Bill Proposes New W Visa for Foreign Nurses

A new bill has been introduced in the House that proposes a new category of non-immigrant W visas for nurses. 

HR 1001, also called the Nurse Relief Act, proposes introducing 50,000 new W visas aimed at attracting more foreign-born nurses to seek employment in the U.S. There are currently approximately 116,000 unfilled registered nurse positions at U.S hospitals and 100,000 vacant positions in nursing homes.

However, when questioned about the idea of training foreign workers, President Obama said he wants to train more nurses in the United States to address the shortage.

"The notion that we would have to import nurses makes absolutely no sense. We could be training nurses right here in the United States," said Obama at a gathering of health experts and lawmakers at a White House meeting on healthcare reform.

Supporters of the bill argue that even if more nurses are trained in the U.S., it is unlikely that it will be enough to fill all the vacant positions where nurses are needed.

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