CGFNS Visascreen and CES Processing Time Canadian RN

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I am wondering if any RNs have gone through the CGFNS Visascreen process recently. I am hoping to get an average for the processing times for Canadian nurses. I submitted all documents and had all my transcripts/documents from my university as well as licensing information, sent off right away, which was around July 15th. I also applied for a CES report for my Washington State nursing license.

Just curious if anyone can give me a heads up if this process is a couple of months or if I'm looking at more like 3 or 4 months.

I have already written my NCLEX exam in Canada, so really I am just waiting on CGFNS to process and issue the certificates.

Any additional info from anyone who has gone through this recently would be appreciated!

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I am currently going through it, and it's a non-starter if you're in Ontario. Both the CNO and both my nursing schools (RPN and RN) are unable to process the forms in person due to restrictions with office workers and the pandemic. They can only do electronic forms at this point in time. CGFNS also are not helpful as they do not accept electronic documents. I've been in process since May, and CGFNS has received nothing from my nursing board or schools. It likely is different in other provinces. Are you in BC? I ended up getting a full-time temp job locally while I waited.

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Misstheo said:

I am currently going through it, and it's a non-starter if you're in Ontario. Both the CNO and both my nursing schools (RPN and RN) are unable to process the forms in person due to restrictions with office workers and the pandemic. They can only do electronic forms at this point in time. CGFNS also are not helpful as they do not accept electronic documents. I've been in process since May, and CGFNS has received nothing from my nursing board or schools. It likely is different in other provinces. Are you in BC? I ended up getting a full-time temp job locally while I waited.

Oh, WOW! that is frustrating. It's unfortunate that they are unwilling to print your forms and send them on your behalf. I'm sure you asked them. Ya, I have also found CGFNS support staff to be unhelpful at times. Yes, I am going from BC! Thankfully CGFNS has received all my documents except for the forms from my school (which I know were delivered at the beginning of august). So I'm hopeful that I will be issued a certificate quite soon! I hope you get your forms soon. That is definitely a frustrating situation.

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Update for anyone who might be scrolling through for information:

1. July 22nd, 2020: applied for CES report and sent in all documents

2. August 24th, 2020: CES report issued

3. still waiting for the VisaScreen certificate, but I am hopeful that it will be issued in the next few days. It says "Ready for Review," and I applied for that on July 16th, 2020.

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Misstheo said:

I am currently going through it, and it's a non-starter if you're in Ontario. Both the CNO and both my nursing schools (RPN and RN) are unable to process the forms in person due to restrictions with office workers and the pandemic. They can only do electronic forms at this point in time. CGFNS also are not helpful as they do not accept electronic documents. I've been in process since May, and CGFNS has received nothing from my nursing board or schools. It likely is different in other provinces. Are you in BC? I ended up getting a full-time temp job locally while I waited.

Hey Misstheo, 

I am in a similar position with the CNO and working towards my Visascreen. I recently bridged from RPN to RN, passed the NCLEX, and registered with the CNO. 
I have a question for you; when you filled out your CFGNS Visascreen application, did you put RPN and RN for everything? It says to include all relatable jobs, but I don't want them to think I'm applying as an LVN/LPN additionally. 

Anyways any advice, thoughts, or progress reports on your journey would be much appreciated!

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jennycrands said:

Update for anyone who might be scrolling through for information:

1. July 22nd, 2020: applied for CES report and sent in all documents

2. August 24th, 2020: CES report issued

3. still waiting for the VisaScreen certificate, but I am hopeful that it will be issued in the next few days. It says "Ready for Review," and I applied for that on July 16th, 2020.

Hi Jennycrands!

Did you receive your VisaScreen certificate yet? How long did it take after you applied if you did?

Thank you.

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I'm from Ontario, Canada. I want to work in New York.

This is my journey so far:
- I have my NCLEX-RN
- CGFNS Visa Screen (Just applied Jan 2021, waiting to hear back)
- New York State License (NYS License) is pending. I used CGFNS's NYS Verification to help me. First applied in Sept. 2019. After lots of obstacles of wrong documents and missing signatures, it was finally completed and sent to NYSED (New York State Education Department) in May 2020. In Sept 2020, NYSED informed me that CNO has to send NYSED a copy of my NCLEX and license verification themselves (even though it was already included in my CGFNS NYS verification). After more back and forth with NYSED, CNO, and covid interruptions (e-mail and mailing issues), CNO sent my license and info to NYSED in Dec. 2020. I am currently waiting to hear back from NYSED if they will give me a New York State RN License.

