Good and Bad Nurse Agencies for USA

letina · Jan 19, 2005

Hey how do you apply for a greencard on your own?? I'm thinking of going through the process myself and from what i am told it goes like this - pl let me know if its different
-Apply for NCLEX (only 5 or 6 states dont require CGFNS - CA, NY, Florida, Maryland, Vermont dont knwo the rest)
- Apply for CES (evaluate ur credentials)
- Pass NCLEX
- Pass English exams (i did nursing education in sweden so it is reqd)
- An interim license is issued and need some social no to get complete license
How does one go about doing the immigration without a sponsor??? my friend went to an agency and they are paying for her greencard and in lieu she will work for the hospital for 1.5 yrs - thats not bad its a short period. what do other agencues require?
pl let me more.....can someone make this easy

Hi, I'm a bit pushed for time right now but I'll come back to you later today & give you some info. I'm doing it all by myself so will guide you through the process.

Back later :)

Tina

PS Stay away from the agencies, they will hold you back & you won't always get to choose where you end up working

letina · Jan 19, 2005

Hi, I'm a bit pushed for time right now but I'll come back to you later today & give you some info. I'm doing it all by myself so will guide you through the process.
Back later :)
Tina

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 19, 2005

Hey how do you apply for a greencard on your own?? I'm thinking of going through the process myself and from what i am told it goes like this - pl let me know if its different
-Apply for NCLEX (only 5 or 6 states dont require CGFNS - CA, NY, Florida, Maryland, Vermont dont knwo the rest)
- Apply for CES (evaluate ur credentials)
- Pass NCLEX
- Pass English exams (i did nursing education in sweden so it is reqd)
- An interim license is issued and need some social no to get complete license
How does one go about doing the immigration without a sponsor??? my friend went to an agency and they are paying for her greencard and in lieu she will work for the hospital for 1.5 yrs - thats not bad its a short period. what do other agencues require?
pl let me more.....can someone make this easy

One way I would go about doing my nclex is to go through NY as with cgfns they have paid for a special service and cgfns once you have signed the forms do all the chasing for your transcripts from you country of training, also with NY you can get your license without SNN. Then once cgfns have got everything and evaluated it they will then issue your ATT (OK to sit nclex) This can now be taken in the UK.

English exam not sure on that.

You cannot do your immigration without a sponser, What you can do is once you have passed your nclex is then get in touch with hospitals within the area/place/state you want to work. See if they are willing to sponser you and their lawyers will then start the process off. It is a very long drawn out process and beware it can take up to 3 years. Immigration times would depend on which centre your application has gone to. Vermont is the fastest.

I was lucky to find a good recruiter who has helped me through the pitfalls but it is possible to do it yourself. Just be prepared that cgfns are slow but atleast gong through NY the process may be a bit quicker. I would also suggest you start visa screen at the same timeas stuff for CES will also do for visa screen, all that would be outstanding would be the nclex results. If you are going to another state your license can be endorsed to the state you want to work in, but I think they are a couple and only a couple which require cgfns exam, but once you have worked in the US for 2 yrs it isn't required.

hope this helps

letina · Jan 19, 2005

Hi, I'm a bit pushed for time right now but I'll come back to you later today & give you some info. I'm doing it all by myself so will guide you through the process.
Back later :)
Tina
PS Stay away from the agencies, they will hold you back & you won't always get to choose where you end up working

Looks like Silverdragon has answered your question :)

suzanne4, RN · Jan 20, 2005

You cannot apply for a green card on your own, however, you can find a sponsor on your own. You must be sponsored either by a hospital or an agency, you do not submit your documents on your own. You must be petitioned by who ever will be your employer.

It is much better that you find your own employer, and do what we call a "direct hire." That way you are not paying a fee or any of your salary to the agency.

And to Dylan, Illinois is one of the very few states that require the CGFNS exam as a foreing nurse, unless you have already been practicing in the US in another state for 2 years, Michigan actually requires 5 years of practice to get endorsed without CGFNS exam.

lenaUK · Jan 20, 2005

Thanks to Tina, Suzanne & Anna for responding to my query.

