, skilled workers need a job requiring at least 2 years of training or experience, and professionals need a job requiring at least a US bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent. See also our EB-3 page.
How long the wait is depends on your country of birth. For October 2026, USCIS told employment-based applicants filing for adjustment of status in the United States to use the Dates for Filing chart in the State Department's Visa Bulletin. Those EB-3 dates were August 1, 2024 for most countries and Mexico, April 1, 2024 for China, January 15, 2015 for India and January 1, 2024 for the Philippines (USCIS, October 2026 adjustment filing charts). These are filing dates only. A green card can be approved, or an immigrant visa issued abroad, only when your priority date is current under the Final Action Dates chart, which is a separate chart. These dates change monthly; check the current charts. When we checked on October 14, 2026, USCIS had not yet posted a November 2026 filing chart, so the October 2026 dates above were the latest.
What is the health care worker certificate?
It is a separate admissibility requirement, and it is easy to confuse with the Schedule A evidence. Under INA 212(a)(5)(C), a health care worker other than a physician is inadmissible without a certificate from CGFNS or another approved credentialing organization (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(C)). Some nurses can use an alternative, a certified statement under INA 212(r) (USCIS, Health Care Worker Certification). The regulation says:
"Except as provided in paragraph (b) or paragraph (d)(1) of this section, any alien who seeks admission to the United States as an immigrant or as a nonimmigrant for the primary purpose of performing labor in a health care occupation listed in paragraph (c) of this section is inadmissible unless the alien presents a certificate from a credentialing organization, listed in paragraph (e) of this section." 8 CFR 212.15(a)(1)
Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses are covered (8 CFR 212.15(c)). The rule does not apply to non-clinical health care jobs with no direct or indirect patient care, such as medical teachers and medical researchers (8 CFR 212.15(b)(2)). The certificate verifies that education, training, license and experience are comparable to a US worker's and authentic, that English proficiency meets the standard set by the Department of Health and Human Services, and that the nurse passed a predictor test or the licensing exam (USCIS, Health Care Worker Certification). TruMerit calls its version the VisaScreen Visa Credentials Assessment. USCIS also lists other organizations authorized to certify nurses.
Timing: USCIS says that for immigrant petitions, "It is only upon the filing of an I-485 that the health care worker certification is required", and a nurse abroad presents it to the consular officer when the visa is issued (USCIS, Health Care Worker Certification). The certificate must be used within 5 years of issue (8 CFR 212.15(n)(4)). In practice, with long EB-3 waits, it helps to check its date before the I-485 or visa interview. A certificate "does not constitute professional authorization to practice" (8 CFR 212.15(a)(3)); a state license is still a separate step.
Can a nurse get a national interest waiver?
Possibly, but in our reading it is a harder fit than for many STEM researchers. The NIW lets an EB-2 applicant self-petition without a job offer if USCIS finds, under Matter of Dhanasar, that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, the person is well positioned to advance it, and on balance a waiver benefits the United States. Our EB-2 NIW page has the overview.
Two hurdles are specific to nurses.
Qualifying for EB-2. For an NIW based on an advanced degree, the intended occupation must be a profession, meaning one for which a US bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent is the minimum for entry. USCIS says "not everyone who holds an advanced degree (or its defined equivalent) necessarily qualifies for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the occupation underlying the endeavor must also require a bachelor’s degree for entry into the occupation." (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5) Read with the Schedule A guidance above, our reading is that a nurse with a master's degree whose endeavor is bedside nursing may face this question. One planned through research, education or advanced practice may not. Exceptional ability is the other EB-2 path.
National importance. The Policy Manual says: "Proposing to work in an occupation with a national shortage or serve in a consulting capacity for others seeking to work in an occupation with a national shortage alone, is also insufficient." For the third prong, "evidence of a national labor shortage in the person’s occupation would not, by itself, satisfy this third prong." (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5)
What tends to fit, in our reading: nursing research with uptake outside one hospital, an evidence-based care model or protocol others are adopting, or education and workforce programs with reach beyond a single classroom. The Policy Manual notes that classroom teaching alone generally does not show national importance either.
