[suzanne4]

If you are in the US, and you already are; all you need to do is pass the NCLEX-RN exam, and the petition process can be started. Then you can worry about getting everyhting else completed. One step at a time, and all it takes is passing the exa, which you did.

Look for an employer, and the rest will follow. I promise.

[kingof heart]

Hi suzanne, i would like to ask from you specifically on my CA license. In my case, I passed already all the necessary examinations such as local PRC board exams, CGFNS, NCLEX-RN & IELTS. Since I applied at one of the Hospitals there in Chicago,IL what shall i do inorder for me to obtain my license. Somebody told me that the hospital will be the one that will work for it in my behalf (through Endorsement). Upon arrival in the states usually how many months SSN# will be in our custody?

[suzanne4]

About one week, after you apply for it at a Social Security Administration office. It is not automatically sent to you.

I suggest that you complete the CES report and get everything else done. Illinois is slow in the endorsing area.

But you do not have a CA yet, and will not have one until they receive the SSN#. There is no CA license there to endorse yet.

[SV RN]

Hi Suzanne!
I found this information on one of the forums, here, in allnurses. Would you be so kind to clarify what is this retrogression that they are talking about?
May it have any impact on me and my application (a nurse from Israel).
Thank you very much!

[IMG]file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CEvg%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtm l1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.gif[/IMG]Re: Longest wait from NCLEX - I-140 approval
Quote:
Originally Posted by esterp
Hi, we don't have any conclusive facts yet about retrogression. Unless the gov't itself will make some pronouncement concerning the same. As of now everything is just a rumor about retrogression. If your documents will reach NVC, perhaps we have nothing to fear of. that's only my opinion, pretse!

hi! this is what i read from http://www.murthy.com/. So, I'm thinking by October a cut-off date will be posted. So, retrogression again. But it's good if it's all a rumor.

DOS Predictions on Retrogression - April 2006 Update
Posted Apr 14, 2006
©MurthyDotCom
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently provided some updated predictions regarding retrogression and visa number availability. These predictions, issued at the end of March 2006 and confirmed in the latest Visa Bulletin, published April 11, 2006, essentially recognize that the recent occurrence of forward movement for the Visa Bulletin cutoff dates cannot continue over the long term. The rapid forward movement of employment-based (EB) immigrant visa numbers was possible because the demand for visa numbers was less than had been originally predicted by the DOS. The immigrant visa numbers have moved forward sufficiently, however, to a point where there are many eligible cases. So this could result in some slowing of the priority dates in the near future. [The most current cutoff dates are always available to our readers on MurthyDotCom's Visa Bulletin page.]
©MurthyDotCom
High Demand in EB3 Expected to Continue
©MurthyDotCom
The DOS states that cutoff date movement will slow or stop when the dates reach the point where there is a high level of demand. This has happened in the employment-based, third preference category (EB3). The DOS states that demand for immigrant visa numbers during the month of March 2006 was expected to exceed the total for the previous three months. The EB3 dates continue to be in the span when many cases were filed, trying to meet the April 30, 2001 deadline under the LIFE Act / 245(i), to take advantage of certain provisions for those who had no legal status in the U.S.
©MurthyDotCom
Schedule A Professions Could Backlog by Early FY2007
©MurthyDotCom
The DOS predicts that Schedule A visa numbers for registered nurses and physical therapists will remain current through Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, which ends September 30, 2006. They anticipate that a cutoff date probably will need to be established in this category in early FY2007, as the category has a total set limit of 50,000.
©MurthyDotCom

[suzanne4]

There are rulings trying to be implemented in Congress that will remove the cap numbers until 2012. There are normally only a certain number of visas issued per year, and the caps have been inthe past with specific countries, where there is a large volume of nurses.

It should not affect you at all.

[SV RN]

Thank you very much as usual,

Sv

[hopefulnurse88]

Hi Suzanne! I am new here and in urgent need of your advice/ opinion.

