Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Employment -based immigration for health care workers

Dear attorney,

My wife is a nurse; she obtained a labor certificate based on a job offer as a �medical assistant� (not a nurse), then INS approved the relevant I-140 petition. The file is now at NVC for consular processing.

She has not obtained any particular US certificates or license for the job of medical assistant; in fact, currently there�s no licensure for medical assistants in the US and also this is not a requirement by law for them to be certified, although they may just voluntarily obtain a certificate from the American Association of Medical Assistants.

Now, INA 212(a)(5)(C) needs all immigrant health care workers to be certified/licensed, otherwise the visa application will be denied, but there is not a specific provision regarding medical assistants who do not legally need to be certified.

Do you think at the time of interview the consular officer will ask for such a certification and thus the visa will be denied, or he will just accept the LC as a proof of qualification? How can we convince the consular officer in case he clicks on this issue?

Thanks a lot


Asked on 1/16/01, 11:39 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Vivian Szawarc Law Offices of Vivian N. Szawarc

Re: Employment -based immigration for health care workers

Certification requirements are usually set by State and apply mostly to RNs, LVNs, MDs and the like. When the State does not require a certification or license for a particular occupation, the consulate should not request one either regardless of the fact that involves health care.

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Answered on 2/12/01, 5:27 pm


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