California for initial licensure not recommended unless one has VISA

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Over and over again, the moderators here have posted about not going thru CA for initial licensure, especially if you do not have a SSN#. You do not see you name posted on the website for the BRN, as you will not be issued a license until you are in the US and have a visa that will permit you to work.

It also takes about four weeks for you to receive your results out of the US, via regular air-mail. And the letter just informs you if you passed or did not pass; nothing more. And since a license is not issued, then you cannot endorse to another state with that procedure.

As many of you are aware, CA gives you three years to present them with a SSN#, or your file is destroyed and you start all over again. For those of you that decided to go with CA anyhow, you can apply to another state for licensure by examination while you still have a valid file with CA, and have them forward the results, and then get a license that way. Make sure that the new state issues a license without a SSN#. Suggest that you do not do that until it has been over two years of waiting, until you know what will be happening with visas.

Right now, you are looking at several years wait, depending on place of birth, for a chance to get to the US to work, there are no guarantees anymore; no matter what an agency tells you. They do not have anything to do with what USCIS does, and the fact that there are still more applicants than there are visas per year available.

We tell you things here for a reason, to help you. It does not make a difference to me as to what someone does, but when they come back later on when things are not working as they wanted, then it is time for me to say something. And this has been happening over and over again lately.

Best of luck to all of you, but please take the time to do some further reading before sending in one application for licensure. There is no application for the NCLEX exam, there is no such thing.

In the past, a few years ago, CA and NY were the only states that did not require the CGFNS exam; but that has changed significantly over the past couple of years, where only four do not require it out of all in the US. Things have changed and are always changing, recommend that you always check with the website for the BON/BRN that you are interested in. They can change requirements, and they do change requirements.

Scenario #1. i'll take the NCLEX through California. presuming i will pass this, i can have an easy time getting an SSN since i have a US tourist visa. i was made to believe that having a tourist visa can make it easier for me to secure the much coveted SSN?

No you have to wait your turn through retrogression. No short cuts.

Scenario #2. i will sit the NCLEX in California while in the US under my tourist visa and hire the services of an immigration lawyer to secure a faster release of working or immigrant visa. but will leave the US before my entry visa expires w/in 6 months. and wait for the lawyer to weave his magic.

Doesn't matter where you sit for you NCLEX. Not a bad idea to get a lawyer and follow their advice, which will be to return home ( I am guessing).

my 2nd best option is through Texas due to some relatives and friends are residents there: since the CES and CG exam are 2 different things, i'm thinking well CES must not be that bad a thing since i don't have to take another round of exams coz after many rounds of exams it really gets pretty exhausting.

No CES exam in Texas just an evaluation.

I would apply for initial license where you want to live.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
medsurg and silverdragon, with our correspondence i've come out with some possible options to take if i was to take the california route. kindly comment on them.

Scenario #1. i'll take the NCLEX through California. presuming i will pass this, i can have an easy time getting an SSN since i have a US tourist visa. i was made to believe that having a tourist visa can make it easier for me to secure the much coveted SSN?

Scenario #2. i will sit the NCLEX in California while in the US under my tourist visa and hire the services of an immigration lawyer to secure a faster release of working or immigrant visa. but will leave the US before my entry visa expires w/in 6 months. and wait for the lawyer to weave his magic.

my 2nd best option is through Texas due to some relatives and friends are residents there: since the CES and CG exam are 2 different things, i'm thinking well CES must not be that bad a thing since i don't have to take another round of exams coz after many rounds of exams it really gets pretty exhausting.

thanks for your inputs guys!

alain

Having a tourist visa will not make it any easier to get either a SSN or a immigrant/work visa. No matter which state you go to you will still be affected by retrogression and looking at several years waiting. There are many that have been waiting and some have been waiting since 2005 so not sure why you think you can jump over them.

Specializes in intensive care, recovery, anesthetics.

I don't know why the OP thinks you can get a SSN with a tourist visa. If this would be so easy everybody would be doing it.

Where did you get that information????

5cats

5cats,

its not the norm, but with some creativity and some dollars some say it can be done. i'm just not sure how true and how rampant.

The rules are the rule.....breaking them makes for deportation. The only chance is a h1b visa which is only for advanced practice or upper management. By all means speak to a lawyer, but a lawyer does not make the laws.

Specializes in intensive care, recovery, anesthetics.
5cats,

its not the norm, but with some creativity and some dollars some say it can be done. i'm just not sure how true and how rampant.

Those are fake SSN's, I hope you don't want one of those. We had someone posted here a while ago who was in deep trouble, because of the fake SSN her/his parents used.

5cats

got you guys, i guess better safe than sorry. thanks!

Alain

You seem to be a guy who want to the right thing. You also don't want to miss any opportunity ( which is also smart).

There are people who try to take short cuts that are not totally legal ( like citing experience that is not 100% true, for example say you have 3 years in a special area, while one volunteers in an area, that is not considered experience ).

Here is guidance from the US government - http://www.mnllp.com/GOVh1bnurse03.pdf.

Also years ago one could do an AOS ( adjustment of status ) on a tourist visa, that is no longer true.

We have read nurse brought over to find that there is no job. This is after they paid an agency thousands of dollars.

The US government is pretty black and white the purpose of a tourist visa is just that, be a tourist, not look for a job or overstay.

A reputable lawyer may charge a fee or do a free initial consult. The should tell you about retrogression, there is no way to avoid this. None.

Best of luck and let your common sense guide you and be truthful.

just trying to come up with the easiest option.

after thinking that waiting for the results of our local board exam seemed to have taken an eternity, we will be faced of another set of waiting which will seem to take more than eternity. hahaha

but we're keeping the faith and who knows retrogression will soon be lifted just when all our spirits seem to be going down.

life sometimes is Ironic, isn't it.

thanks to you guys, medsurg32rn and silverdragon for being the voices of reason.

Any advise which state issues a license for International Nurses if they pass the nclex exam besides Vermont? Planning to take the nclex soon and am looking which state I should apply.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

I would say not too important to get a license issued and we are seeing many states now require a valid work/immigrant visa before they will issue a license. The main issue is not loosing NCLEX results which is what happens if the state destroys your file and at the moment I believe only Ca does this. Once in the US with a valid work/immigrant visa it is easy to get a license issued once SSN is issued

silverdragon, is this the latest process from the boards of nursing there? it seems the processing changes everytime the moon changes hahaha.

but i think they're slowly standardizing the procedure so every state has a uniform procedure with the rest.

is it easy to get a HB1 visa and how long does this usually expire? someone suggested that after passing the nclex, one can hire the services of an employment agency to task them to contact an employer for you that will petition you for issuance of an HB1 visa.

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