- Nursing diploma or degree and transcripts, and any credential evaluation
- Your CGFNS (TruMerit) certificate, state license, or NCLEX-RN result for Schedule A
- A health care worker certificate from an approved organization, used for adjustment of status or admission within 5 years of its issue date
- English test results that meet the current HHS scores
- Employer documents: prevailing wage determination, posting notice and in-house media, and job offer
- For an NIW: publications, evidence others adopted your work, and a clear written endeavor
Where to start
For most nurses, the first steps are the credential (a CGFNS certificate, a state license or the NCLEX-RN) and a US employer willing to file. Our page for nurses walks through the employer-sponsored steps. Schedule A and EB-3 petitions are handled by licensed attorneys at our independent partner firm, not by Frank.
If your career includes research, publications or leadership with reach beyond your workplace, the free evaluation shows whether an NIW or EB-1A could also fit, with no account or card. Frank then finds real opportunities to strengthen that record; Starter is $49 a month with a 7-day free trial. The partner firm's flat legal fee for an EB-2 NIW starts at $7,995, with USCIS fees separate. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
All checked October 14, 2026. Quotations from the USCIS Policy Manual omit its footnote markers; where a quotation comes from a footnote, the footnote number is given.
- eCFR, 20 CFR 656.5. Schedule A, Group I and the nurse requirements, quoted above.
- eCFR, 20 CFR 656.15. Filing with USCIS, nurse documentation, no BALCA appeal and no PERM for nurses.
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part E, Chapter 7 (current as of October 2, 2026). Schedule A procedure, nurse evidence, EB-3 or EB-2 classification and the TruMerit name change.
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5 (current as of October 2, 2026). The nursing advanced degree problem and the NIW framework, quoted above.
- USCIS, Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3 (updated 08/20/2026). EB-3 subcategories and Schedule A filing.
- eCFR, 8 CFR 204.5. Priority date for Schedule A petitions.
- 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(C) (INA 212(a)(5)(C)). The health care worker certificate requirement.
- eCFR, 8 CFR 212.15. Covered occupations, credentialing organizations and the 5-year rule, quoted above.
- USCIS, Health Care Worker Certification (updated 06/29/2026). What the certificate verifies, approved organizations and when it is required.
- USCIS, When to File: October 2026 (updated 09/29/2026). EB-3 Dates for Filing.
- Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). The three-prong NIW test.
- TruMerit, VisaScreen. The name of TruMerit's certificate service.
Frequently asked questions
Do nurses need PERM labor certification for a green card?
No. Professional nurses are on Schedule A, Group I, so the Department of Labor has already made the labor market finding. The employer still gets a prevailing wage determination, posts a notice and files an uncertified ETA Form 9089 with the I-140 at USCIS.
Is a nurse green card EB-2 or EB-3?
Usually EB-3. USCIS says the minimum requirement for professional nursing jobs is generally less than a bachelor's degree, so most are skilled worker positions. For an employer petition, EB-2 is possible only when the job itself requires an advanced degree, such as some advanced practice roles. A national interest waiver is a separate EB-2 route.
What is the difference between the CGFNS certificate and VisaScreen?
They serve different steps. Schedule A accepts a CGFNS certificate, a full state license or a passed NCLEX-RN as the nurse's qualification. The health care worker certificate under INA 212(a)(5)(C), which TruMerit issues through its VisaScreen service (other approved organizations also issue it for nurses), is needed later, when the nurse files for adjustment of status or gets the immigrant visa.
Can a nurse self-petition with an NIW?
Possibly. The nurse must qualify for EB-2 and meet the three Dhanasar prongs. USCIS says working in an occupation with a national shortage is not enough by itself, so the endeavor usually needs broader reach, such as research or a care model others adopt.
How long is the EB-3 wait for nurses?
It depends on your country of birth and the month. In October 2026, USCIS used the Dates for Filing chart for adjustment of status filings, with EB-3 at August 1, 2024 for most countries, January 1, 2024 for the Philippines and January 15, 2015 for India. Check the current chart before relying on any date.
Green Card Guide AI is not a law firm and this article is not legal advice. It describes evidence-building strategy in general terms; your attorney determines what belongs in your petition and how it's argued.
