The Green Card Route That Skips Labor Certification for Kenyan Nurses and Physical Therapists

Most Kenyan nurses in the United States know the career ladder — CNA to RN to BSN to NP. Far fewer know that their profession sits on a short government list that removes one of the biggest obstacles on the employment-based green card path.

Schedule A, a Department of Labor pre-certification list, covers professional nurses and physical therapists in its Group I. For these two occupations, an American employer can sponsor a green card without first obtaining a PERM labor certification — the lengthy process in which the employer must run recruitment, test the labor market, and obtain a prevailing wage determination to prove no qualified American worker is available.

What it skips — and what it doesn't

A typical PERM case adds a year or more to the green card timeline before the immigrant petition (Form I-140) can even be filed. For Schedule A nurses and physical therapists, the employer files the ETA-9089 form directly with USCIS together with the I-140 petition, cutting that entire stage out of the process. The employer must still pay at least the prevailing wage, and the case still proceeds under the EB-3 employment-based category — meaning the State Department's Visa Bulletin cut-off dates still apply. Schedule A shortens the queue to the petition; it does not abolish the queue itself.

Qualifying as a nurse

For professional nurses, US regulations allow three alternative ways to demonstrate qualification:

• A full, unrestricted license to practice as a registered nurse in the US state of intended employment; or
• A CGFNS certificate — the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools' credentials review and prediction examination; or
• A full, unrestricted license in the country where the nurse was educated.

At the visa stage, all nurses educated abroad must also hold a VisaScreen certificate — a CGFNS-administered credentials, English, and licensing review. Kenyan-educated nurses are not exempt from the English testing component; exemptions apply mainly to nurses educated in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the United States. Kenyan applicants typically satisfy the requirement through IELTS or TOEFL.

Qualifying as a physical therapist

Physical therapists need a US state license to practice, which in turn requires a credentials evaluation of the Kenyan qualification, plus the same English testing and healthcare certification screening at the visa stage. Because PT licensure is state-by-state, sponsoring employers usually specify the destination state early in the process.

Who sponsors, and what to watch

Sponsors range from hospital systems to staffing agencies that place nurses across multiple states. Serious sponsors cover petition costs and legal fees. Applicants should read agency contracts with particular care: many tie the nurse to a multi-year placement and require repaying placement and immigration costs — often tens of thousands of dollars — if the nurse leaves early.

The family advantage

A spouse and unmarried children under 21 are included as derivatives on the same petition. Once the family adjusts status or enters on immigrant visas, the spouse receives work authorization immediately — unlike many temporary visa categories.

Realistic expectations

For a Kenyan nurse already licensed in the US and working for a willing employer, Schedule A can shave a year or more off the permanent residency process compared with a standard EB-3 case. For nurses still in Kenya, the route runs through consular processing in Nairobi and depends on the employer's willingness to sponsor from abroad — something international staffing agencies do routinely, and direct employers do selectively.

The starting point is the same either way: credentials in order, CGFNS or a state license, English results booked, and a copy of the current Visa Bulletin before signing anything.