UK Nurse needing SSN for Florida License

babyNP., APRN · Apr 10, 2016

hey welcome to allnurses.

Check out our international forum with "nurse registration." There is a ton of information and reading you can do on the very subject.

Essentially you'd need to have an employer sponsor you to get the visa so that you can get the social security number. Unfortunately...hundreds of thousands of nurses want to do exactly the same thing. And the UK doesn't get special leeway for this.

If you were marrying an American or coming along with a spouse already on a work visa, that'd be another way to get a SSN.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Apr 10, 2016

Employers may accept that you have passed NCLEX and will not get a SSN until in the US as this does happen with a few states

HelenaUK · Apr 10, 2016

Thank you both so much for your replies I so appreciate it. So potentially a hospital could give me a job without a license as long as I have passed NCLEX? Florida Board of Nursing said that they would issue a 30 day 'permit' without SSN, but I don't see how I could get a SSN in that 30 day period anyway. I wish I could marry an American! I will look through other posts and see if others have been in my boat. I don't understand why the system is so hard they are apparently 12,500 nurses short in Florida. Thanks guys x

HelenaUK · Apr 10, 2016

I can't find a registration or immigration section anywhere? Thanks!

babyNP., APRN · Apr 10, 2016

Well you can't work until you get a license, if that's what you mean. Click on the nurses tab at the top right and then world nurses and you should find the forums. Unless you have a spousal visa, most people are waiting several years to get over. Most UK RNs are also missing clinical and theory hours in peds, maternity, and psych to get a license as well.

HelenaUK · Apr 10, 2016

Thank you again for taking the time to reply - I found the section! Yes indeed I am just adult trained, although have spent a few weeks in A&E paeds and a couple weeks mental health - but as for the theory running 'concurrently' well it didn't but I don't know if letters etc from people I've worked with in those areas would count... it is quite a massive process hey :-( I need to find an American man to scoop me up and marry me so I can get a SSN! I thought it would be a lot easier to come to Florida. Thanks again x

elkpark · Apr 10, 2016

Thank you again for taking the time to reply - I found the section! Yes indeed I am just adult trained, although have spent a few weeks in A&E paeds and a couple weeks mental health - but as for the theory running 'concurrently' well it didn't but I don't know if letters etc from people I've worked with in those areas would count... it is quite a massive process hey :-( I need to find an American man to scoop me up and marry me so I can get a SSN! I thought it would be a lot easier to come to Florida. Thanks again x

Your school transcripts will have to show didactic (theory/classroom) and supervised clinical hours in adult med-surg, pediatrics, OB, and psychiatric nursing (and that is true for any US state, not just FL). Work experience doesn't count. And I would seriously question whether there is a nursing shortage in FL; where did you get that figure from? There are still sometimes reports of a "nursing shortage" in the press, although there hasn't been a real nursing shortage in the US in a long time.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Apr 10, 2016

Thank you again for taking the time to reply - I found the section! Yes indeed I am just adult trained, although have spent a few weeks in A&E paeds and a couple weeks mental health - but as for the theory running 'concurrently' well it didn't but I don't know if letters etc from people I've worked with in those areas would count... it is quite a massive process hey :-( I need to find an American man to scoop me up and marry me so I can get a SSN! I thought it would be a lot easier to come to Florida. Thanks again x

Work experience doesn't count it must appear on your school transcript as theory and clinical hours.

They are most definitely NOT short 12,000 nurses in Florida. Florida is one of the lowest paying states. You would be hard pressed to find an employer willing to go through the time and expense for visa sponsorship but not impossible. But the employer must prove there is no qualified US citizen or resident applicant for the job. With dozens of applicants for a single job I think that would be difficult l

HelenaUK · Apr 10, 2016

Really appreciate you all taking time out to advise me. Will look again at this tomorrow, up early for A&E shift. I read about 12,500 nurses short in a few online articles and several papers etc said there's a "nursing shortage crisis" how strange?! So desperate to come. Do you think the training clinical and theory can be at separate times and periods? Will do some more investigating x

steppybay · Apr 11, 2016

Wow, there's a need for 12,500 nurses in FL alone?

Who wrote these articles? Are they recent ones?

Employment agencies (who may charge fees), "for-profit colleges and schools (looking to enroll more students to pay $$ tuitions in an already filled beyond capacity job market that most health and medical facilities can absorb now)?

There may be a shortage of experienced nurses but not near in those numbers and usually for many non-hospital jobs.

HelenaUK · Apr 11, 2016

Thanks for the heads-up - there were several articles from different papers and sources - and not agencies so I had no reason to believe they weren't neutral.. I appreciate things aren't always as they seem. Would it be more likely for me to get a job if I focus on nursing homes or non-hospital employment you think? I would do anything to come to Florida. Literally anything! I love all aspects of nursing too x