Help! What kind of Visa is needed for a Canadian RN to work in US?

fergus51 · Jun 22, 2007

You need a NAFTA TN visa. It is good for one year and easily renewable. You will need to get a visascreen done first ( http://www.cgfns.org ). You basically go to the border with your passport, visascreen, nursing lisence and job offer letter and they'll give you your work permit. You don't need to go through an agency, though many nurses do.

nursetobe668 · Jun 23, 2007

Thanks so much fergus51 for your info! I am not clear about the term "visascreen". Is it to screen my current Canadian passport, cause I do not hold any visa now?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 23, 2007

Thanks so much fergus51 for your info! I am not clear about the term "visascreen". Is it to screen my current Canadian passport, cause I do not hold any visa now?

visa screen just ensures that foreign nurses meet US nursing requiements. Check out the link in the first posting and go to visascreen service everything will be explained there. You will need it before you go through immigration and takes a couple of months to get.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Jun 23, 2007

I've been in the US for 10 years and no one at the border has asked to see my visascreen yet.

Bring your proof of education, a letter from the BON saying you are eligible to be registered, an offer of employment, and ID.

nursetobe668 · Jun 24, 2007

visa screen just ensures that foreign nurses meet US nursing requiements. Check out the link in the first posting and go to visascreen service everything will be explained there. You will need it before you go through immigration and takes a couple of months to get.

Thanks Silverdragon102! So if the visa screen could take a couple of months to get, when should I start to do it, before a job offer or after? How many times do I need a visa screen if I enter multiple times to US for different RN jobs?

And how long does it take to get NAFTA TN visa, I presume you can only apply it after a job offer, right?

nursetobe668 · Jun 24, 2007

I've been in the US for 10 years and no one at the border has asked to see my visascreen yet.
Bring your proof of education, a letter from the BON saying you are eligible to be registered, an offer of employment, and ID.

Hi Canoehead! You must be confident and looked cool at the border!

So, did you have to apply the NAFTA TN visa everytime you got a RN job offer? What was the average lenth of time from your job offer to you actually entering US for the job (including TN visa application and any other necessary procedures)?

fergus51 · Jun 24, 2007

Thanks Silverdragon102! So if the visa screen could take a couple of months to get, when should I start to do it, before a job offer or after? How many times do I need a visa screen if I enter multiple times to US for different RN jobs?
And how long does it take to get NAFTA TN visa, I presume you can only apply it after a job offer, right?

You can start your visascreen application as soon as you have your US nursing lisence. Your visascreen is good for something like 5 years and it doesn't matter how many different jobs you take during that time.

There is no time lag in getting your TN visa. You do it with American customs officers at the border or in the airport. You have to have secured a job first. You show up there with your passport, visascreen, nursing credentials and job offer letter and $55 or something and they will give you the TN visa by stapling it into your passport. Took less than an hour last time I went with my friend to do hers.

suzanne4, RN · Jun 25, 2007

I've been in the US for 10 years and no one at the border has asked to see my visascreen yet.
Bring your proof of education, a letter from the BON saying you are eligible to be registered, an offer of employment, and ID.

This has been a mandatory requirement to get the TN Visa at the border for about the past three years, if the nurse does not have it with them, they will not be issued a VSC. And they are turning them down at the border, and at the airports if it is not with them.

With ten years in the US, doubt if you would be still applying for the TN Visa. That visa has a specific set of rules that need to be followed.

suzanne4, RN · Jun 25, 2007

To answer a few questions here:

The NAFTA TN Visa is a treaty visa, nurses from Mexico can get one as well. It must be renewed on a yearly basis. Spouses can come with you to the US, but they will not have a visa that will permit them to work, if you are married.

There is no application processing time, as soon as you have a job offer letter, the Visa Screen Certificate in hand, and the other documents that have already been mentioned, you can get the TN Visa at the airport if flying, or at the border if driving. That is the nice thing about it, there is no retrogression with it.

It is only open to those that hold a passport from Canada or Mexico. A permanent resident in either of those countries does not qualify for it.

For the Visa Screen Certificate, you can apply for it with ICHP/CGFNS.

The website is www.cgfns.org

If you attended school in Montreal in french, you will need to have proof of passing the English exams in order to get the VSC, the English requirement is not waived for you. For all other provinces, and you trained in an English program, the English is waived.

nursetobe668 · Jun 25, 2007

To answer a few questions here:
The NAFTA TN Visa is a treaty visa, nurses from Mexico can get one as well. It must be renewed on a yearly basis. Spouses can come with you to the US, but they will not have a visa that will permit them to work, if you are married.
There is no application processing time, as soon as you have a job offer letter, the Visa Screen Certificate in hand, and the other documents that have already been mentioned, you can get the TN Visa at the airport if flying, or at the border if driving. That is the nice thing about it, there is no retrogression with it.
It is only open to those that hold a passport from Canada or Mexico. A permanent resident in either of those countries does not qualify for it.
For the Visa Screen Certificate, you can apply for it with ICHP/CGFNS.
The website is www.cgfns.org
If you attended school in Montreal in french, you will need to have proof of passing the English exams in order to get the VSC, the English requirement is not waived for you. For all other provinces, and you trained in an English program, the English is waived.

Thank you all to help me on this issue. I now know what exactly needs to be done and at what time frame. It is a tremendous stress relieve to me.

I am very lucky this time since I was educated in the US, passed NCLEX-RN, holding a NYS RN license and a Canadian passport. I can not only be exampted from educational comparability review and English proficiency examination (just read the creteria from the cgfns' website), I can also apply for CGFNS 212® certified statement, which is a VisaScreen streamlined process. All these could save me tons of time. :monkeydance:

Now I can concentrate on finding a suitable job and prepare well for it.