Is there a visa for dental assistants?

[IslandShellz 0]

Hey all  

I can't seem to find a direct answer to this without some confusion. I'm currently on an f1 visa and my OPT is ending soon. While getting my Bachelor's degree i completed a 6 month dental assisting certification course but blindly on my part I didn't think that i wouldn't be able to use it because OPT requires a bachelors degree. 

Does anyone know if one can work in the US as a dental assistant?...if so what visa does that normally fall under?

Thank you for any help given!

[Becci391 339]

Well, I guess you would have to apply for a work visa.

 

[IslandShellz 0]

2 minutes ago, Becci391 said:

Well, I guess you would have to apply for a work visa.

 

Thanks for the reply! ... and well I've learned so far through googling that potential options might be H, J or possibly M visas for this, but I'm trying to gain clarity on if any of them have any objections to dental assisting or if any one knows best through experience, etc. My knowledge with an H visa is that you need a certain level degree like a bachelors for the position itself also. I have a bachelor's degree but in Biology, not for dental assisting-just certification. 

[jan22 3,053]

It doesn't matter if you have a Bachelor's degree...if the job doesn't require one, an H1 visa is not possible (except for top fashion models).  You don't need a BS to be a dental assistant in the US, so no H.  An M is a vocational student visa....not a work visa.  The J is an exchange visa that allows for study or work, depending on the program...but doesn't allow for direct patient contact in situations such as internships, so no work as a dental assistant.  

 

Bottom line ---  There really is no work visa that would let you be a dental assistant in the US.  Your time would be better spent arranging for your return home since you said your OPT is ending soon.

[RetConnOff 17]

no such visa....and besides.....you told a CO that you would be returning to your own country following the completion of your studies....what happened to that 'promise?'

[Transborderwife 4,666]

26 minutes ago, RetConnOff said:

no such visa....and besides.....you told a CO that you would be returning to your own country following the completion of your studies....what happened to that 'promise?'

Irrelevant and unnecessary here.  Mind change, so do people.  

 

OP that being said it doesn't look like you have a job path here.

[Coco8 1,042]

If you have your OPT, you should try to get a job that uses your biology bachelor. Biology is considered STEM so you can get up to 2 years work with OPT. If you are interested in dental, maybe look if a professor at your universities does dental research and you could work in his/her lab as a research assistant. Look for jobs at your university/college job website and any university/college near by. The most common jobs in labs require a biology BA and medical schools have plenty of labs.

 

I'm not talking only about your visa, but if you worked hard to graduate from college, it would be a waste not to get some practice on what you have learnt. It is much easier to get something right away than go back to your country and spend months figuring out how to get a job (plus, your certification might not work abroad).

Edited May 14, 2017 by Coco8

[Boiler 45,488]

H2b or EB3 come to mind.

[Allie D 39]

23 hours ago, IslandShellz said:

Hey all  

I can't seem to find a direct answer to this without some confusion. I'm currently on an f1 visa and my OPT is ending soon. While getting my Bachelor's degree i completed a 6 month dental assisting certification course but blindly on my part I didn't think that i wouldn't be able to use it because OPT requires a bachelors degree. 

Does anyone know if one can work in the US as a dental assistant?...if so what visa does that normally fall under?

Thank you for any help given!

Have you looked into CPT? Are you taking any other certification courses right now? A worker at my former firm didn't get a H-1B during 2016, so he enrolled in a part-time vocational training program that offers CPT (he took night and weekend courses) while continuing to work. The firm sponsored him again for a H-1B this 2017 cycle. Not sure what happened.

 

I believe that CPT is only valid for one year. You should investigate.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Allie D

[Allie D 39]

19 hours ago, jan22 said:

It doesn't matter if you have a Bachelor's degree...if the job doesn't require one, an H1 visa is not possible (except for top fashion models).

This is a special H-1B3 visa, not a typical H-1B visa per se. Some models also have O1 visas. Just a tidbit that's not necessarily applicable to the OP.

[Allie D 39]

13 minutes ago, Boiler said:

H2b or EB3 come to mind.

The OP would not qualify for EB3. At least two years of job experience/training is necessary as a skilled worker, alongside a permanent job offer and proof that no American workers are available to do the job.

 

See the USCIS website:

https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-third-preference-eb-3

 

For H2B, USCIS notes on qualification: "There are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work."

- https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-temporary-non-agricultural-workers

Edited May 14, 2017 by Allie D

[Boiler 45,488]

Also unskilled category.

[Allie D 39]

4 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Also unskilled category.

Yes but I highly doubt that a dental assistant with a Bachelor's degree qualifies as "unskilled", whether for the EB3 or certain forms of H2B (e.g. seasonal work, peak load need, etc). The burden of proof remains that no American workers are willing or able to do the job of a dental assistant, which I again highly doubt. OP can talk to a lawyer.

[jan22 3,053]

52 minutes ago, Allie D said:

This is a special H-1B3 visa, not a typical H-1B visa per se. Some models also have O1 visas. Just a tidbit that's not necessarily applicable to the OP.

I know...I just didn't want someone to Co e back with " ot all H1s require a degree" and confuse the OP, so I mentioned the models.

[Boiler 45,488]

The question was what categories could be used, the practicality regarding a articular situation would be something to be discussed with the the Employer/Lawyer.