Resource list for working in US

[suzanne4]

for those of you wishing to work in the us and obtain a green card, these are the steps that you should follow:

1. apply for visa screen certificate (this will be the most time consuming,

and can be done before you take any of your exams) http://www.cgfns.org

there is a separate area for nurses form canada or mexico who are covered under the nafta treaty. look towards the bottom of the list to see this one.

2. complete application for cgfns exam (if you are going to take it)

hint if you submit a complete set of your transcripts with the school verification form, this will cover the complete requirements for visa screen as well as the exam. deadline for exam is approximately 90 days before the exam. this is the date that all data must be recieved by cgfns in their office, which includes verification from your nursing board, as well as transcripts. there are no exceptions, if anything is late, and you will have to wait another four months for the next exam time. the exam is only given in 6 locations in the entire us, if you are planning on taking it there.

importantthe verification from your nursing school as well as your license verification must be sent in an envelope with the appropriate seal over the flap as well as the person's signature who sealed the envelope over the flap. if either of these are missing, it will not be accepted.

3. contact the bon (board of nursing) in the state where you are interested in getting your license. you are not committed to working in this state once you get your license. once accepted by them, you will receive a letter called "authority to test", usually referred to as att. you must have this letter in your hand before you register to take the nclex exam. you do not need to take the exam in the state where you will be licensed.

passing nclex does not automatically give you your license. until you actually have been assigned a number, you do not have a license in the us. so please do not list a us license for visa screen if it is not in your hand or you will delay your processing . also any reference to your "current" license means the license where you are currently working, not the one that you will receive in the us.

hope that this helps you and answers many questions for you in advance.

good luck with reaching your dreams and goals......

:balloons:

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

hi

i'm an australian student, finishing my RN next year and then am going straight into the one yr masters in midwifery...

my fiance is american and is about to move out here till i get out of school...we want to get back to the US asap...do i need expierience to get a green card or can i come over right after i finish training and seek work?

i dont know what the midwife course is in the US but here its 32 hr a week of paid work plus 8 class hours a week...so i will have a yr's exp behind me in L&D and am currently working as a CNA...

also i keep hearing ppl talk about med-surg year...is this important in getting a visa? i was planning on specialising right away but if its better to get a yrs exp i could do this also...

sorry for the pile of questions...we're just wrestling with the immigration dept. this end to get him in here (proving a real relationship and all that mess :uhoh21: ) and i'm starting to get the impression we will have to mess around on the way back too

thanks

elle

What you will need to do is read the post 'the quickest way to get things done and licensed in US' you will need to pass NCLEX and go through CGFNS to get your qualifications OK'd. I think if you are married by the time you want to move you do not need the visa screen as you will get a green card through marriage. Suzanne will correct me on this if I am wrong. CGFNS are slow but if you go through NY as the post indicates using their special verification forms CGFNS do all the running around for your transcripts etc

Best of luck

[hsnicol]

Ok I am still confused about this whole thing, so I am going to write and ask the dumb questions again.

I have already been thru cgfns and they issued a report.

This was sent to the Georgia board of Nursing who sent me a letter saying that I needed to do maternal/infant health and psych nursing.

SO

1. Do I go thru the whole process of cgfns to do the NY thing or would I just be wasting my money as I am guessing that it will say the same thing.

2. Where in North Florida or South Georgia is there a school that will actually take me on to do just those subjects, as so far I have had every single one of them tell me that they do not have any room or that I need letters from different Boards of Nursing for them to even consider me.

If it helps, I am an Australian Nurse if that makes any difference and I have lived here in Florida for the last three years.

I am here as a spouse of an E2 visa holder, which we have to renew this fall, so obviously I would have liked this all to have been sorted out before now, but it is still ongoing so I am at a stage where I really need to know that I am going in the right direction, especially as I feel that all I do is bang my head against a brick wall with everything that I do........

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

hi

i'm an australian student, finishing my RN next year and then am going straight into the one yr masters in midwifery...

my fiance is american and is about to move out here till i get out of school...we want to get back to the US asap...do i need expierience to get a green card or can i come over right after i finish training and seek work?

i dont know what the midwife course is in the US but here its 32 hr a week of paid work plus 8 class hours a week...so i will have a yr's exp behind me in L&D and am currently working as a CNA...

also i keep hearing ppl talk about med-surg year...is this important in getting a visa? i was planning on specialising right away but if its better to get a yrs exp i could do this also...

sorry for the pile of questions...we're just wrestling with the immigration dept. this end to get him in here (proving a real relationship and all that mess :uhoh21: ) and i'm starting to get the impression we will have to mess around on the way back too

thanks

elle

I had heard that L&D is very hard to get into in US-I am a registered midwife and a registered nurse and have gone back into nursing because of advice given to me concerning work as a midwife.

