Canadian RN -looking to work in US

Specialties Travel

Published

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are both RNs in Canada and have passed the Canadian NCLEX.

He specializes in neuro and is in the process of completing his ICU certificate, while I have 1 year experience in labour and delivery and currently work in the neonatal intensive care unit.

We would like to travel and work in the US- ideally California or Hawaii. We have been researching how to go about this for a while but I am hoping someone with experience travelling from Canada to the US can offer us some guidance.

I understand that without just packing up and moving to our desired location and then obtaining a job offer, it will be impossible for us to become licensed in these places right away (they require a SSN for licensing- and you cant get a SSN without a job offer).

We are now thinking our best option is to go through a travel agency- they have suggested completing the visa screen and then applying for licensing within Minnesota (as it has the fastest turn around)- from there we would find a job offer through the travel agency (ideally in our preferred location) and they would sign for our TN visa (as TN visa requires a job offer). However- my confusion lies in that even we would still need to be licensed in the state we would like to work (so does this come after we complete the TN visa? are hospitals really going to give us a job offer prior to to receiving the visa?)

I was also wondering if anyone can recommend a good travel nursing agency? I have read the threads but many date back from several years ago, and Im really looking for current info, especially since the Canadian NCLEX is relatively new and seems to cause some confusion when it comes to applying for a nursing license.

We have also considered first travelling to florida (as they do not require a SSN to apply for a license)- and then obtaining a SSN once we are down there working- however it appears you still need a visa to apply for a license (so were back to square one in that we need a job offer first)

Basically I am beyond frustrated and really just hoping someone with experience can help us out- it would be so appreciated!!

Thanks in advance

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment