Foreign (Nepal) educated Nurse, currently in New York under F1 visa, how to proceed?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 27, 2008

Hi there, Namaste!
I apologize if this question has been answered before. I did find a thread that sort-of answered my question but I thought I'd be sure.
I completed by 3 year Nursing degree in Nepal. After that I worked in a government hospital in Nepal as a RN for about a year.
Then I came to the United States to study Bachlors under f1 visa (in another degree).
Although I have scholorship... my expenses have increased and so I decided to use my Nursing degree and work.
Not knowsing the procedure and due to my impulsive nature... I registered for the NCLEX exam only to learn that I would not be able to take the exam until deemed fit my New York state.
So, I got my credentials verified by CGFNS... it took more than 6 months to complete.
Now, after CGNFS submitted my report to the State... I applied with New York state... then after 2 weeks, called them... they said they received my application and have forwarded it to the review department.
Hoping that everything goes well... (it should, I did well in nursing school), I will take the NCLEX exam and pass.
Then? I am guessing I need to contact New York Education Department to get my registered...
Then what?
I learned there are no visas for nurse... (at least not easy ones.. and I DONT have a bachlors degree yet)... so what is the next step?
What happens next? how do I start working?
** Also, does anyone know how long NYS takes to review my Nepal's Nursing Degree?
** And how long is takes to get RN after I pass my NCLEX?
** And, how long for the immigration stuff to be over before I can start working?
I know, I have a long thread and lots of question... but seeing other threads I realized that all nurses community was very generous and ready to help... I could like to thank everyone for taking their time to read and possible answer my questions...
Dhanyabad! (Thanks)

Have you paid NY? once they review your CVS they will give permission to sit NCLEX, as far as I am aware once they have everything doesn't take too long but can't give exact dates. Once you passed NCLEX you will get issued a RN license but currently there is no way you can adjust your visa and work and doubt that window will open for a few years. No one has any ideas at the moment on how long it will last but expect nothing really to happen until after the elections later this year so probably nothing until 2009.

dexter1234 · Jan 27, 2008

Have you paid NY? once they review your CVS they will give permission to sit NCLEX, as far as I am aware once they have everything doesn't take too long but can't give exact dates. Once you passed NCLEX you will get issued a RN license but currently there is no way you can adjust your visa and work and doubt that window will open for a few years. No one has any ideas at the moment on how long it will last but expect nothing really to happen until after the elections later this year so probably nothing until 2009.

Yes... I paid $135 to NYS... I have the child abuse identification and communicable disease certification also done... as far as I know.. they have everything.. I sent them my IELTS just in case... I have an overall band of 7.5...

So... what you mean is... although I have RN from NYS I simply wont be able to work?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 27, 2008

So... what you mean is... although I have RN from NYS I simply wont be able to work?

Yes that is what I mean, there is no way at the moment you can change your visa and work and with retrogression and the huge and I mean huge amount of applications that was submitted when the window opened up for a month in july07 I doubt another window will open for months or even years to adjust your status whilst in the US. Also once you have passed NCLEX you will need a Visa screen certificate which you can find on the CGFNS website, this you need for immigration purposes.

dexter1234 · Jan 27, 2008

Yes that is what I mean, there is no way at the moment you can change your visa and work and with retrogression and the huge and I mean huge amount of applications that was submitted when the window opened up for a month in july07 I doubt another window will open for months or even years to adjust your status whilst in the US. Also once you have passed NCLEX you will need a Visa screen certificate which you can find on the CGFNS website, this you need for immigration purposes.

Thank you for your answer... it certainly was heplful.

Just to make this thread helpful to other viewers... can you change the title to "Foreign (Nepal) educated Nurse, currently in New York under F1 visa, how to proce..." ? Visitors might be hesitant to open it if they see only Nepal... including Nepal might be helpful to find other Nepali visitors...

