I'm a Filipino nurse and currently still in the Philippines, but I'm also licensed in Northern Marianas (also known as Saipan). I applied for a visa screen last year and (stupidly) declared that I'm also licensed in aformentioned US colony; the problem is I don't know how much I should pay the board to process my license verification and send it to CGFNS.
Last August, I sent them the form, along with a note saying that I have no idea how much I should be paying them to process it, so if they could please email or call me (I left my email and number) to let me know so I can send the necessary amount right away. NADA.
Now my application is going to expire in MAY, and I've emailed them, left them messages in their phone (because no one is answering, ***?) but I'm not getting any reply! This is frustrating, because I shelled out 300+ USD for the visa screen application, but if it expires, then it's just like I threw away that hundreds of dollars.
My question is -- do you have any advice on what else I should do? I'm thisclose to calling CGFNS and asking them as well, but I have a feeling they won't really care. And I'd like to ask my co-nurses first, just in case someone had a similar problem.
Now, my question is, for the $40 fee, to whom shall it be payable to? And how long did it take for you to get your license verified? A month?
Hoping to hear from all you guys!!! Thanks!
the fee is payable to "CNMI treasurer". If you have someone to transact on your behalf with the authorization letter coming from you duly notarize by an attorney, it will help to speed up your license verification. To add also since you haven't renew your license, you have to apply for the reinstatement of your license with a fee of $70.
the fee is payable to "CNMI treasurer". If you have someone to transact on your behalf with the authorization letter coming from you duly notarize by an attorney, it will help to speed up your license verification. To add also since you haven't renew your license, you have to apply for the reinstatement of your license with a fee of $70.
thanks, tobby_walter for your reply! ok, so payable to CNMI treasurer. So, does the Saipan BON really require your license reinstated??...before you could get it verified by them for the VSC? So that means, I still have to submit 30 contact hours/CEUS and have it notarized? Please enlighten me on this. I thought your license being inactive or expired is well okay, as long as it's not revoked/ suspended. I just got $40 money order
for the license verification. I'm glad I did not send it yet. So, I have to add $70 then.
if i were you i will do my best in the review so you can pass your test this time around rather than stressing about the att. take it as a blessing in disguise, that maybe you'e being given more chance to review the exam. maybe something is lacking with the paperwork that they sent that's why your att hasn't been processed. well...my ordeal was pretty bad way back then. i was a graduate of 2001 and my ticket to the us shouldn't be that hard because a lot of agencies were hiring back then even with no experience. but it took me 5 years before i was deployed. 1st the agency that i worked for closed after the very 1st retrogression came up. 2nd my nclex exam with them which i took in saipan under saipan bon expired and it took me a while before i was able to renew it. i was rehired by a more competent employer who deploys nurses here in the us. and they pretty much helped me renew my exam. it was a blessing for me to have to be delayed for 5 years because i was able to expand my nursing experience rather than coming here to the u.s. as a new grad, with 1 year experience in the o.r. and a few months of background in med surg. Plus i had a looot of friends at work back then. I just have a few now...working here makes you homesick too. it's a totally different environment. it's not always about how many $$ you make. goodluck to you. and don't stress yourself too much. enjoy, while youre still with your family and friends.
@ marchlady...i was told by toby walter that you have to send a moneyorder check from the us bank not philippine bank. I actually sent $40 in cash at 1st thru usps...it was 1st week of jan 2009 when i sent it. and with no reply from them still...i sent a money order..that was 2nd week of feb 2009. it got a little confusing that time cuz i address it to their physical address (which you shoudn't do unless youre sending it thru fedex/ups). the letter with the moneyorder was sent back to me the following week. so i rushed to the post office again and had to send it thru their po box addy. last week of feb...my ca license was already in the mail. moral of the story...stop calling them...you're just gonna waste your money (how many prepaid cards does it cost you to call??) cause they're not ever gonna answer. 2nd make sure the address is correct, and before you send it make sure you have all the paperworks complete, including the fee be it cash/moneyorder/cashier's check (only from u.s. bank). 3rd, be patient...i wasted a money order check worth $90 because i was so impatient. the following week that i sent the money order to them my license was already in the mail. i already sent a $40 cash at 1st i should've waited.
thanks, tobby_walter for your reply! ok, so payable to CNMI treasurer. So, does the Saipan BON really require your license reinstated??...before you could get it verified by them for the VSC? So that means, I still have to submit 30 contact hours/CEUS and have it notarized? Please enlighten me on this. I thought your license being inactive or expired is well okay, as long as it's not revoked/ suspended. I just got $40 money order
for the license verification. I'm glad I did not send it yet. So, I have to add $70 then.