There were a lot of mistakes, miscommunication, and COVID-19 interruptions with my NYS license application. I believe it would not have taken this long if COVID didn't happen.

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Jine said:

Hi Jennycrands!

Did you receive your VisaScreen certificate yet? How long did it take after you applied if you did?

Thank you.

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I'm from Ontario, Canada. I want to work in New York.

This is my journey so far:
- I have my NCLEX-RN
- CGFNS Visa Screen (Just applied Jan 2021, waiting to hear back)
- New York State License (NYS License) is pending. I used CGFNS's NYS Verification to help me. First applied in Sept. 2019. After lots of obstacles of wrong documents and missing signatures, it was finally completed and sent to NYSED (New York State Education Department) in May 2020. In Sept 2020, NYSED informed me that CNO has to send NYSED a copy of my NCLEX and license verification themselves (even though it was already included in my CGFNS NYS verification). After more back and forth with NYSED, CNO, and covid interruptions (e-mail and mailing issues), CNO sent my license and info to NYSED in Dec. 2020. I am currently waiting to hear back from NYSED if they will give me a New York State RN License.

There were a lot of mistakes, miscommunication, and COVID-19 interruptions with my NYS license application. I believe it would not have taken this long if COVID didn't happen.

Hey! I received my CGFNS certificate just a few days after my CES report was issued. It was about another four weeks before I had my Washington state license, and then I applied for jobs. From the start of CFNS to starting my job in the US, it took about five months (I had a long delay after arriving here as it took a while to get an appointment with social security, then my SSN never came in the mail, and had to be re-issued, etc. So my start date for work had to be pushed back almost two months, so hopefully, it's faster for others!) I'm currently working in the US now, though! Let me know if you have more questions! I know it can be hard to find the right info, and I remember looking all over forums for others in the same boat. Covid has also definitely made things more complicated, so I'm more than happy to help if I can!

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Thanks for the quick response! I have more questions I want to ask you, but it won't let me direct message you. If you can direct message me, can we chat through email or something? Thank you!

jennycrands said:

Hey! I received my CGFNS certificate just a few days after my CES report was issued. It was about another four weeks before I had my Washington state license, and then I applied for jobs. From the start of CFNS to starting my job in the US, it took about five months (I had a long delay after arriving here as it took a while to get an appointment with social security, then my SSN never came in the mail, and had to be re-issued, etc. So my start date for work had to be pushed back almost two months, so hopefully, it's faster for others!) I'm currently working in the US now, though! Let me know if you have more questions! I know it can be hard to find the right info, and I remember looking all over forums for others in the same boat. Covid has also definitely made things more complicated, so I'm more than happy to help if I can!

Thanks for the quick response! I have more questions I want to ask you, but it won't let me direct message you. If you can direct message me, can we chat through email or something? Thank you!

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For the CGFNS Visa Screen Certificate, did you pay for the regular option or pay extra for the expedited version?

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Jine said:

For the CGFNS Visa Screen Certificate, did you pay for the regular option or pay extra for the expedited version?

I didn't pay for the expedited version. Once all my documents were marked as "received,” I got my certificate quite shortly after that, so I think the expedited option is just a money grab. It doesn't let me direct message you either, but if you want to post your email address, I can send you an email.

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Jine said:

Hi guys, 

Hoping someone can help me! Currently looking into this process, but I'm a little confused with what the first step is. I'm currently looking to obtain an Illinois RN license. I passed my NCLEX in Ontario last year. Should I automatically apply for the VisaScreen, or do I have to apply for an Illinois license first with a CES report? 
 

This is so confusing.

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You need to apply for the visa screen (this meets the federal requirement for nurses in the USA) and the CES report (if that's what you need for Illinois, make sure you check on the CGFNS website which type of report you need for which state) but both can be done concurrently. I'd recommend getting all your papers in ASAP, as it takes about 4+ weeks for them to process it all. You can figure the rest out while you wait on CGFNS. Start looking for jobs, and maybe reach out to some hospitals and see if they are familiar with hiring Canadians. It seems pretty common over here in Washington.

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