For Canadian RNs: How to immigrate to NY State

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Hi to all of my Canadian nursing colleagues who are interested in immigrating to NYC or just NY state in general. I completed this process in February 2013 and I'm now working in the city. I didn't have anyone advising me on the process and while all of the information is out there, I had to piece most of it together on my own. In hindsight, there were many things that would have saved me time had I known in advance.

I decided to put this together to help anyone who might need answers or even validation that their process is correct. I looked on this sight many times trying to find answers. The important thing to note is that this is Canada to NY state specific.

Just a little tip before you make your final decision to move: The nursing market in NYC is over-saturated. Even with connections it's hard to get a job - especially as a non-citizen or green card holder. Hopefully this will change as more nurses retire, but at present, I would recommend getting between one and two years of experience before applying here. I applied everywhere and the feedback I received was that finding work as a new grad is incredibly difficult and nearly impossible as a non-American. If you apply as an experienced nurse they usually require between one and two years. I would also recommend getting your experience in acute care, as the majority of the experienced nurse openings were/are in ICU and ER settings.

As a Canadian RN with a bachelor's degree, you are entitled to work in the USA on what's called TN Status. It's not technically a visa, it's a NAFTA agreement work permit of sorts. It's valid from 1-3 years. To obtain one, this is what I did:

1.) Go to CGFNS.org and apply for the Credential Verification Service for New York State.

Pay the fee, print out the forms and get them back ASAP. When I did it, they made me have a few of my forms notarized. The CVS for NYS can take a long time because you have to fill out consent forms authorizing CGFNS to contact your university for your transcript and your licensing body for your license. CGFNS is usually pretty quick at contacting these institutions, but the institutions are painfully slow. I waited months for my licensing body (OIIQ) to send it off. They kept telling me that they would send it in 6-12 weeks. Believe it or not it took longer. Once CGFNS finished reviewing your documents, they will issue a report to the NY State Nursing licensing authority (NYS OP)

2.) While you are waiting for the CVS to go through, apply for your NY State license. I made the mistake of waiting for my CVS report to be issued before applying directly with the NY State licensing authority. It ended up costing me a few months. You apply by mail and you print the form out at NYS Nursing:Application Forms RN & LPN You only need to submit Form 1, as the CVS is your Form 2 equivalent. Before you can submit this form, you need to complete two online courses - Infection Control and Child Abuse. You will see these links on the left hand side of the above website. They take an hour or so and you can immediately print off the certificate. Submit the form with the certificates early, because at least when I did it, they took around four months just to process Form 1. By the time they finish processing it, CGFNS will have sent them your CVS and then they can review it your entire application (which can take another few months).

3.) Once you receive your approval letter from the NYS Office of the Professions, register for the NCLEX at NCLEX Examinations :: Pearson VUE Once the NYS Office of the Professions reviews and approves your application, Pearson VUE will be notified and they will send you an ATT (Authorization to Test). They will only send the ATT, however, once you register/pay for the exam.

You can register for the exam at any point in the process - which includes paying the exam fee, but you cannot schedule the exam without an ATT. The issue you can run into is if you do not receive your ATT within one year of registering, you have to re-pay the fee. However, if you do not register for the exam, you will not receive an ATT. You can always call the NYS OP to check the status of your application. It's much quicker than waiting for snail mail.

4.) Write the NCLEX. If you pass, you should receive your license in the mail in about one month.

5.) It's not over yet. Apply for your Visa Screen at cgfns.org This is what you need to get the TN Status. While it is expensive, the good news is that they already have all of your documents from the CVS. Because of this, my Visa Screen took under a month to be approved. They ask for the same things as the CVS, with the addition of a passport sized photo, a copy of your high school diploma (which you send, not your high school) and verification from NYS OP that you have a license. CGFNS will tell you to print off this form: CGFNS International, Inc. | Global Credibility | 4

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Congratulations,

I would just like to point out that #6 isn't 100% correct as you can not work in the US until you have the TN visa. At this point you have meet all bar one criteria and the last criteria is employer. Yes you can legally apply for jobs but until you get the employer's letter and go to the border and TN is issued can you legally work

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You are actually me hero for posting this. I have been racking my brain trying to figure it out. I have emailed the NYS nursing board and their response was just copied and pasted what their website says. Did you have to complete your child abuse and infection control requirements that is listed in their website or were you able to exempt because you're out of country?

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Hey CanuckRN,

I'm just wondering what area of nursing you have experience in and how many years of experience you have? I am also Canadian and would like to work in NYS! I'm already working in the U.S. in a different state and I have a NY license.

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You are actually me hero for posting this. I have been racking my brain trying to figure it out. I have emailed the NYS nursing board and their response was just copied and pasted what their website says. Did you have to complete your child abuse and infection control requirements that is listed in their website or were you able to exempt because you're out of country?

The required courses are available on line -- why would someone be exempt from basic licensure requirements just because s/he is applying from outside the US?

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Has anyone had success endorsing their license from Minnesota to New York state? Did they require a SSN for New York board of nursing? I'm guessing you need the CGFNS' Credential Verification Service for New York State, but I don't want to pay the $390 to find out I can not get a license. Someone from my undergrad program can't endorse to California due to a lack of maternity hours. Has anyone heard of this effecting New York licensing??

Thanks for you time!

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

US SSN isn't required by NY BON and yes CVS is required by all International trained nurse whether initial or endorsing license application

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I thought RN jobs were plenty in canada and NYC was overly saturated (like you stated above) so why would you want to come here? (just curious)

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
I thought RN jobs were plenty in canada and NYC was overly saturated (like you stated above) so why would you want to come here? (just curious)

Not really the case anymore. In fact some provinces it is very hard unless you go rural to find jobs for nurses especially RN

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Great post:)

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Thanks so much for this post CanuckRN2! I am in the same situation (Vancouver to NY) and your experience/advice has been very helpful!

I don't know if anyone has gone through this process would be able to message me (or leave a comment with some advice) but I am hoping to find out some ways to make myself a more desirable candidate. By the time I plan to immigrate, I will have over 2 years of acute care experience. However, after reading the NY posts, I am aware of how competitive the job market in the city is.

I recently took the TNCC and am planning to do my ACLS next month. Are there any other certificates that anyone could recommend?

What is the job application process like? Did you hear back from recruiters/hospitals that you applied to? How long did it take you to find work?

Does anyone have experience with travel nursing? It is not the way I'd ideally like to find work but I'm willing to explore my options!

Thanks so much for any and all advice!

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I'm reading this thread 1 year later and have the same questions about job searching - i just moved from Canada to do a psych NP program and also need to find work.

Wondering if you can let me know if 1 year later your questions were answered and you have a job?

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