As Congress has not acted to renew the legislation, The Department of Labor will stop accepting H-1C attestations of Form ETA-9081 effective December 21, 2009. The Department of Labor recommends that hospitals eligible for the H-1C program continue to sponsor nurses through alternative programs like the H-1B program or through the labor certification process. The H-1C program program allowed eligible hospitals to sponsor registered nurses. The program only allowed the sponsorship of a total of 500 nurses. Eligible hospitals must be 1) a “subpart D” hospital under the Social Security Act; 2) located in a Health Professional Shortage Area as of March 31, 1997, have at least 190 acute care beds according to the 1994 cost report, have a Medicare population of 35% according the the 1994 cost report, and have a Medicaid population of 28% according to the 1994 cost report. Related Links H-1C Nurses in Disadvantaged Areas
