Canadain Nurse moving to Florida

suzanne4, RN · Mar 15, 2008

Read the Primer at the top of this forum.

You will need to get a license in Florida before you can apply for the TN Visa that will permit you to work.

Florida also requires the CES, which is a credentials eval done thru CGFNS. Would suggest that you use the CES and not one from another company as you are going to need to go thru CGFNS to get the Visa Screen Certificate as well.

You will also need to pass the NCLEX-RN exam before any employer can offer you a job.

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The one thing that you do have in your favor is that hold a Canadian passport and therefore qualify for the Nafta TH Visa as an RN. Others are not so lucky at this time because of the retrogression.

carlee1995 · Mar 15, 2008

Thanks for the quick response.

I have a few ??'s

1. CGFNS can you please clarify what this is for me as I do not recognize the letters.

2. CES is this Credential Evaluation ______?

So right now I have the form from the state board of florida nursing to fill out then I have to write the nclex exam which I have a prep course with Kaplan arranged for May, then hopefully recevie a ttn?? no. to write the test.

3..then a job offer to take to the US customs to apply for a work permit

I think this is the order I am suppose to go about receving a license, job etc. in Florida.

If you could clarify the above initials for me,,,I can continue this adventure and hopefully get my dominos in order.

Thank You so much

Carlee1995

suzanne4, RN · Mar 15, 2008

CGFNS is the agency that does the credentials eval as well as the Visa Screen Certificate that is needed to have in hand for you to be able to get any type of visa to work in the US in health care.

Their website is www.cgfns.org

You have wrong information still. There is no work permit, you will be applying for a visa called the Nafta TN Visa, this is available for Canadians to use at this time. Otherwise you will be waiting for years as there are no other visas available at this time.

Florida BON will not even look at your application until you have the credentials evaluation done. The ATT is the document that you receive from Pearson-Vue once you have paid for the exam and Florida has released their permission for you to test.

Again, all of this is covered in the Primer at the top of this forum. As far as preparing for the NCLEX exam, suggest that you have a look at the NCLEX Discussion Forum that we have under the student tab at the top of this page. You are looking at perhaps about four months plus before you will be able to sit for the exam at the earliest as you will need to submit for the CES first, which is the credentials eval.

You also need to have a Visa Screen Certificate in hand before you can get the TN Visa at the border when you are ready to begin working, and have a job offer in hand already. No employer can offer a job legally until you have actually passed the NCLEX exam. It usually takes 4 to 8 weeks to get the VSC after you have actually passed the NCLEX exam.

Not sure what your time frame is that you expect to have things done in, but you are looking at mid-fall before you will have everything done, going to be impossible to get things done by this summer.