which exam should be taken next?

canterbury009 · Sep 12, 2007

hi...I guess experience is the key to move on to the next step..Just my own idea..Coz its where you will be able to gain confidence in your career.Goodluck!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 12, 2007

welcome to the site

I suggest you check out the International forum as you are affected by retrogression so no reason why you don't do both, get a job for experience and apply for licensure in the US of which NCLEX is part of that process, you are not apply for NCLEX alone. If you decide to go for licensure then you need to follow requirement for the BON of the state you want to live in. Plenty of info in the International forum

suzanne4, RN · Sep 12, 2007

Master's degree that is offered in your country will not benefit you in the US, it is not the same as the MSN so is not accepted as being that.

As Anna mentioned, please take the time to do some reading on the International Forum, and I am moving this thread to that forum since it deals with working in the US, and not the Philippines.

Please be aware that it will be several years at the earliest before you even have a chance of getting to the US. Passing the NCLEX exam does not guarantee that you will automatically get a green card.

You may wish to consider getting experience in another country first. There are already multiple threads on what to do to apply for licensure as an RN in the US, suggest that you start with the Primer on the top of the International Forum.

Lorodz · Sep 13, 2007

dont take the cgfns its obsolete and a waste of time.(only 4 states require them) try to go to POEA and look for accredited agencies, satisfy the requirements to work in a different country aside from the U.S. (thanks to retrogression). Most agencies require you with at least 1 year of working experience.

SF Fog · Sep 16, 2007

dont take the cgfns its obsolete and a waste of time.(only 4 states require them) try to go to POEA and look for accredited agencies, satisfy the requirements to work in a different country aside from the U.S. (thanks to retrogression). Most agencies require you with at least 1 year of working experience.

I have been working as a nurse here in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 2 decades and these last few years I have seen many new grads from the Philippines where I was originally from. The fastest tract that I observed is to come to the USA as a tourist armed with your NCLEX licensure. When you already have a US RN license you can apply for a job in a hospital here that is willing to sponsor you. You can then change your tourist visa to another visa category that will legally allow you to stay and work here in the USA. The hardest part of course is to obtain a tourist visa in Manila where you will have to prove that you have sufficient income or financial means to travel to the USA as a tourist. Also you have to be very careful that you not go out of status while you are waiting for your immigration papers or you could be deported and be barred from re-entering the USA for up to 10 years.

lawrence01 · Sep 16, 2007

I have been working as a nurse here in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 2 decades and these last few years I have seen many new grads from the Philippines where I was originally from. The fastest tract that I observed is to come to the USA as a tourist armed with your NCLEX licensure. When you already have a US RN license you can apply for a job in a hospital here that is willing to sponsor you. You can then change your tourist visa to another visa category that will legally allow you to stay and work here in the USA. The hardest part of course is to obtain a tourist visa in Manila where you will have to prove that you have sufficient income or financial means to travel to the USA as a tourist. Also you have to be very careful that you not go out of status while you are waiting for your immigration papers or you could be deported and be barred from re-entering the USA for up to 10 years.

Unfortunately, filing of AOS is currently not allowed anymore. Deadline for filing AOS was last Aug. 17, 2007 and there was an unprecedented number that filed. It will be backlogged for some time because of the surge and therefore AOS will not be available until then so it is currently not advisable to advice people to go to the US on a tourist visa unless the Visa Bulletin will say that the category will be current and this will not happen in the near future because of the surge last July and Aug. If one goes to the US now, she will learn it the hard way that he cannot file for AOS anymore and will be forced to go back after her validity to stay has expired.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 16, 2007

Also to add to what Lawrence has said if they come this route with tourist visa and then become out of status because you will not be able to extend tourist visa then you are looking at a ban of anything from 3-10 years and to do AOS you must have a visa in status which just ain't going to happen at the moment and in the foreseeable future

suzanne4, RN · Sep 16, 2007

I have been working as a nurse here in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 2 decades and these last few years I have seen many new grads from the Philippines where I was originally from. The fastest tract that I observed is to come to the USA as a tourist armed with your NCLEX licensure. When you already have a US RN license you can apply for a job in a hospital here that is willing to sponsor you. You can then change your tourist visa to another visa category that will legally allow you to stay and work here in the USA. The hardest part of course is to obtain a tourist visa in Manila where you will have to prove that you have sufficient income or financial means to travel to the USA as a tourist. Also you have to be very careful that you not go out of status while you are waiting for your immigration papers or you could be deported and be barred from re-entering the USA for up to 10 years.

And we have not seen one hospital in the Bay Area actually petition for the green card in more than a year. The ones that were considering it, actually cancelled out several contracts when the retrogression hit.

The retrogression has actually been in effect since October 31 of last year. There was only a small window of opportunity to get the I-485 submitted last month, and only with strict residency requirements will it not be returned.

And with the retrogression since last year for all nurses from all over the world, telling someone just to come to the US and take cuts in line in front of everyone else just is not the right thing to do. And it is actually illegal to come to the US with the intent of finding a job and remaining here, it is called dual intent. And the burden of proof is on the nurse to prove that there was no dual intent, not on the government.

And ICE is deporting for any found that have overstayed visas. We do not expect the AOS to open again for sometime, so any that are thinking of going that route are plain out of luck and have no choice but to leave the US by the date that is stamped on their I-94. To try to extend a visa is not a good thing, it is only being done with a very good reason, and wishing to wait until visas open up again is not one that is accepted.

Having a Visa Screen Certificate in hand is also a requirement now, USCIS has come out and stated that they will not accept any petitions that are not complete. And with the issues of EADs being issued when the nurse could not pass the English and having their papers cancelled, has forced the government to get much stricter. And the VSC takes several months to get, it is not an instant thing.

And for those that are from the PIC countries now, and have not started the immigration process are looking at a several year wait and no guarantee that they will get a visa to work in the US. Number of wanters far exceeds the number of visas that are available, and it is based on where the nurse was born, not where they are a resident of, or citizen of at the time of the application. Same way that attending school now in the US no longer guarantees that the nurse can remain in the US and receive a green card in a timely fashion.

Things have changed considerably in the past year. Both of my co-moderators here have been waiting for sometime to get their green card and are still in the process, and are doing things the legal and correct way. Do not like it when someone tries to cut in front of them with a tourist visa. What happened last year or in past years is in the past, and immigration has changed considerably since last October 2006.

wintle · Sep 17, 2007

:idea: wow, thanks a lot for all the useful information everyone has been giving, as a novice, i find this site very very useful and helpful... we've been petitioned in 1998 actually, and yes, indeed it's really taking so long since according to the uscis bulletin now, the priority date is 01oct96...of which, i believe will take even more years of waiting for us(if i ever chose to take that way)... anyway, with all i've read, i've made up my mind, i'm working on my nclex exam requirements now, and hopefully by mid or late next yearor whenever the scheduled date will be, i can already take the exam...luckily, my aunt offered to help me during the process, since she's already a nurse in california...

i'm thankful that i found out about this site, special thanks to the moderators...cheers! i surely will recommend this to my friends...i believe they will find this site very useful too...once again, i thank you all...

:balloons: