EB-3 Visa for Nurses: Schedule A, Filing, and Costs

The EB-3 visa for nurses is a U.S. employer-sponsored path to a green card, and nurses get a meaningful head start on it: the Department of Labor has pre-designated registered nursing as a shortage occupation under Schedule A, so the employer skips the usual labor market test and files directly with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.¹ The rest of the process is the same as any employment-based green card: credential checks, an employer petition, government fees, and a wait that depends heavily on where you were born.

The Schedule A Advantage

Registered nurses fall under Schedule A, Group I, which the Department of Labor has designated as a shortage occupation alongside physical therapists.² In a typical EB-3 case, the employer must first recruit for the position, prove no qualified American worker was available, and get a labor certification from DOL before filing anything with USCIS. Schedule A eliminates that step and can shave months off the timeline.

Which EB-3 subcategory a nurse falls into depends on their education. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or higher qualifies the nurse as a “professional.” An Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) plus at least two years of training or experience qualifies as a “skilled worker.” Both routes lead to the same green card, but the employer’s petition has to classify the position correctly.¹

What the Nurse Must Have Before Filing

Nursing Credentials

To qualify under Schedule A, a nurse must show one of three things: a certificate from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), a full and unrestricted permanent license to practice nursing in the state where the job is located, or proof of passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).³ Any one of these satisfies the Schedule A documentation requirement. Most nurses eventually get the state license anyway. The NCLEX-RN registration fee is $200, plus whatever the state board of nursing charges for licensure or endorsement.

VisaScreen Certificate

Section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 makes any foreign healthcare worker other than a physician inadmissible to the United States without a certificate verifying that their education, training, and licensure are comparable to U.S. standards.⁴ For nurses, that means a VisaScreen certificate from CGFNS International or an approved equivalent. CGFNS evaluates educational transcripts, professional credentials, and English ability before issuing it. The certificate is valid for five years, so nurses facing long backlogs should plan for a possible renewal.

English Proficiency

VisaScreen requires proof of English competency on a standardized exam. IELTS Academic requires an overall score of at least 6.5 with a minimum speaking score of 7.0. TOEFL iBT requires minimum scores of 26 in speaking, 21 in reading, 18 in listening, and 20 in writing. Nurses educated in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec), New Zealand, Ireland, or the United States are generally exempt because their programs were conducted in English.⁵

All credentials and certificates must remain valid throughout the process and at the moment the visa is issued. A lapsed license or expired VisaScreen certificate can derail a case that’s otherwise ready for approval.

What the Employer Must Do

A nurse cannot self-petition for an EB-3 green card. A U.S. healthcare facility must offer a permanent, full-time position and sponsor the nurse through the entire process.

Prevailing Wage Determination

Before filing, the employer must obtain a Prevailing Wage Determination from the Department of Labor’s National Prevailing Wage Center. This sets the minimum salary based on what workers in the same occupation and geographic area typically earn, and the offered wage must meet or exceed that floor.⁶

Ability to Pay

The employer must show it can continuously pay the offered wage from the filing date through the date the nurse receives permanent residency. USCIS typically looks at federal tax returns, audited financial statements, or annual reports. Smaller facilities sometimes struggle here, especially when the offered salary is high relative to the organization’s net income.

Worksite Notice

Even though Schedule A skips the normal DOL labor certification, the employer must post a notice of the filing at the worksite for at least 10 consecutive business days. The notice describes the job and the offered wage.⁷ The employer needs to be ready to document that the notice was posted if USCIS asks.

Filing the I-140 Petition

The centerpiece of the process is Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. Because nurses qualify under Schedule A, the employer files the I-140 along with an uncertified labor certification application (Form ETA-9089) directly with USCIS.²

The filing package should include the prevailing wage determination, proof of ability to pay, educational transcripts and credential evaluations, evidence of NCLEX-RN passage or state licensure, the VisaScreen certificate, and the signed job offer. Incomplete packages almost always trigger a Request for Evidence from USCIS, which adds months.

The I-140 filing fee is $715 for paper submissions or $665 online. Most employers also pay an Asylum Program Fee of $600, bringing the total to $1,315 for a regular paper filing. Small employers pay a reduced Asylum Program Fee of $300, and nonprofits are exempt.⁸ Premium processing costs $2,965 and guarantees a response within 15 business days.⁹ That response might be an approval, a denial, or a Request for Evidence, but at least you know where things stand quickly.

Getting the Green Card After Approval

Once USCIS approves the I-140, the next step depends on where the nurse is located and whether an immigrant visa number is available based on the priority date.

