confused... ' need help !

basically you can never legally work in US while on tourist visa.

The US is under a retrogression at this time, there is no way that you will be able to remain in the US under any conditions. What you are wanting to do is go thru Adjustment of Status, and that is not available right now, and probably will not be for two years or so at least.

You also must have the Visa Screen Certificate in hand to start the petitioning process now, and ther is no way that you could have that in hand even if there were visas available in the time that you have available to you.

If you are still waiting for CES approval, there is no way that you will be able to test by the end of October here either, FL BON just does not work that quickly.

Plus coming here on the tourist visa with the intent of staying is not acceptable behavior at this time, at least in the eyes of many here, it means that you are wishing to take cuts in front of others that have been patiently waiting for visas.

You are looking at minimum of two years before you will even have a chance of a visa to work in the US, passing of the NCLEX exam no longer makes it an automatic thing. There are thousands ahead of you in line already and less than 10,000 visas available per year for those from your country under the H1-B visa.

Suggest that you take the time to do some reading here on this forum as to what is going on now with immigration, there is no way that you will be able to remain. And yes, an employer can start the petitioning process for you with the CGFNS Certificate, but most legitimate employers will not do a thing without the passing of the NCLEX-RN exam, and you are also going to need to complete the series of the English exams, the TOEIC alone is not acceptable for immigration.

If you want an honest answer, there is a good chance that you won't achieve anything and a good chance that you may loose your job.

No one will hire an RN that has no proper immigration/work authorization documents. You cannot work as RN by only having the license (passing the NCLEX), you have to be documentarily authorized to work by USCIS as well. Meaning, you have to undergo the immigration process and that process is not available right now. Last day of filing of the Adj. of Status was last Aug. 17 and this was only for those who were able to file their I-140 petitions by July 31. All I-140 petitions filed after July 31 cannot file the I-485 anymore (AOS).

If you want concrete answers, you may want to consult a reputable immigration lawyer but they will all be saying the same thing. It cannot be done now until retrogression is lifted. You can read some threads and posts here that has already consulted an immigration lawyer and they will say the same thing Suzanne said.

One way, is to just wait for your CES no matter how long it may take and then take NCLEX since you are already in the US, then go back home. No point worrying about your 45 days vacation leave expiring now since you already made the decision to take the NCLEX in the US. Don't know why you did it though since you can wait for the CES and take the NCLEX in Manila and still keep your job. That would have been a better choice, in my opinion.

However, since you chose to take it in the US and is currently in the US would mean that your intention was to really adjust status once you pass the NCLEX. Unfortunately, after passing the NCLEX and getting your license, there would be no venue to adjust your status.

You cannot work with just the State licesure and just the I-140 petition filed, w/c you can do as Suzanne mentioned. To be able to work you need the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and that can only be filed if there is a pending AOS that was filed and since AOS cannot be filed during retrogression then you can't work legally.

It is still not too late though. You can still go back home now so that you can still keep your job and just take the NCLEX in Manila. If you want to take the risk, then you can wait for your eligibility to take the NCLEX and take it there and loose your job as a consequence because there is a good chance that your eligibility will not come before the date you mentioned and even if it did by chance and luck, you can't do anything with it either since AOS is not allowed anymore. By doing this you will be sacrificing your job for something that can be taken in Manila anyway and something you wish can be done but cannot (Adjust Status).

It is a no-win situation if you choose to wait it out there, in my opinion but it is your choice on what to do.

Glad that you are understanding what we are telling you, and please be very aware that there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a green card for the US. Passing of the NCLEX no longer is an automatic thing due to the number of others that have the same idea from your country.

Have a safe trip home, and feel free to continue to post here.