St. Ignatius Health Science College in the Philippines offers a pioneering 2-year associate degree course in nursing that enables its graduates to take the NCLEX-RN. No more TOEFL, IELTS, and CGFNS. This is so because St. Ignatius is an affiliate of Fresno City College in California, and thus grants its graduates U.S. degrees. As such, they are not eligible for Philippine Nursing Licensure. They should become U.S. nurses; otherwise, the almost one million pesos tuition will be nil! St. Ignatius students will spend five trimesters of four months each in the Philippines and a sixth trimester in California.

My questions are as follows:
1) With stricter U.S. immigration and visa policies, is it possible (or how difficult will it be) for a St. Ignatius nursing student to apply for and be granted a student visa considering that only one trimester of four months will be spent in Fresno City College?

2) My research shows that Optional Practical training is available to foreign nursing students only if they have completed at least one year of schooling in a U.S. university. Thus, OPT seems unavailable to St. Ignatius students who shall have spent only one trimester of four months at Fresno City College? Does "a year of attendance in a U.S. school" mean actual physical presence in the U.S., or will the fact that attendance at St. Ignatius in Manila which is an affiliate of a U.S. school suffice?

3) I have learned that a F-1 international student visa is co-terminus with enrollment/ attendance in a U.S. school so that graduation from the said U.S. school technically expires one's visa/ stay in the U.S. What must a St. Ignatius/ Fresno graduate do to buy more time in preparing for and taking the NCLEX exam, and in looking for an employer to petition him?

4) When can a St. Ignatius student begin his application for NCLEX? Is graduation from nursing course a pre-requisite?

5) When a St. Ignatius graduate (who came to the U.S. on a student visa) has now become an RN and finds a petitioner-employer, must he go back to his home country (the Philippines) and process his papers at the U.S. embassy in Manila where processing of visas is very risky and takes the LONGEST among ALL countries, OR can he adjust his status while in the U.S. towards getting an immigrant visa? A U.S. lawyer advised me that F-1 U.S. nursing students/ graduates have an easier time getting an immigrant visa thru adjustment of status in the U.S. compared to graduates of foreign nursing schools who process their visas in their home countries. Is this true?

4) Is a foreigner RN with an associate degree in nursing from a U.S. school, with NO work experience (nursing or non-nursing related) BUT has a petitioner-employer, eligible for immigrant visa? If he came to the U.S. on a student visa, can he adjust his status while in the U.S. towards earning an immigrant visa?

I know this is a very long inquiry. But, I am hoping for your answers that will surely help so many others who are as clueless as me. I have been wanting to apply at St. Ignatius College, but the risks and money involved are just too high. Thank you so much and more power to you!

[gemini_star]

This is also the case at Arellano University. They are offering a 4 year International Nursing Program which the 3 yrs of study will be at Arellano University and the last year will be at Anderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia. You will graduate with a diploma from Anderson-Broaddus College thus exempting you to take CFGNS, TOEFL, IETS and other English exams. Does this school's program and partnership certified by the US Embassy, US states, and Immigration? The tuition fee are somewhat cheaper than St. Agustine around 50,000 - 70,000 per semester i think.

[flyinghigh]

Dear Suzanne,I know it will be a wrong choice to go thru agency i read many threads regarding this but this staffing' agency claims it reputed as it can place a nurse anywhere out of more than 22 states and is attached with a big national health care facility provider in US.
As per your advice i am planning to write NCLEX,
Now ,in my understanding----after passing exam[as i have cg and vsc.]i need to search an employer to get me a job and file petition with the help of a lawyer.
Actually,I have a good job & no money issues thats whyI am not in hurry to sign up with any agency.Since I have no one known in US, a kind of uncertainity and fear of unknown pushes me to go thru agency.---with regards

[nurse_anne]

hi suzanne,

what does the BON of Connecticut mean in their requirements:

"foreign -trained examination applicants need only arrange for verification of certification to be submitted by CGFNS"

- I've read that the foreign applicant must pass the CGFNS exam before applying to them, will it be enough?
or do i have to apply for CES before i can take the NCLEX
- and how long is the processing?

thank you so much!