Canadian RN BSN to US Hospital (CGFNS - Visa screen)

[hypnotizer90]

Hello everyone. I just want to post my ongoing activities of my US application to be an RN in Maine, US.

Feb 2019 - Passed my NCLEX & Registered Nurse (College of Nurses of Ontario). I am a new RN graduate with RPN background.

March 2019:

1. I applied to an RN position on the Maine hospital website. My resume was looked at. A recruiter contacted me. Luckily, this hospital was visiting Toronto for career fair. I got pre-interviewed 03-07-19.

2. I paid the CGFNS (Visa Screen) (~$700CAD) for my Canadian Credentials Assessment. I will need to go to my previous colleges (Seneca, Centennial, Ryerson) & CNO for them to complete & directly mail my CGFNS forms to the US. There was an option to just upload passport photo (2x2in), High School Diploma on there website.

3. I mailed my application for licensure for the BON of Maine. I called them & they would keep my application for 2 years. I paid for the criminal background check. (Hopefully, they will mail a finger print card to me in Toronto if I understood the instruction right). I will go to my previous colleges & CNO for them to send a transcript/ licensure verification directly to BON of Maine.

4. A phone interview was set up and my contact recruiter emailed me link for online references check. Added my references & they fastly completed it. I had phone interview with the Hospital Hiring Manager 03-12-19. I received a call & accepted the hospital "contingent offer" 03-15-19. Next step is for the hospital legal team to contact me. Will provide update.

* Please leave any advice or recommendations.

[sail2sea]

Thank you for the info!!!

CNO has their own "Request for verification of registration form" which you complete and send it back to them and then they send your license verification to the BON or any other party you indicated on the form.

Did you use this form or did you use CGFNS forms? The reason I am asking is because CGFNS forms look much more detailed and I am not sure if CNO provides a service of completing such forms because they have their own, more simplified form. If you asked them to complete CGFNS forms, can you please share which department provides such service and how can I find them if I'm to go to CNO as well.

Also, did your School of Nursing agree to complete CGFNS forms as well or did you use their standard request for transcript service? The reason I 'm asking is because my University is in another province and they offer online service for ordering transcripts, which they mail in official sealed envelope to any requested party and I don't know whether this will be enough.

Thanks a lot!!!

[hypnotizer90, BSN, RN]

Quote

CNO has their own "Request for verification of registration form" which you complete and send it back to them and then they send your license verification to the BON or any other party you indicated on the form.

Did you use this form or did you use CGFNS forms? The reason I am asking is because CGFNS forms look much more detailed and I am not sure if CNO provides a service of completing such forms because they have their own, more simplified form. If you asked them to complete CGFNS forms, can you please share which department provides such service and how can I find them if I'm to go to CNO as well.

Hello. Basically, I filled - up 2 copies of CNO "Request for verification of registration form". 1 went to Maine State BON via regular mail (fees included) & 1 for CGFNS via courier +$40 with tracking mail emailed to me after it was processed by CNO.

I paid the CNO receptionist & gave CGFNS forms as well. I do not know if the staff eventually completed that form; otherwise, whatever CGFNS received is now "Meets All Program Requirements (Credentials)".

Quote

Also, did your School of Nursing agree to complete CGFNS forms as well or did you use their standard request for transcript service? The reason I 'm asking is because my University is in another province and they offer online service for ordering transcripts, which they mail in official sealed envelope to any requested party and I don't know whether this will be enough.

Yes. Ryerson University accepted the CGFNS form in person but of course with a fee ($50) + additional fee for requesting for the official transcripts to be included with these forms. The 3 schools I went to have different fees since I did RPN bridging to RN.

Since I still have access to two of my school's online services, I used it to order just the official transcripts to be sent to Maine State BON.

But for CGFNS, you will need to find out who is the school clerk/staff/personnel who usually completes these kind of forms as they also would know who is the "Authorized Personnel who signs the form" which CGFNS has on their database.

What I did was going to Website: School of Nursing Department/Student Services/ Contact Us and inquired. Once I discovered the staff who would complete the form:

1. For Ryerson U, I went directly to the school in person. I paid the processing + transcript from Student Records then eventually submitted the form to that personnel.

Or

2. I scanned and emailed the forms to 1 school located outside Toronto. It depends on the school if you needed to mail the form or email to them with payment info.

[livkacs]

I just went to CNO and the front desk person took my application (the form from the CGFNS website) and payment. You don't have to go to any department. It can take up to min 6 weeks for them to fill out the form.

Also, went in person to my schools with the CGFNS forms. I can only hope that they completed the forms as required by CGFNS. Will see...

[shero20, BSN]

On 5/27/2019 at 12:50 PM, hypnotizer90 said:

Yes. I applied for Visa Screen & Maine license at the same time so that I could both process 2 applications simultaneously such as going to school and CNO. I preferred to submit the forms in person so I know who was involved.