Regards to direct hire by hospitals - My brother is in NYC and he called many hospitals and he spoke to a couple of CNO's who said they would love to hire foreign nurses however the complexity of the ceritifications, immigrations which is always a nightmare and then housing and handholding required for a new nurse etc...require lot of resources, time and effort hence they are not keen to directly recruit nurses fm overseas. They do have many forein nurses in their hospitals and are very pleased with their performance.

This is just another view - wish there was some clear and concise info on this thing. Spoke to some agencies this morning, if anyone would like me to share the info feel free to let me know.

Regards

L

suzanne4, RN · Jan 20, 2005

Thanks to Tina, Suzanne & Anna for responding to my query.
Regards to direct hire by hospitals - My brother is in NYC and he called many hospitals and he spoke to a couple of CNO's who said they would love to hire foreign nurses however the complexity of the ceritifications, immigrations which is always a nightmare and then housing and handholding required for a new nurse etc...require lot of resources, time and effort hence they are not keen to directly recruit nurses fm overseas. They do have many forein nurses in their hospitals and are very pleased with their performance.
This is just another view - wish there was some clear and concise info on this thing. Spoke to some agencies this morning, if anyone would like me to share the info feel free to let me know.
Regards
L

Not sure where your brother was looking but many hospitals in the NY area will petition for foreign nurses. Again, was asking for sponsorship of a foreign nurse, this means for a temporary work permit which isn't available anymore and there were quite a bit of problems as English, other than TOEFL (basic) was not a requirement. But that has now changed entirely. All of the exams are done beforehand............including all certifications before you even go over.

swirlingwaters_2449 · Feb 1, 2005

Why do you actually need to use an agency, first of all? Many of the nurses in SE Asia use them for the sole reason that they are unable to afford all of the exam fees, etc. Chances are that since you are in the UK, you have the funds to pay for the exams. If you do things on your own, things will get taken care of much faster and processed quicker.
Most of the agencies that operate out of the UK have developed bad reputations with the nurses that have signed on with them....why should it take a nurse form the UK over three years to be able to work in the US when they only need to take the NCLEX exam and get a Visa Screen Certificate? This happens all of the time..................and it shouldn't. I hear form nurses all of the time that signed contracts and are now having problems..many of them have clauses that you have to pay about $20,000 US to break the contract if you do not like it....

Hi Suzanne,

I have spent so much time researching the internet looking for hospitals that are willing to petition nurses directly, and everytime I call, I have always been turned down. They tell me they only hire through agencies because they dont have the manpower to do the direct recruiting from overseas. I am guessing its going to be very hard work, if not a futile job, if you are living outside the US and try to look for a direct employer. Just a thought.:)

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Feb 1, 2005

Hi Suzanne,
I have spent so much time researching the internet looking for hospitals that are willing to petition nurses directly, and everytime I call, I have always been turned down. They tell me they only hire through agencies because they dont have the manpower to do the direct recruiting from overseas. I am guessing its going to be very hard work, if not a futile job, if you are living outside the US and try to look for a direct employer. Just a thought.:)

I had these problems too but there are lots of nurses on here who seem to have managed to be sponsered. I tried in 2003 over about 4 month period eventually lost heart so gave up.

Now i am signed to OGP for better or worse. Only time will tell and I am too far along to back out.

Kay :uhoh3:

letina · Feb 2, 2005

Hi Suzanne,
I have spent so much time researching the internet looking for hospitals that are willing to petition nurses directly, and everytime I call, I have always been turned down. They tell me they only hire through agencies because they dont have the manpower to do the direct recruiting from overseas. I am guessing its going to be very hard work, if not a futile job, if you are living outside the US and try to look for a direct employer. Just a thought.:)

Hi, I just got a hospital to sponsor me directly, I decided not to register with an agency, so hopefully my experiences will motivate you to pursue. I only started the process in October (2004), I went through and funded the CGFNS route independently, then travelled to the US and arranged an interview at the hospital of my choice. I was successful at the interview, was offered a job and now the hospital is sponsoring me, they even provided me with an Immigration Attorney and my I-140 has just been filed. So don't give up, it CAN be done, but I would advise you to demonstrate that you are willing/able to meet with a prospective employer face to face if at all possible. Good luck :)

Tina