Need Advice: Canadian Looking to Do Nursing School in the U.S.

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I am a Canadian citizen currently contemplating going to nursing school in the U.S. for my BSN. If there are any Canadians that are/have done their school in the U.S., your advice about the following would be greatly appreciated:

1) As an international student, it seems like I'd go under the F-1 visa. Once I graduate and would like to begin working, I could use the F-1 OPT visa for one year or just go directly to the TN visa. If I chose to use the OPT first, I could then just use the TN visa after the one year period is expired. Is this correct?

2) Are employers/hospitals hesitant to hire Canadians straight out of US nursing schools since they're usually under a temporary visa such as the OPT or TN? I'm currently planning on working in NYC or Chicago. Or are employers fairly willing to hire Canadians like this?

3) If I return to Canada, is working in Canada a nurse after being licensed in the U.S. fairly simple since I'm a Canadian citizen?

Any other tips you have about licensing, the NCLEX, job stuff, etc. would also be awesome!

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If you return to Canada to work after attending school in the US, you will be treated as a foreign grad and subject to all of the additional requirements. And it depends on the province that you are from as well, some of requirements of 250 actual hours put in working in a hospital there under supervision before they will consider you for the license.

OPT is not a visa, you are still under the F-1 student status with that. The TN Visa is a treaty visa and therefore different from the temporary work visas and easy to get work with. The actual temporary visas such as the H1-B and H1-C are not easy to get hired with or even to obtain.

We have a primer at the top of this forum with all information that you will need to have concerning working in the US, please read that and then come back and ask questions if you have more.

Hope that this helps.

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Hi Suzanne,

Thanks for the post and the info. I have read several of your threads on topics such as this and have found them very helpful.

From what I have looked up, I understand that I wouldn't even need an H1-B since they don't work for nurses anyway. I also understand that the TN is relatively straightforward. So I could really have two options- one is to use the OPT part of the F-1 for a year and then move on to my TN or just go directly to the TN after graduating and becoming licensed.

I still have the following questions:

- Do you think that hospitals, particularly in big cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco, are more reluctant to hire Canadians from U.S. schools even though the TN is so straightforward? Are most hospitals and employers familiar enough with it that they have no reluctance in hiring TN nurses? I'm sure this is a difficult question to answer but if you or anybody else has any advice or experience, it would be great.

-Can I be licensed as an RN immediately upon completing my BSN and then the NCLEX? I'm asking since it appears that I would need to get my license before even being eligible for the TN. Will there be any experience requirement to get the license? If this was the case, then I'd have to use my OPT period before going for the TN.

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The TN visa is widely accepted all over, so that is not an issue at all.

In order to get the TN Visa, you will have to apply for and pass the NCLEX-RN exam, as well as have a Visa Screen Certificate in hand.

There is no experience requirement to get the TN Visa.

OPT will permit you to start work right away without waiting for the VSC, etc. That is where it is helpful for you. But since you are fortunate to have Canadian citizenship, then you are lucky that you have the TN Visa available for you.

But have to add this in, the TN Visa is a treaty visa and part of the NAFTA Treaty. There has been talk of revising it when the new president gets elected and not sure what will be happening in the future with this.

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Hi Suzanne,

Thanks for the post and the info. I have read several of your threads on topics such as this and have found them very helpful.

From what I have looked up, I understand that I wouldn't even need an H1-B since they don't work for nurses anyway. I also understand that the TN is relatively straightforward. So I could really have two options- one is to use the OPT part of the F-1 for a year and then move on to my TN or just go directly to the TN after graduating and becoming licensed.

I still have the following questions:

- Do you think that hospitals, particularly in big cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco, are more reluctant to hire Canadians from U.S. schools even though the TN is so straightforward? Are most hospitals and employers familiar enough with it that they have no reluctance in hiring TN nurses? I'm sure this is a difficult question to answer but if you or anybody else has any advice or experience, it would be great.

-Can I be licensed as an RN immediately upon completing my BSN and then the NCLEX? I'm asking since it appears that I would need to get my license before even being eligible for the TN. Will there be any experience requirement to get the license? If this was the case, then I'd have to use my OPT period before going for the TN.

If you have a lot of specific questions I would be happy to help you. I am a Canadian from BC and I did go to school in the US and am currently working in beautiful sunny Arizona and loving it here. I got a OPT when I finished my ADN (equivalent to the former diploma program in many areas in Canada). The advanatage of getting your OPT is that you can work right away after NCLEX before your Visascreen is complete but with a TN you would have to have your Visascreen completed prior to getting a TN which takes a few months to get. I started the process in February and completed it in May. You might want to consider just getting your ADN first and then getting your employer (as many of them do) pay for the rest of your degree while you are working. That is what I am doing. I am working on my BSN in case I ever decide to come back to Canada. But what Suzanne stated is true. I applied to BC and my education was accepted as roughly equivalent even without my BSN since you have to do a lot pre-reqs before even getting into a school for your ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing). But in BC you have to complete 250 hours of supervised practice before you can complete registration as a nurse. In Alberta I have read you have to complete a lot of extra testing including clinical as a foreing grad. There are a lot of things to consider. But the opportunties are pretty amazing in the US and the TN is a very easy procedure to go through as a nurse. Most employers are very familiar with it and since it is very inexpensive for them definitely desireable to them. No experience requirement for the TN (at least not for nurses). Any more questions I would be happy to help.