Anyway... after your reply... I have two options (well three) I am likely to take... (I am writing this to possible help other viewers in my condition)

1) After I get my RN, I will visit hospitals nearby... I know they are in shortange of nurses and see if they have any opinions... but I am not relying too much on this... (then will proceed to step 2 or 3)

2) i am very hopeful about this step... I learned that a student who has been in the US under F1 visa can apply for work permit if he is able to show unforseen financial burden... my international counsellor at the school said she might be able to help me with this... so I plan to apply for a work permit citing financial burden and work as a nurse in a hospital... i am hopeful this is legal and can be done...

3) the third option... which is more easy said than done is to work at the university health center... F-1 students are allowed to work upto 20 hours ON CAMPUS during school... so.. if I can get a job at the health center it might work out for me...

** While I am under option 2 or 3... i plan to get a job with another employer (possible a hospital) and work with them to find a solution...

I heard nurses cant (easily) get h-visa... so the only option is to get a green-card? what is this? i mean i know what green card is.. but what is the process for this? As you said.. I need to start with CGFNS visa screen.. right?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 27, 2008

Thank you for your answer... it certainly was heplful.
Just to make this thread helpful to other viewers... can you change the title to "Foreign (Nepal) educated Nurse, currently in New York under F1 visa, how to proce..." ? Visitors might be hesitant to open it if they see only Nepal... including Nepal might be helpful to find other Nepali visitors...
Anyway... after your reply... I have two options (well three) I am likely to take... (I am writing this to possible help other viewers in my condition)
1) After I get my RN, I will visit hospitals nearby... I know they are in shortange of nurses and see if they have any opinions... but I am not relying too much on this... (then will proceed to step 2 or 3)
2) i am very hopeful about this step... I learned that a student who has been in the US under F1 visa can apply for work permit if he is able to show unforseen financial burden... my international counsellor at the school said she might be able to help me with this... so I plan to apply for a work permit citing financial burden and work as a nurse in a hospital... i am hopeful this is legal and can be done...
3) the third option... which is more easy said than done is to work at the university health center... F-1 students are allowed to work upto 20 hours ON CAMPUS during school... so.. if I can get a job at the health center it might work out for me...
** While I am under option 2 or 3... i plan to get a job with another employer (possible a hospital) and work with them to find a solution...
I heard nurses cant (easily) get h-visa... so the only option is to get a green-card? what is this? i mean i know what green card is.. but what is the process for this? As you said.. I need to start with CGFNS visa screen.. right?

You can not apply for GC it has to be an employer and all they can do at the moment is file I140 which does not allow you to work. Don't start the VSC process until you have passed NCLEX

starbin, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2008

Thank you for your answer... it certainly was heplful.
Just to make this thread helpful to other viewers... can you change the title to "Foreign (Nepal) educated Nurse, currently in New York under F1 visa, how to proce..." ? Visitors might be hesitant to open it if they see only Nepal... including Nepal might be helpful to find other Nepali visitors...
Anyway... after your reply... I have two options (well three) I am likely to take... (I am writing this to possible help other viewers in my condition)
1) After I get my RN, I will visit hospitals nearby... I know they are in shortange of nurses and see if they have any opinions... but I am not relying too much on this... (then will proceed to step 2 or 3)
2) i am very hopeful about this step... I learned that a student who has been in the US under F1 visa can apply for work permit if he is able to show unforseen financial burden... my international counsellor at the school said she might be able to help me with this... so I plan to apply for a work permit citing financial burden and work as a nurse in a hospital... i am hopeful this is legal and can be done...
3) the third option... which is more easy said than done is to work at the university health center... F-1 students are allowed to work upto 20 hours ON CAMPUS during school... so.. if I can get a job at the health center it might work out for me...
** While I am under option 2 or 3... i plan to get a job with another employer (possible a hospital) and work with them to find a solution...
I heard nurses cant (easily) get h-visa... so the only option is to get a green-card? what is this? i mean i know what green card is.. but what is the process for this? As you said.. I need to start with CGFNS visa screen.. right?

Hi and welcome to allnurses.com. I don't know much about F1 visa, but I would recommend that you consult an immigration attorney before you accept any job on F1 visa (I mean other than what is permitted by law)/or even before applying for work permit (there is no point paying the fee if it isn't worth it). I think there are couple of Nepali lawyers in NY, they also provide free consultation that may be of help to you.

