Quickest Way for Getting Things Done and Licensed in US

[suzanne4]

As most of you know, I have been recommending initial licensure in NY for quite some time. And for those of you that did not heed the warning, you now know why.

New York is three easy applications only, next you take the NCLEX exam, then you get a hard license and can endorse to almost any state afterwards. Because of the requirements of the Special Credentials Verification for New York, you do not have to do any of the running around to obtain your documents. CGFNS will obtain them for you....after you sign the release and send them the money.

NY also requires two short classes that can be done on-line, one on Child Abuse, and the other on Infection. Both are available for about $15 each and take only one hour or so.

NY BON application can be found at http://www.op.nyed.gov. You only need to submit "Form 1."

The Special Credentials Verification can be found at http://www.CGFNS.org, as well as the Visa Screen Application.

Once you have received documentation from NY that your credentials have been received and approved, submit payment to Pearson-Vue for the NCLEX exam. http://www.perasonvue.com. They are the ones that will actually send you the ATT letter, upon approval of the Board of Nursing. Be aware that this ATT (authorization to test) is only good for ninety (90) days. You will have onlt that amount of time to get the exam done in, otherwise you will lose your payment and have to start again.

Hope that this helps................ :balloons:

Most importantly, NY will issue you the license without a Social Security Number.

[pinoy_guy]

Hi suzanne4,

First thanks for being so helpful to us here on this board. I've learned a lot. :)

I've a few--actually a lot--of questions, if you don't mind...

1. My friends and I have Tourist Visas. Will applying for the Visa Screen make us ineligible to enter the US on our Tourist Visas? Because they'll ask us if we have "intent to immigrate" and we'll have to say "no," otherwise we won't be allowed entry into the US. Since applying for a Visa Screen is obviously an intent to immigrate, will this endanger our plans?

2. Can you give me a timeline on how long it would take to get to the US, via New York and via California? Some friends are dissuading me from California, claiming it took their friends around 1 1/2 years to get there... Another friend claims that it'll take the same time for New York. Is this true? I'm going mostly by anecdotal reports here...

3. I plan to take the CGFNS exam, just in case. Is this advisable, or is it a waste of time and money? I noticed that even with the CGFNS certificate, we'll still need the Special Verification Service.

4. How will we fill up the New York Application Form, specifically Item #20: Citizenship/Immigration Status? All the choices are not appropriate for somebody in the Philippines. Answer "H" is the closest answer, but it's still not correct.

5. How do we answer Item #17: especially Postsecondary Schools? We are second-coursers, and from anecdotes, the first few applicants included their first courses in the Application Form (Pre-Med, MD, DDM or whatever)...and wound up waiting for 3 years for all credentials to be verified. Some people are now advising putting only the last school attended--the nursing school--as the Transcript of Records will be integrated anyway, including the schools previously attended... So what do we do?

We're currently at a crossroads right now, having to choose where to apply, California or New York. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading this!

:)

[suzanne4, RN]

1. Do not waste the time of writing the CGFNS exam.........

2. Complete your English exams as quickly as possible, this is one of the most important things......

3. You want a company that is covered under the Vermont office for processing........that is the fastest..............

4. Go for NY for initial licensure, as they will give you a hard copy license when you pass NCLEX. California will not, so it is hard to endorse from there.

5. Follow the steps that I have listed here..............quite simple......

6. As far as the NY application, just put that you are in the process of applying for green card and include a copy of your passport, and since you have a tourist visa for the US, you can submit that page also.....that is all that they require...........

7. I would fill out what they ask for on the application, if you leave something off then it can come back to haunt you later on....that you were not truthful on the application.............

8. If you want you can forward your resume to me and I will let you know what I think........... :)

Hope that this helps................. :)

[pinoy_guy]

1. Do not waste the time of writing the CGFNS exam.........

OK, so I'll strike the CGFNS exam off my list.

2. Complete your English exams as quickly as possible, this is one of the most important things......

I plan to take the IELTS after the Philippine Nursing Boards, this June.

3. You want a company that is covered under the Vermont office for processing........that is the fastest..............

What company? A Recruitment Agency or a Nurse Staffing Agency? Do you suggest working for an agency, or applying directly to a hospital? We do have our Tourist Visas, so we can go to the US for the interview...

4. Go for NY for initial licensure, as they will give you a hard copy license when you pass NCLEX. California will not, so it is hard to endorse from there.

Thanks for this vital piece of information.

5. Follow the steps that I have listed here..............quite simple......

So I basically submit the New York Application, the Special Credentials Verification, and the Visa Screen? How about the classes on Child Abuse and Infection, can I take them in the US, let's say after I complete the requirements? Are there accredited facilities here in the Philippines where I can get the certificates?

6. As far as the NY application, just put that you are in the process of applying for green card and include a copy of your passport, and since you have a tourist visa for the US, you can submit that page also.....that is all that they require...........

OK, so in the New York Application Form, I just check "H" for Item 20? "Non Immigrant (Temporarily in U.S.)" even if I'm not in the US? And I include a photocopy of my Tourist Visa? I'm confused...

7. I would fill out what they ask for on the application, if you leave something off then it can come back to haunt you later on....that you were not truthful on the application.............

Hmmm... This is our problem...the previous graduates put in everything, including their Medical Training, and it took around 3 years to correct whatever problems that created.

8. If you want you can forward your resume to me and I will let you know what I think........... :)

I don't have a resume yet, but I'll send you some of the milestones...

BTW, how do we go about it if we plan to get an Adjustment-of-Status? Do we need the Visa Screen certificate when we go there? Won't it be "Intent to Immigrate"?

