[suzanne4]

Originally Posted by 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!

This is a brand new program being started, not sure how immigration is going to handle things. If you are in the US for your last semester, you would just find an employer and get an Adjustment of Status (AOS) filed on your behalf, just like students that were here for the full program.

Not even sure exactly how CA BRN is going to handle this. I never like to recommend programs that arejust starting, as there are always going to be some bugs that pop up that know one thought of and will need to taken care of. Samw way that I normally would not recommend a niew start-up program in the US. You do not have anything to base your expectations on.

And for these programs that will be in conjunction with US colleges, ho many of the instructors in the program are going to be American and from the stateside program and have experience as such or are they going to hire nursing instructors from Manila?

[suzanne4]

Originally Posted by 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.

A four program is more credulous to me and will not have any issues as far as immigration. A two year degree is only accepted for a foreign nurse if it is done from an American school. And I can see immigration issues popping up.

Best suggestion that I can give to any of you is to check directly with the US Embassy in Manila.

[suzanne4]

Originally Posted by 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

Please send me a pm with the name of this agency. Look closely at what they have said, they are attached with a big national health care facility provider, in true terms means that they will sell your contract to another facility. Please stay away from agencies like this. They are selling bodies and that is it. Where is thiswonderful agency based? India? Then definitely put on your running shoes, and stay far, far away. Too many horror stories to count from there.

[suzanne4]

Originally Posted by 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!

CT does not use the CES, only the CGFNS Certificate, which means that you have passed the CGFNS exam, as well as the basic English; either TOEFL, TOEIC, or IELTS.

[cutiebaby]

hi suzanne!

i just passed the nclex thanks to your program

i would like to ask you something. i am registered to CA BON, i heard bout this forum after i had passed my application to CA, so it was too late for me to take the new york state route. I am on the process of a spousal petition since my husband is in new york, is there anyway i can endorse to NY without a social security number?
i also have a friend who took the nclex with me, now registered to CA BON, he has also passed the english test now on the process for visascreen, could he possibly endorse to NY without a social security number? what would be the process? he is paying the processing and the exam fee from his own pocket, he is not tied to an agency.

[suzanne4]

Ny requires the CVS done by CGFNS, even if you are endorsing. For you, since it is a spousal petition, you will be getting a SSN# as soon as your documents have completed processing. You cannot work until you get the EAD which will oermit you to work, and you will send in for the SSN# right after. Just submit it to CA, and they will issue you a license number in just days. But go ahead and get the CVS peocess started.

For your friend, he has two options. Both involve getting the CVS completed, NY requires it for all foreign nurses. He can either apply for License by Examination, and once everything is approved, submit his score from CA to NY BON. He will need to request that CA provide the info to NY. Or he can still get an employer in NY, petition process just requires the passing of NCLEX-RN exam, it does not require a license and then endorse by using the License by Endorsement application. Once he gets his immigration process completed, then he will get a SSN#, and can finish the final steps of the endorsment process.

[nayeli0016]

Hi suzanne, I just wanted to ask how long does it usually take for the NY board of nursing to issue the ATT?

[Qatrn]

Ms. Suzzane
I took this message from another forum. maybe you have an answer. thanksPosted by Desperate from IP 85.195.123.29 on June 04, 2006 at 00:55:21:

Dear Collegues
I passed all the exam (cg,ielts,nclex-rn).I applied through internet to one o the posted agency here. They asked by mail to submit the requirement and told me that they will file my petition asap. i mailed all through registered mail and they received all my docs.
The problem is, i did not receive nor sign any immigration form like ETA 750 or ETA 9098. I asked them by email and they replied by sayiong that they will file my petition soon. It's almost 3 months now and I never received a notice of receior and no number or reference. I signed a contract with them.
My question, Can they file my petition without those said forms signed? Can I look for another agency...
Please help.....

[suzanne4]

Originally Posted by Qatrn

Ms. Suzzane
I took this message from another forum. maybe you have an answer. thanksPosted by Desperate from IP 85.195.123.29 on June 04, 2006 at 00:55:21:

Dear Collegues
I passed all the exam (cg,ielts,nclex-rn).I applied through internet to one o the posted agency here. They asked by mail to submit the requirement and told me that they will file my petition asap. i mailed all through registered mail and they received all my docs.
The problem is, i did not receive nor sign any immigration form like ETA 750 or ETA 9098. I asked them by email and they replied by sayiong that they will file my petition soon. It's almost 3 months now and I never received a notice of receior and no number or reference. I signed a contract with them.
My question, Can they file my petition without those said forms signed? Can I look for another agency...
Please help.....

I know where that came from and no, nothing can be submitted without thier signature. I would bet that the agency has not done one thing as of yet.

How much is your wage?

[suzanne4]

Originally Posted by nayeli0016

Hi suzanne, I just wanted to ask how long does it usually take for the NY board of nursing to issue the ATT?

Average wait time is about four months. Remember that you usually only hear of complaints here, not from the ones that got things done in a timely manner. All of my students got theirs in less than that time, except for one because there were issues with an incorrect birthdate and that delayed everything for a few months.