Good luck with your NCLEX-RN exam.

dexter1234 · Feb 11, 2009

I learned that I can get H1B visa temporarily while my employer files for a longer solution, with this I can start working with 3 months, I will post more when I know more.

suzanne4, RN · Feb 11, 2009

Before you do a thing, please read here.

You do not have a Bachelor's degree in nursing, therefore the H1-B visa as a nurse is not a possibility for you. And if you get the H1-B visa after you complete your other degree, be aware that it is specific for that one employer and you will not be able to work at another facility as a nurse under it.

F-1 visa in another field will not permit you to work as a nurse while you are under that as a start. Any work that you will be given permission to do is supposed to be under that field of study.

And to add to this, we do not have temporary work visas that can be applied for that you can get immediately. Actually for the H1-B visa, it requires that one has a full degree in that area as well as licensure and any and all requirements. If you were to qualify for the nursing, it would require that you have taken and passed the NCLEX exam as well as the English exams and possess a Visa Screen Certificate. And the next open window is the first of April for any application to be submitted and it is going to be impossible for you to get this done.

And the majority of facilities in NYC are unionized and they do not permit temporary work visas for nurses, the unions do not permit it. Next is the issue that nurses are actually being laid off in NY at this time. Next once again is the fact that your student visa will not permit you to work in a different role than what you are going to school for.

You are looking at probably more than five years for a chance at a green card, and I mean chance. There is no guarantee that by attending school in this country that you are going to be able to work here with the green card.

Whatever information that you were given by an employer is just not accurate or truthful and could actually get you deported from this country. We just do not have what you are calling the temporary H1-B visa under any situation.

Please be very careful with what you are wishing to do, it can get you in much trouble.

scrabblern, RN · Feb 12, 2009

Here are my two cents. I am a permanent resident RN from E. Europe. I know that my answer kind of meanders but I think it will be beneficial to a lot of non-citizens who thinking of becoming RNs.

I am not aware of RNs getting H1s. What I know is that there are no H1s for RNs and that you must file for green card.

If your -other- degree is something that is practical and professional such as Engineering, IT, or Architecture, you may have a shot at getting an H1 for that profession, although there are few and far between job offerings right now. It's not impossible though but you must have a professional degree to get an H1b and there's a short list of professions that qualify for that.

Imagining that you are pursuing a professional degree other than Nursing, your employer could eventually file for your green card (for entry level professional jobs we're talking 6+ years, an H1b lasts 3 years, it can be renewed once, and you can file for 1-year extension after the renewal), and a lot of them are open to that as long as they don't have to pay the processing fees. Be forewarned that green cards related to computer/technical jobs usually take all of those 6 years top process, during which you may be "chained" to the job under which the company filed your paperwork. There is a document on the US government site that lists the jobs that are in shortage... if you are interested or working on a degree in another health related profession other than Nursing, you may want to see if the job description is on there....takes less time to process

Why am I writing this? Because if you're pursuing a degree in something else it may eventually lead you to a green card, after which you'll be free to pursue Nursing.

You never mentioned your graduation date.

If you are a year or two away from graduating in another degree, you still have couple of options... First of all, you are by no means required to complete a bachelor's degree in four years. Your I-20 may state the date you're supposed to be done with your program, however, you may pick out a minor or change your major altogether. every time you do that, you'll be issued a new I-20 and admissions determines your new graduation date, which translates into an extension on your I-20This in itself may postpone your graduation date, however, you must make sure that your F1 is current at all times. If your graduation date is pushed past your F1 expiry date, you'll need to renew your F1. Of course, you don't want to take 8 years to graduate with Bachelor's...the authorities will not renew your F-1 if it's going to take you that long. But 5 years is entirely reasonable. I am not sure how F-1 renewal process goes now, I had to make a trip to Canada to do it (and needed a Canadian visa for that...). I am stressing that at all times your stay in US must be legal, and do not allow for any visa, or OPT or anything to expire, ever.

