[lobes]

I dont know what to do. Does this mean Im going to have to go back to the Philippines and sit for the local board over there in order to be licensed over here in Illinois? Is there still a possibility of getting the license requirement waived if I talk to the "higher-ups" even if I have dual citizenship? If so whom do I speak to?


I know this is nothing of your doing nor this websites but i am so disappointed with CGFNS & the IL BON for not stating in their requirements that a local license is needed to apply for licensure in the states.

If you were in my shoes what would u do if it's alright if I ask you? Sorry.

[suzanne4]

CGFNS does not have to state that in their paperwork, they are only evaluating your credentials and nothing more.

There are still a few states that will permit you to get licensed without having the local license, but that is changing from what it was just six months ago. The issue is what IL is now requiring.

And this is what I have been stating all along, that the local license was going to be required for most. Without extenuating circumstances why you did not write the exam or could not write it, and letter is not going to work in most cases. Since you hold citizenship there, the requirement is not waived for you since you could easily have sat for that exam and that is what the states are now telling everyone.

If it was me, I would have written the local license before coming back to the US. If you look at it from the other side, why should a state in the US, or even the entire country want to have a nurse here that did not take or pass their local license? Canada requires the local license and does not make any exceptions to this, same as Australia. The US has actually been one of the only countries that did not have it mandatory for all, but expecting that we will be seeing that soon.

And if you look closely at most of the websites for the BONs, you will see mention of including your local license number, and not mention that it is exempt for anyone. So they are covered there. It comes down to who is going to enforce what they have on their websites and that is what we are starting to see.

The final approval will have to come from the IL BON, but do not think that things will be in your favor over this, will actually be quite surprised if they bend their rules for this. The others are no longer doing so.

If you do not get approval right away, then just figure on returning there and writing the exam the next time that it is offered, otherwise you are going to be spending months and months trying to get things done and it will not get you further ahead. Easier to just go over and write the exam if that is what they are telling you to do.

Best of luck to you.

[suzanne4]

I also understand that this is not good for you, but glad to see that they are requiring the local license first. It makes much more sense to me.

And if the nurse holds a green card, they are not exempt from this requirement either. You are definitely not the only one.

Best of luck to you and please keep me posted.

[lobes]

I know there is a big influx of nurses trying to get a visa, hence the cause for retrogression, and that's why they're becoming more strict so I will concur that the local license should be required for all states but it should be stated & enforced in my opinion on their websites & applications. Instead it appears optional like in the case of CES waiving my license validation requirement.


In my case, not to be selfish, I don't see the need to take the local board over in the Philippines since I don't intend to practice or work there. Yes, I did go to school there but I had to go there in the Philippines for family circumstances & since I knew I had to stay there for several years I decided to take nursing while taking care of my family.

Do you know which states don't require the local license to get licensed in their state?

I appreciate all your help Suzanne. Thanks-a-million.

[suzanne4]

As I posted above, VT does not. However, that does not mean that you will be able to endorse to IL as they still require the CES for endorsement or even initial licensure. Even VT states that a local license is required, but they are still accepting a letter waiver; but that does not mean that this will last either.

When you go to another country to train, things are not as easy as one may expect when they return to the US. And your issue is that you still have citizenship in the Philippines so the government there will permit you to sit for the exam.

What if you were going to be going to Canada as an example? They would not permit you to get licensed there without having a local license first as well.

CES is only completing the credentials eval, and they do nothing else. They have to meet the requirements asked for by each state, and for those that have English requirements, then that exam needs to be completed first as well before the CES report is issued.

The states do not care that you were not going to work in your 'old' country, but the fact that you trained there still makes you subject to all of the rules and regulations for the foreign trained RN. The issue becomes which states are now enforcing their own rules that were in place and we are seeing more and more add to the list. CA has a very large Filipino population, and when they start something like this, then others have a tendency to follow.

You still have a problem if you wish to work in IL, and that is where you need to get permission from if anything is to happen for you. Trying to go for licensure in any other state is not going to benefit you as the CES is still required. And only the BON can make the exception for you, but I seriously doubt that they will.