Consular Processing Abroad

Nurses living outside the United States go through the National Visa Center, which collects documents and fees before scheduling an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The immigrant visa application fee is $345 per person.¹⁰ The NVC stage requires civil documents like birth certificates, police clearance certificates, and the passport. After NVC processing, the nurse attends a consular interview where the officer verifies the job offer, reviews credentials, and makes the final admissibility decision. A medical examination by a panel physician is required before the interview.

Adjustment of Status Inside the U.S.

Nurses already in the United States on another visa can file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, without leaving the country. The filing fee is $1,440 for applicants age 14 and older, and $950 for children under 14 filing concurrently with a parent.⁸ The I-485 can only be filed once a visa number is available. After filing, the nurse attends a biometrics appointment and a medical examination by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon.

How Long the Wait Is

This is where many nurses encounter the longest delay. Every EB-3 case gets a priority date, and for Schedule A nurses, that date is the day USCIS accepts the I-140 petition for processing, since no separate labor certification filing is involved.¹¹ Think of it as a place in line.

The Department of State publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin with two charts: Final Action Dates, which indicate when a visa can actually be issued, and Dates for Filing, which show when applicants can submit I-485 or NVC paperwork. Per-country limits create severe backlogs for applicants born in high-demand countries.¹²

The December 2025 Visa Bulletin showed EB-3 Final Action Dates of April 2023 for most countries, April 2021 for applicants born in mainland China, and September 2013 for applicants born in India.¹³ An Indian-born nurse with a 2024 priority date could face a wait of over a decade. Nurses born in the Philippines and Mexico were on the same dates as the general category. These dates shift monthly and sometimes move backward (called retrogression), so checking the Visa Bulletin regularly is essential.

Bringing Your Family

An approved EB-3 petition extends to the nurse’s spouse and unmarried children under age 21. They can apply for immigrant visas or adjustment of status as derivative beneficiaries at the same time the nurse does.¹ Each family member files separately and pays their own fees: $345 per person for consular processing, or $1,440 per adult and $950 per child under 14 for adjustment of status.

One risk that catches families off guard: if a child turns 21 before the priority date becomes current, they may “age out” and lose derivative eligibility. The Child Status Protection Act can provide some relief, but it doesn’t solve every case.

Switching Employers Mid-Process

Under INA Section 204(j), a nurse can change employers while the I-485 is pending, provided the application has been pending for at least 180 days and the I-140 has been approved (or is pending and ultimately gets approved). The new position must be in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job in the original petition.¹⁴ Moving from one registered nursing position to another typically satisfies this. Switching from bedside nursing to a non-clinical administrative role can raise red flags.

USCIS evaluates “same or similar” based on the totality of the circumstances, considering actual job duties, required skills and certifications, Standard Occupational Classification codes, and wages. Matching SOC codes help but aren’t automatically sufficient if the actual duties are substantially different.¹⁵ If the original employer withdraws the I-140 after the nurse leaves but the petition was already approved and the I-485 has been pending for 180 days, the petition generally remains valid for portability purposes.

Out-of-Pocket Costs for the Nurse

The employer pays the I-140 filing fee, premium processing, and prevailing wage costs. The nurse pays for the following directly:

NCLEX-RN registration is $200, non-refundable, plus any fees charged by the state board of nursing for licensure or endorsement.
VisaScreen certificate fees are set by CGFNS International and vary. Renewal is required if the five-year validity period expires before the green card is issued.
IELTS or TOEFL costs roughly $200 to $300 depending on the testing location.
Medical examinations by civil surgeons and panel physicians are not price-regulated by USCIS. Expect several hundred dollars, including required vaccinations.
NVC or I-485 fees run $345 per person for consular processing, or $1,440 per adult for adjustment of status. These apply to the nurse and each family member.⁸

Some employers cover part or all of these costs as an incentive, especially in areas with severe nursing shortages. That’s worth negotiating before signing the job offer, since there’s no legal requirement for the employer to reimburse the nurse’s personal expenses.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: Third Preference EB-3
2
eCFR. 20 CFR 656.15 – Schedule A
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Health Care Worker Certification
4
Federal Register. Interim Procedures for Certain Health Care Workers
5
Federal Register. 8 CFR Part 212 – Additional Authorization to Issue Certificates for Foreign Health Care Workers
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Prevailing Wage Information and Resources
7
eCFR. 20 CFR 656.10 – General Instructions
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
10
U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas
13
U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for December 2025
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 5 – Job Portability After Adjustment Filing and Other AC21 Provisions
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How USCIS Determines Same or Similar Occupational Classifications for Job Portability Under AC21