These visas were made available to foreign nurses coming into the United States to perform services as a registered nurse in areas with a shortage of health professionals as determined by the Department of Labor.
The Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, had to be filed by a U.S. employer hospital that had received a notice of acceptance of the attestation for H-1C Nonimmigrant Nurses, from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
[3][2][7] On November 12, 1999, the 106th United States Congress passed the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act (P.L.
106-95), which called for the creation of a new H-1C visa for nurses going to work for up to three years in health professional shortage areas.
[10] The key differences between the two programs are:[5] One of the few immigration measures passed by the 109th United States Congress was the extension of the H-1C category.