Just make sure the State you are applying to allows: RN license endorsement from Canada. Basically, For Maine, I filled - up a form from Maine BON (APPLICATION FOR LICENSE AS A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSE BY ENDORSEMENT CANADIAN APPLICANT) and mailed to to them via Canada Post Express.

Maine State needed a Social Security Number which I don't have and one of their requirement first is to get the Visa Screen.

1. I would recommend in person if you could. I live in Hamilton but my family is in Toronto so travelling is not a biggy for me. Besides, I went to 3 schools so I wanted to make sure everything go smoothly. (Not happy w Centennial though as they did not send the CGFNS form yet).

2. The schools & CNO would mail CGFNS form, verification of license, transcript, other requests via "regular mail" (which is included on the fee) but I chose "courier" for CGFNS with additional fee. For instance, I still have my login to Ryerson and I paid my transcript online be mailed to Maine.

3. I have learned that I am doing all of this paperworks myself since I am a direct hire from a hospital rather than a staffing agency. I spoke to one colleague and she said the agency she applied to was doing all paperworks for her.

4. Anyhow, having the Visa Screen (I think most States require this... please do your research) and a State license would help your application to the US much quicker. You just need a job offer.

Feel free to ask questions.

Hi there thanks for all the info.

4. NYS does not appear to require Visa screen for their state license. I still need it for the TN visa though correct?

Also, did you need to have your state license first before applying for Visa Screen, or you used Ontario license?

How long did visa screen process take??

Thank you so much for any help!

[hypnotizer90, BSN, RN]

@shero20
- Yes, Visa Screen is needed for TN.  It may not be required by some States like NY, Cali, MI. 
- I applied for CGFNS & ME State licensure at the same time for convenience. I used my Ontario RN registration for the Visa Screen. I received my Visa Screen certificate first, crossed the border with TN, waited for SSN in the US then my State license was eventually released. 
- About 3months pre-COVID & also one of my school was delayed in sending the paperwork. 

[shero20, BSN]

@hypnotizer90Woh thanks for the quick response!!

- Aw man, I was hoping I could bypass that visa screen - seems so pointless to need verification if a state has already approved your credentials. 

-3 months including the time it took for schools and CNO to send stuff? thats reassuring. I read sometimes 6 months just to process it

[hypnotizer90, BSN, RN]

@shero20

- I did the RPN-BSN so longer for 3 schools to process. It really depends on your college/university. I guess they are more efficient now since a lot of Canadians are requesting. 
- CNO takes ~ 1 month to send RN verification. Now that they only send verification thru email, that’s probably faster. (I requested one for Cali this year). Please let me know how CGFNS deal with that.

- I requested CGFNS eDAS earlier this year but CGFNS took so long, possibly because of COVID. 

[shero20, BSN]

@hypnotizer90 

Thanks so much for the info! 

[Rafa Palma]

On 5/27/2019 at 10:50 AM, hypnotizer90 said:

Yes. I applied for Visa Screen & Maine license at the same time so that I could both process 2 applications simultaneously such as going to school and CNO. I preferred to submit the forms in person so I know who was involved.

Just make sure the State you are applying to allows: RN license endorsement from Canada. Basically, For Maine, I filled - up a form from Maine BON (APPLICATION FOR LICENSE AS A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSE BY ENDORSEMENT CANADIAN APPLICANT) and mailed to to them via Canada Post Express.

Maine State needed a Social Security Number which I don't have and one of their requirement first is to get the Visa Screen.

1. I would recommend in person if you could. I live in Hamilton but my family is in Toronto so travelling is not a biggy for me. Besides, I went to 3 schools so I wanted to make sure everything go smoothly. (Not happy w Centennial though as they did not send the CGFNS form yet).

2. The schools & CNO would mail CGFNS form, verification of license, transcript, other requests via "regular mail" (which is included on the fee) but I chose "courier" for CGFNS with additional fee. For instance, I still have my login to Ryerson and I paid my transcript online be mailed to Maine.

3. I have learned that I am doing all of this paperworks myself since I am a direct hire from a hospital rather than a staffing agency. I spoke to one colleague and she said the agency she applied to was doing all paperworks for her.

4. Anyhow, having the Visa Screen (I think most States require this... please do your research) and a State license would help your application to the US much quicker. You just need a job offer.

Feel free to ask questions.

Hi, so having an RN state license makes it easier and faster to obtain a cgfns visascree?

I am waiting for my school transcripts and my license to be reviewd  by cgdns.

[hypnotizer90, BSN, RN]

Having a State RN license doesn’t affect how long CGFNS will release your Visa Screen. I just applied for the Visa Screen and State license from the Board of Nursing at the same time since both requirements were the same. 

[Rafa Palma]

Thank you for your response.