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Hello

I have a question similar to the original poster. My situation is just a tad bit different. I am a Canadian and I received my associates degree in nursing here in Houston under the F1 visa. I am currently employed under my OPT visa and I was just wondering if I qualify for the TN visa with just my ADN. I read the application under the CGFNS website and it mentioned under the list of required course hours, community health/public nursing which wasn't a course in my school. Also, how long does the visa screen usually take?

I would greatly appreciate any advice on this topic.

Thanks

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The ADN will meet the requireements for the TN Visa.

The VSC takes about a month to get if you trained in the US.

Best of luck to you.

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Hello

I have a question similar to the original poster. My situation is just a tad bit different. I am a Canadian and I received my associates degree in nursing here in Houston under the F1 visa. I am currently employed under my OPT visa and I was just wondering if I qualify for the TN visa with just my ADN. I read the application under the CGFNS website and it mentioned under the list of required course hours, community health/public nursing which wasn't a course in my school. Also, how long does the visa screen usually take?

I would greatly appreciate any advice on this topic.

Thanks

I also was originally trained with ADN only and had not problems getting OPT or TN and am currently being petitioned by my employer for a green card.

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Suzanne,

You sound like the pro on this subject! I'd like to ask you for advice on my situation.

I am a Canadian citizen studying at one of the SUNY campuses for nursing and I've been hearing 2 different things.

First I heard that I need to have my green card in order to write my nclex to prove that I am a resident.

Second, kind of the opposite, I've heard that I have to write the nclex first then go to the us embassy/citizenship & immigration to show that i have reason to stay in the us to work after grad.

I just need to know which do I do first, nclex or green card? with having full intentions of staying in nys after my grad to write the nclex and work. and how long does whicheve process you recommend to do take? should I start application processes now? (i graduate in 2010)

Thanks you!

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If you are at SUNY, then you are in NY. They do not require the SSN# for you to get licensed there or to sit for the NCLEX exam. They will issue a license number to you without the SSN#. They just want to see that you are here legally. And you can just submit a copy of your passport with your application and then there is no issue for you.

Getting a green card is going to be years from now, so just erase all of the information that you were given; none of it is true.

Lets start from the beginning as to what you need to do. Forget everything that you were told, and just follow this.

As a Canadian, you qualify for the NAFTA TN Visa, which is a very good thing for you as the US is under a retrogression and there are no green cards available at this time and we do not expect them to be for quite some time.

You will need to apply to NY BON for licensure as an RN and then get permission to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam. Once that exam is passed and you have a license number issued, then you will need to apply to CGFNS for the Visa Screen Certificate. That is needed as well as letter of intent for a job offer to be taken to the US border to receive the TN Visa. It is not handled by the Embassy or a specific immigration office. You could easily get it in Toronto. You do need to leave the US to be able to get it.

There are threads here with the specifics as to what needs to be included in the job letter, it is usually over four pages long with all that needs to be included in it. Just do a search for the threads with the required information.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to facilitate anything until you are done with your program and are given permission by NY to sit for the exam.

Your student visa only gives you 60 days to remain if you do not get the OPT which gives you permission to work for up to year under your student visa. We do not have working visas available, the only thing that will be available for you is the treaty visa.

Without having the OPT, you will have to have the VSC and the job letter in hand to go to the border before you will be able to remain here and work.

Hope that this clears up things for you. And best of luck to you.

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Hi Suzanne,

thanks very much, you have been super helpful. may i ask, what the following abbreviations stand for?

NYBON

NAFTA TN VISA

CGFNS

OPT

VSC

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hi Suzanne,

thanks very much, you have been super helpful. may i ask, what the following abbreviations stand for?

NYBON

NAFTA TN VISA

CGFNS

OPT

VSC

NYBON = New York Board of Nursing

NAFTA TN VISA = Name of trade visa between Canada/Mexico and the US

CGFNS = CGFNS International (formerly the Commission on Graduates of

Foreign Nursing Schools)

OPT = Optional Practical Training

VSC = Visa Screen Certificate

Most BON's have some involvement with CGFNS. VSC is a requirement from all foreign nurses requiring a work visa for the US. OPT is up to 12 months for nurses who trained in the US allowing them to gain training but does not give permission one completed to stay in the US and continue working and can only be used once unless you continue your schooling at a higher level and then you can apply for it again if qualification is higher. OPT is not guaranteed.

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