Hoping to hear from you again. Gracias.
Before you do the visa screen thing you must have first an active license, so you have to apply for reinstatement of your license together with the CEU's for 30 contact hours notarize with the application form for renewal of license and picture. To save money include your license validation for visa screen with $40 fee so it can be mail altogether. Remember they only accept either cashiers check or postal money order coming from us bank not from foreign country.
Thanks so much guys ( tobby_walter & popotski)! it's gonna save me time and money knowing all these. I will prepare the CEUs notarized with renewal form , $70 for reinstatement of license, and $40 for the verification which I already got yesterday from HEB here in Texas. Yes, I am here in Texas and need the VSC as a requirement for my adjustment of status for permanent residence.
But you know what, I just discovered something! When you go to their website NMICBNE.com ( which looks like a work in progress that when you try to email them it doesn't go through, right popotski), there are list of documents/ forms/ checklists there that would tell you how :). And according to their reinstatement checklist--i would need 60 CEUS ( that's a lot, huh) and not 30. Texas only requires us 20 ceus I think. I don't know if I have enough but I could surely get them online. Even the fees are there on the forms if you download them. I just can't find the $40 for validation/verification of license but based on your experiences, that's the amount.
I hope these additional info will help other nurses getting their license verified for the VSC. I'll keep everybody posted. Thanks again.
To add, the documents/ forms in the Saipan BON website which were relevant to my needs at least are Doc 18,45,30 ( but 60 CEUS for reinstatement according to Doc/ checklist 45) and doc 31.
why is it northern marianas island not included in the list of state or territories in most of the CEU's providers? what ceu provider are approve or will you recommend?
hi! i am licensed in Saipan as well...Fortunately, I did not have that too much trouble with them, they are slow, i recieved my ATT almost 2 months after, everything seemed to be months slow, my eligibility 3 months, verfication about a month, the only glitch was, they forgot to put a date in the verification form they sent to CGFNS, but they made up with it by replying to my emails and was able to send the complete form to them as soon as I sent them my inquiries.
RE CEU's, I have a friend who was able to renew his license in Saipan, the CEU's he used came from free and some paid CEUs offered by various websites, just google it, they considered it. So it is probably safe to say that they are not strict with CEU's.
It is good though that they are working on a website. At last!
just use this link: http://www.medi-smart.com/freeceu.htm ..been having a few contact hours here..recommended by a friend as well..he used the MedScape for his renewal. I did not yet try the Medscape though. Hope this helps.
Re CEUS, Saipan BNE's ( see http://www.NMICBNE.com) checklists for renewal or reinstatement doesn't indicate any specific provider so it's probably safe to say that they accept any CEUS from any state at this point.
I can say probably that the Saipan BNE haven't applied for accreditation concerning regulation of their CEUS yet since accreditation is a voluntary process. Hope this might help.
Does Saipan BON accept cash when renewing your license?
Another thing is that I am planning to endorse me license to New York. Do you think I would benefit from sending the application for renewal and another application for endorsement as well in just one mail? I am confused where to start when I endorse my license to New York. Hilfe!
I thought your license being inactive or expired is well okay, as long as it's not revoked/ suspended. I just got $40 money order
tobby_walter
309 Posts
the fee is payable to "CNMI treasurer". If you have someone to transact on your behalf with the authorization letter coming from you duly notarize by an attorney, it will help to speed up your license verification. To add also since you haven't renew your license, you have to apply for the reinstatement of your license with a fee of $70.