Best of luck and please keep me posted after you speak to them.

[collegestudent2]

Hi,

I've been looking all over the web for someone to give me some reliable information about my situation.
I'm currently a BSN student in the US. My parents brought me here when I was 3 years old on a tourist visa and it expired a few years ago. Now I'm out of status but I'm still continuing to get my BSN. My question is that will hospitals sponsor me once I have graduated with a BSN degree in order for me to take the NCLEX? I have heard that I can't take it unless I have some from of legal status. I have also heard that nurses (even a couple of LPNs I've known) have been sponsored by hospitals and then have taken the NCLEX (and whatever the LPN equivlent test is). I'm so confused and I dont know who to talk to about this. I mean it wasn't my decision to over stay our visa so why should I be held back from having a career? Can you please shed some light on this issue for me? Anything will be helpful.
Thanks

[suzanne4]

It is not a point of even being able to write the NCLEX exam, that should be the furthest thing from your mind at this point but the fact that you do not have a visa to adjust to be able to work in the US.

There also are not any visas available at this time for you to be able to remain in the US when you finish your training, but your bigger issue is that even if you are stopped for a traffic ticket or even have a head-light out, or are on a bus that is involved in something, you are subject to being deported for ten years, and ICE does not care.

Tourist visas only permit a stay up to 180 days, so your visa expired years ago, not just a few years ago. Best suggestion to you would be to contact an immigration attorney as soon as you can, but if you wait until you complete the BSN program, it is going to be too late for them to even attempt anything.

LPNs cannot be sponsored by a hospital or any employer, there are no legal visas for them to work in the US. They may qualify for the OPT, but nothing legal after that.

Not sure how long it is before you graduate, but there are no instant fixes to the problem that you have right now, so no way to be able to remain here to work. The US is under a retrogression right now as well.

Best of luck to you.

Your other issue is that the SSN# is needed for when you submit your application for licensure, and if that number is not legal, it will get you picked up as well by ICE. Passing of the exam alone will not permit you to work, you need proof that you can legally work here. Americans need to provide that as well.

[collegestudent2]

^^^ I know that I can't work here...I dont work. I dont drive either for that matter. I'm just getting my degree now and I plan to graduate in 2010. My question is that can a hospital sponsor me just by me having a BSN degree?
I mean if they sponsor me then I can eventually become legal and then take the test and work...
So that's my question...any thoughts?

[suzanne4]

That is my point, you do not have a visa that can be adjusted. So there is no way that they will be able to petition you to work here. And there are no visas now, and graduating from the US no longer guarantees that one can stay here to work. We are looking at about five years or so before one will be able to get a visa to work.

But you will be opening a very large can of worms if you do not have a legal SSN#, we have seen quite a few picked up and deported because if this. And even when they were given the SSN# by their parents when they were children and just assumed that they were legal.

-------------------------
As a far as not driving, all you need to do is be with someone else that gets stopped for whatever reason, could be as simple as having a headlight out, or in a taxi that gets stopped or even a bus, or train.

Things have gotten so out of hand, that you can be deported because of any of this, it is not specific to you driving and this is the point that I am trying to make to you.

If you wait until you have graduated from your program, there is no way that an attorney will be able to do anything to help you as you will be over 21 and you have been aware of this for at least a few years.

A hospital cannot even legally offer you a job until you have taken and passed the NCLEX exam; but in your case without legal documentation to be submitted with your petition for immigration, there is not one thing that they can do.

Your other option is to leave the US as soon as you graduate and get processed via Consular Processing from out of the US. If you do get picked up, then you have a full ten years before you can return to the US.

[collegestudent2]

ok. Can I just apply for a visa for Canada while I'm here (after I graduate)? I mean I dont understand what a lawyer will be able to do now with me having to intterupt my studies. If I apply for a labor visa for canada is there a way that I could get picked up? I just dont want to leave before getting my degree...