want to move to USA

[marjaneh]

I am registered nurse in Australia and want to move to USA.I applied for California board of nursing but they rejected my application as they need SSN. Anyone knows how I can register for NCLEX as a foreigner nurse?

[YeXinZhi, BSN, RN]

Hi Marjaneh,

Unfortunately that is the law, enacted in 2015. You need either an SSN or ITIN which is hard to obtain unless you are in the U.S. on a valid visa authorizing work. The ITIN can be issued to non-resident aliens only if you have to file a tax return as well.

You can apply for registration in states that do not require an SSN or ITIN and you can apply for reciprocity with California in the future (given that you've already landed in the U.S. on either a work or immigrant visa and can obtain an SSN or an ITIN).

Hope this helps.

I'm an Aussie nurse too but worked on my application before the new law was enacted. Back then, the California BRN could accept applications from alien nurses and could give them authority to take the NCLEX but would not confer registration unless an SSN was provided.

Also, since you are Aussie-educated (I'm assuming you are), you wouldn't have been trained in obstetrics and paediatrics (U.S. nurses are). As a result, an assessment of your education would probably say it is not equivalent to a U.S. nursing degree and you wouls therefore need to go through a series of courses to make it comparable.

I hope that helps.

Each individual state has its own rules so it pays to do more research.