[Qatrn]

Hi Suzzane, My colleagues took nclex twice and failed under NM. Her last exam was Nov 2004 and her first exam was June 2004.Since one year is finished, can she retake the exam? Is she going to submit the reapplication or start all over again like finger printing and submission of schoool credentials?Thanks

[Trixiebell]

so another silly q for you...

can i apply for jobs in the US before sitting NCLEX? and this one is really daft but i can't figure this out...i sit NCLEX after finishing school right?

we want to get back asap so i'm trying to figure out the best way to get us home with our families!

thanks

elle

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

I believe you need experience but the process of waiting and getting the green card is a long tedious road, so you will be gaining your experience while you wait. You wont be able to take NCLEX until you are a registered nurse in your own country and have all your credentials verified.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

PS You could always get married and then you wouldnt have the long wait!!!!!

[suzanne4, RN]

Hi Suzzane, My colleagues took nclex twice and failed under NM. Her last exam was Nov 2004 and her first exam was June 2004.Since one year is finished, can she retake the exam? Is she going to submit the reapplication or start all over again like finger printing and submission of schoool credentials?Thanks

She can retake the exam again. She just has to contact the BON and pay the fees to them, as well as Pearson-Vue for the exam. Some states actually charge a fee if the nurse has to take the exam again.

[suzanne4, RN]

I believe you need experience but the process of waiting and getting the green card is a long tedious road, so you will be gaining your experience while you wait. You wont be able to take NCLEX until you are a registered nurse in your own country and have all your credentials verified.

You actually do not need a license in your home country to sit for the NCLEX or CGFNS exam. Just completion of an RN program with a full set of transcripts. :)

[suzanne4, RN]

hi

i'm an australian student, finishing my RN next year and then am going straight into the one yr masters in midwifery...

my fiance is american and is about to move out here till i get out of school...we want to get back to the US asap...do i need expierience to get a green card or can i come over right after i finish training and seek work?

i dont know what the midwife course is in the US but here its 32 hr a week of paid work plus 8 class hours a week...so i will have a yr's exp behind me in L&D and am currently working as a CNA...

also i keep hearing ppl talk about med-surg year...is this important in getting a visa? i was planning on specialising right away but if its better to get a yrs exp i could do this also...

sorry for the pile of questions...we're just wrestling with the immigration dept. this end to get him in here (proving a real relationship and all that mess :uhoh21: ) and i'm starting to get the impression we will have to mess around on the way back too

thanks

elle

You will have problems with being qualified to sit for the NCLEX exam over here. Your training is not the same as in the US any longer. You need to have hours in adult medicine/mental health/ as well as peds-maternal health to even be able to sit for the exam. Having the midwifery certificate just increases your area of specialty but doesn't help with the other. US, as well as Cananda, require the "generalist approach."

Sorry, but I know that this isn't what you want to hear.

[suzanne4, RN]

Ok I am still confused about this whole thing, so I am going to write and ask the dumb questions again.

I have already been thru cgfns and they issued a report.

This was sent to the Georgia board of Nursing who sent me a letter saying that I needed to do maternal/infant health and psych nursing.

SO

1. Do I go thru the whole process of cgfns to do the NY thing or would I just be wasting my money as I am guessing that it will say the same thing.

2. Where in North Florida or South Georgia is there a school that will actually take me on to do just those subjects, as so far I have had every single one of them tell me that they do not have any room or that I need letters from different Boards of Nursing for them to even consider me.

If it helps, I am an Australian Nurse if that makes any difference and I have lived here in Florida for the last three years.

I am here as a spouse of an E2 visa holder, which we have to renew this fall, so obviously I would have liked this all to have been sorted out before now, but it is still ongoing so I am at a stage where I really need to know that I am going in the right direction, especially as I feel that all I do is bang my head against a brick wall with everything that I do........

Any state in the US has the same requirements as far as having hours in each of those areas. So contacting another state isn't going to help.

Have you tried contacting any private nursing schools in your area?

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

You actually do not need a license in your home country to sit for the NCLEX or CGFNS exam. Just completion of an RN program with a full set of transcripts. :)

Oh didnt know that, was confusing registered with being qualified. If you know what I mean.

Here you dont sit for a licence you do your three years pass all exams then apply for licence.