I don't see why you couldn't have your CGFNS processed while you're pursuing your other Bachelor's. In fact, after you're done with CGFNS, and after you pass NCLEX, you will technically be an RN even if you're in the middle of pursuing another degree. As long as you're in the US legally there's no reason why you shouldn' t pass the visa screen. However - visa screen will request records from your schools in Nepal, your transcripts, you'll need things like your birth and citizenship certificates and all kinds of crazy stuff. I can't remember all the details now, but I encourage you that you download the application -now- and start looking at all the documents that you may need, because I'm guessing that it will take months to get it all sorted out, and I've read anecdotal stories about CGFNS taking years. As most RN jobs in NY are unionized, you may want to look at different states. I don't have anything against NY, it just may be easier to get jobs in other states. Depending on what city you're in this may be pretty reasonable...maybe.

Another option that you may want to look at if you really want to go the RN route is ... to go the RN route. You could switch your major to Nursing, and get your BSN here. You'll STILL HAVE TO DO CGFNS and Visa Screen, despite having received your BSN in the states. It doesn't make sense at all, but it's stated in the fine print. CGFNS will take approximately 10 days if you file it for a US school. At least that's what it says on their website. It was taking them 2 weeks, so...I have no idea how I did this but in their angst somebody listed the CGFNS department head's phone number and I kept trying the number until I talked to him and got him to personally review my record and speed up the process. His number may still be out there.

Once I got all that processed, the hospital where I was to work applied for my green card. I had to pay for everything (credit cards), but they got me the signatures.

Yet another option is pursuing a Master's degree immediately after you finish your Bachelor's. Considering the state of the current economy that may be a good idea. It pays to be a good student... you could score an assistantship. Some schools will forgive the out of state tuition part and may even hook you up with free health insurance with your assistantship.

This is the path I took, during which I was legal at all times...

1995 - 2000 - F1, graduated high school, got bachelors in business, (also squeezed in an EMT-B license and decided then that my heart was in medical field, however I was in Senior year of business school when I made that realization). In between Junior and Senior years I worked an internship on the permit granted for unforeseen financial burden, which allowed me to work full time off campus. That helped me out a loooot.

2000 - 2003 - OPT, then H1B computer job. For H1 you have to work full time. You are allowed to go to school part time...I did...evening, weekends, 07:30 morning classes. Btw, now you have an option to file for an OPT extension (that didn't exist back in my time).

2003 - laid off from the computer job, IT bust, unable to find another computer position :crash_com (sent out about 200 resumes...) Since I have been taking pre-med prerequisites I had all the pre-requisites for Nursing school and more. My good friend RN suggested that I become one so...

2005 - 2006 - Left the country and got an F1 again, graduated with BSN in Dec 06. However, since OPT is granted only once per educational level, I had no right to get another OPT. I had to file for GC immediately. You're legal while your paperwork is in process.

2007 - January - passed NCLEX, processed all CGFNS/Visa Screen stuff, all documents ready for immediate GC processing. mid-June - GC.

Hey, it only took me 12 years... :roll

Suju · Jan 4, 2012

I am registered nurse of Nepal.I have Rn license of USA.I wanted to continue my education in USA.I have studied 3 yrs of nursing in Nepal.I am intrested in Rn-Bsn program but WES evaluate my course as high school equalvalency.Is there anybody here doing RN-Bsn with Nepal's PCL degree.

Thanx

brook11 · Jan 31, 2012

hi dexter1234,

i am also a pcl nurse from nepal. did u get your registration in nys?

i f you finished all of this confusing steps it would be very helpful for me

to get a way to nys. you mentioned that you got cgfns evaluation after

a 6 months, is there any problem on the report~(cgfns) that restrict you

to give nclex (i mean is there any deficiency in our pcl nursing so that

we have to take any clinical/theory to satisfy nys board requirement).

if you donot mind to share me these all complex way it will defenatly help me !

hope i wil get u soon.

thank you![color=#fff0f5]

sharmi