Dual citizen (Canadian/NZ) RN working in U.S.

World Immigration

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Hello all,

It's a pleasure to introduce myself on this valuable forum. I've been reading through countless threads and have learnt a lot.

Rundown - I'm a dual Canadian and New Zealand citizen, registered in New Zealand, and trained as an RN in NZ. I have my Bachelor's degree in nursing. My Mother holds US-Canadian-NZ citizenship but I am not a US citizen.

I am interested in the long term to eventually look at immigrating to and working as an RN in the US (I have a few states in mind). My question is: - would it be easiest for me to seek registration and a cross credit of my qualification in Canada first (via the TN visa), and then look at immigrating and seeking registration in one of the US states? In other words, does my Canadian citizenship help me in any way in this process? However, it appears to me that the TN route has no pathways to a green card... unless I am mistaken?

To clarify, I would be seeking to eventually settle in the US as a permanent resident, and in time pursue citizenship, if this is at all possible. Please be honest, if you believe this isn't possible, let me know. I'd rather be in touch with the reality of it than pursue something that isn't achievable.

My reasons: - largely personal, but after having travelled in the US (yes, different from living however), found it extremely appealing. If immigration isn't in the cards, at the very least I'm interested to gain some professional experience in the U.S., for at least 5 years in a specialised area of practice. The US really appears to be on the cutting edge in the medical sector.

Thank you all for your valuable inputs.

Dom

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

We have had Canadian nurses move to the US on TN and later get PR. All depends on the employer and willingness to sponsor for green card

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We have had Canadian nurses move to the US on TN and later get PR. All depends on the employer and willingness to sponsor for green card

Thanks Silverdragon.

Do you know how long this sponsorship programme usually takes?

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Suggest you check with a lawyer who is familiar with TN visa requirements before you invest time and money into your plans. Your motives are likely to be questioned by border authorities and it may be a problem if you come across as a self motivated Canadian of convenience who is using a loophole to circumvent US immigration laws. If you have no ties to Canada and intend to stay permanently rather than temporarily in the US, it is likely that American authorities will deny your TN visa and possibly ban you from entering as a visitor.

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Suggest you check with a lawyer who is familiar with TN visa requirements before you invest time and money into your plans. Your motives are likely to be questioned by border authorities and it may be a problem if you come across as a self motivated Canadian of convenience who is using a loophole to circumvent US immigration laws. If you have no ties to Canada and intend to stay permanently rather than temporarily in the US, it is likely that American authorities will deny your TN visa and possibly ban you from entering as a visitor.

Thanks for the heads up dishes. Please rest assured I have no plans on breaking or circumventing any laws. Was just interested on whether the TN visa was a route I could go down or not. If the first thing I do upon immigration is break the law, it doesn't reflect positively at all as the sort of person who should be moving to the U.S. Not the ideal immigrant by any means...

Sounds like the TN visa is not what I'm after, but rather a sponsor based visa for my intents.

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It might be difficult to get a sponsor based visa at this point in time because there is not a national shortage of nurses in the US, there are some areas where there are shortages and some where there are surpluses. There hasn't been a national shortage of nurses in the US since the economic downturn in 2007.

If it is your future long term goal to eventually work in the US, you should start the process of becoming licensed in the state in which you wish to live. The licensing process may take a lot of time and may require more education if you are not generalist trained.

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It appears to me to be an extremely tedious and challenging process. If the market doesn't require many additional foreign nurses, it sounds like an uphill battle. Perhaps I'll look at licencing, but for now might reevaluate ...

Doesn't really seem like a worthwhile endeavour given the unknowns and potential difficulties?

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I don't know, it seems you are at a point in your life where you do not have dependents and are basically free to move and try a different life experience. It might be worth investing a bit of time and money in becoming licensed and see what happens from there. Life is making choices and taking chances, all you will lose if it doesn't work out is the money invested to become licensed, but even that will be an experience.

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If you don't want to go through the licensing process, but yet still want to meet US and other international nurses, suggest you consider joining an international professional association in the specialty area that you work in. If you attend the professional associations international conference, you will have the opportunity to meet like minded health care professionals and gain exposure to other countries practices. Participating in an international group can be a very rewarding experience, as it is more meaningful than just being a tourist and can give you ideas that you can take back to your own workplace.

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Can't thank you enough for your help dishes. I'll look into the licencing requirements but you are quite right - I'm in my early twenties with no dependents, mortgage...etc to tie me down.

Attending an international conference indeed seems like a very worthwhile endeavour, regardless of whether I decide to move or not. Thank you for your valuable input.

I am generalist trained. I understand I will need CGFNS to assess my BN qualification. Assuming equivalency, do I then apply to sit the NCLEX examination? From there, what is the typical process?

FYI I am looking at licensure in Texas.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Once you get the OK from the BON you arrange to sit NCLEX with Pearsonvue. Once passed you then start looking for employer willing to go the immigration route and depending on place of birth will depend on how long it takes. Search for US visa bulletin and check out current month and processing times for EB3

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