Sorry for the questions, I'm hearing lots of rumors and misconceptions that it's difficult to decide which advice to follow...

Hope that this helps................. :)

Thanks! :)

[suzanne4, RN]

It can take about four months to receive the Visa Screen Certificate, if you are petitioned under Vermont, you will need it before that time...........

You only need the three applications for NY.........the two classes can be done on-line for about $15 each, while you are still in Manila...........

Just check off Box H and submit a copy of your passport with the applciation, simple as that..................

Problem is that if you do not include all of your training, you are with-holding information and that come back and burn you later on.........that is the same as giving false information.

If the information is given properly, then it shouldn't delay things. Just make sure that there are no dates mixed up, this will casue the biggest problems all around...............

[lady_vee]

Great posting, and so helpful to keep it as a sticky. I still have one more year to go until I graduate my nursing program. I was thinking of applying to California right after Grad, but now have reconsidered after reading this.

1 question:

How long do I have to wait until I can endorse my NY license to California ie. do I have to put in an X number of months/years working in New York before I can endorse to other parts of the states?

Thanks for taking the time to answer this

Vivienne

[suzanne4, RN]

Great posting, and so helpful to keep it as a sticky. I still have one more year to go until I graduate my nursing program. I was thinking of applying to California right after Grad, but now have reconsidered after reading this.

1 question:

How long do I have to wait until I can endorse my NY license to California ie. do I have to put in an X number of months/years working in New York before I can endorse to other parts of the states?

Thanks for taking the time to answer this

Vivienne

You can endorse immediately, no reason to ever work in NY unless you want to. Definitely do not apply to California for initial licensure as a foreign grad..if you decide that you wish to work someplace else you will be stuck as CA will not issue you a license until you have a SSN#.

Just follow what I have posted for NY, but you need to wait until you have finished all of your training and have a final set of transcripts available.

You will need to have the Visa Screen Certificate in hand to get your TN Visa. :) Somehting else that you may wish to consider since you are from Canada, Minnesota may be quicker for you in terms of getting ATT approval to sit for your NCLEX exam, but since you have to wait for the VSC, you may as well do NY as they will do all of the legwork for you.

[lady_vee]

You can endorse immediately, no reason to ever work in NY unless you want to. Definitely do not apply to California for initial licensure as a foreign grad..if you decide that you wish to work someplace else you will be stuck as CA will not issue you a license until you have a SSN#.

Just follow what I have posted for NY, but you need to wait until you have finished all of your training and have a final set of transcripts available.

You will need to have the Visa Screen Certificate in hand to get your TN Visa. :) Somehting else that you may wish to consider since you are from Canada, Minnesota may be quicker for you in terms of getting ATT approval to sit for your NCLEX exam, but since you have to wait for the VSC, you may as well do NY as they will do all of the legwork for you.

AWESOME!!! Thanks soo much for all this valuable info!! :thankya:

[zuriel]

Hi suzanne. How could I send my NCLEX result/license(hard copy) to ICHP for my visa screen I don't have CGFNS. I took California NCLEX.

1. Do not waste the time of writing the CGFNS exam.........

2. Complete your English exams as quickly as possible, this is one of the most important things......

3. You want a company that is covered under the Vermont office for processing........that is the fastest..............

4. Go for NY for initial licensure, as they will give you a hard copy license when you pass NCLEX. California will not, so it is hard to endorse from there.

5. Follow the steps that I have listed here..............quite simple......

6. As far as the NY application, just put that you are in the process of applying for green card and include a copy of your passport, and since you have a tourist visa for the US, you can submit that page also.....that is all that they require...........

7. I would fill out what they ask for on the application, if you leave something off then it can come back to haunt you later on....that you were not truthful on the application.............

8. If you want you can forward your resume to me and I will let you know what I think........... :)

Hope that this helps................. :)

[suzanne4, RN]

You can contact either the Board of Nursing in California or Pearson-Vue to send the information. ICHP will not and cannot accept a copy of the letter coming from you.

Simple as that..............

[Suzana]

Hi suzanne, It's so glad to hear from you about the suggestion, you're so nice.

Any way, I'm not sure whether you know some info of the education system

in China, the most nurse students went to nursing school not after the high school graducation, but junior school. So we didn't own the high school diploma, but our nursing program was four years, for some cases, the first 2-year program can equivalent with the high school.

Alice

I am well aware of the training in China..............

Do not worry about the retrogression currently in place. By the time that you get you your exmainations taken care of, it should be lifted.

Hi Suzanne,

It is a similar education system as in my country, so after finishing the nursing school there what is the equivalent title here RN or LPN.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Suzana

[suzanne4, RN]

If it is a two year program, where you are not required to take Humanities, language, etc. then it is equivalent of an ADN, but that is only if you were in an RN program.............

BSNs here are four year degrees, two years are usually pre-requisites for the nursing program, as well as the school basics to make you "an all around" student as they call it......... :)

Two year programs here also do not do a "community health" rotation.

[suzanne4, RN]

Hi Suzanne,

It is a similar education system as in my country, so after finishing the nursing school there what is the equivalent title here RN or LPN.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Suzana

Depends on which country where you trained. You must have credentials that allow you to be called a "professtional" nurse or 1st level nurse in your country to be called an RN. Most programs overseas are now three or four years. In the US, we have three different programs that all lead to being able to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam...........Diploma program which is hospital based and either 2 or 3 years, the ADN which is a two year associate from a community college, and the four year BSN.

In Thailand, the two year programs are equivalent of an LPN in the US, their Diploma is equivalent to our RN program...........just different titles but also dependson what was taught in the curriculum.....

Hope that this helps...............