For those of you that are studying in the US under either an F-1 visa, or any other where you do not have permission to work, and will need to apply for a green card when you finish your schooling-----this is for you.
You must meet all of the requirements for immigration that a foreign-trained nurse does, the only exception that you have is that the English requirements are waived for you. You still need to submit the application and get a Visa Screen Certificate. This is offered by CGFNS and the application is available on their website, http://www.CGFNS.org. There is only one application available, whether you did your training in the US, or overseas.
You will still need to find an employer that will petition for your green card. You will still need to undergo a physical exam at a physician's office that is approved by USCIS an have verification of all titers and vaccinations. If you do not have verifiable proof of having had chicken pox, etc., you will need to have either a titer drawn, or receive the vaccination. Immigration is very strict now with this, they will no longer go on what you are verbally telling them.
Hope that this helps...............most of you will also be able to get an OPT for one year of training while your documents are being processed, but you can only receive the OPT once, especially if this is now a second career for you, and you already used your OPT status for the other.
If you are coming to the US just for the MSN, and already have a BSN from overseas, you will be required to write the English exams. You are only exempt from them if this is your initial training as a nurse, meaning ADN or BSN only.
It means that you need to be in a program before it expires, or you have only 60 days to remain in the US. You will not be able to enroll and then expect to start the following fall in a program.
You also will not be able to work once the OPT is finished. You would be going thru the same process again with the new degree before you can work at all for the twenty hours, it is not something that is automatic by any means.
suzanne,
since there is absolutely NO way to stay here to work in the US after POT expires, I think im considering other options like working in Canada but still i cant help to look at the possibilities/chances that the retrogression will be over by May of 2009 (the time I graduate from my BSN program).
Do you happen to know the statistics of how many foreign nurses are in the waiting line for the green cards and how long would it take for this to become current and clear?
Even with the new nursing bill introducing 20.000 cards IF the bill is passed next year or so, would this even help with the retrogression?
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
suzanne,
since there is absolutely NO way to stay here to work in the US after POT expires, I think im considering other options like working in Canada but still i cant help to look at the possibilities/chances that the retrogression will be over by May of 2009 (the time I graduate from my BSN program).
Do you happen to know the statistics of how many foreign nurses are in the waiting line for the green cards and how long would it take for this to become current and clear?
Even with the new nursing bill introducing 20.000 cards IF the bill is passed next year or so, would this even help with the retrogression?
I personally do not think the 20,000 will make a dent in the ones waiting. Visa bulletin is the way really to know what is happening regarding visas. Be aware will take time to go through the Canadian process which can't start until you have a full set of transcripts and you may have to leave the US before permission is given by which ever Canadian province you have applied to to sit CRNE or obtain a work permit whilst waiting to sit but allows you to work. Not sure if all provinces allow you to work whilst waiting but they have to assess your application first
Canada also requires that you take and pass the local license first, for you it would be the NCLEX-RN exam before they will even look at your transcripts. That is a rule that they have in place there, same as most other countries as well.
The retrogression is also based on where you were born. There is still a limit as to the number of visas that are issued per country of birth, and because of the number of applicants far exceeding this number for some countries, we do not expect the retrogression to be over anytime soon.
Other thing that you need to be aware of is that you cannot even start the petitioning process until you have graduated and then have written the NCLEX-RN exam as that is a requirement to start the process. Even if these 20,000 visas become available, they will not even make a slight dent in the number that are already waiting. It is not any different than the 61,000 that became available last spring and that number included dependents as well. They were gone in just a very short time and if you notice, it did not change one thing with the retrogression. You probably did not even know a thing about it.
The other issue that you are up against is that you would be wanting to adjust your status, and with the 800,000 petitions that were submitted last summer, that takes it to about 2012 or so at the earliest before they will accept the I-485 and that is what you are up against.
No quick answers for you here, or in Canada to begin working once the OPT is over with, if you qualify for it. Training in the US no longer guarantees that one will be able to remain here when they finish.
I wanted to ask you a question for a close friend of mine. How long does it take a person to get started to work in USA. Work VISA (US) is NOT an ISSUE
Particulars :
(1) Bachelor degree in Science (unrelated to nursing) from India
(2) Studied in Australia Nursing program (Enrolled Nurse 1.5 year program in university) with
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(A) What are various exams or trainings required. I understand that they have to get their credentials checked + NCELX exam etc.
(B) Is there any rotation hours / training etc as well that they need to complete before they can land a job or even think about applying for a job. Do they need to have certain requirements in terms of minimum work experience in different rotations or work experience in general before they can start working in US
Do they actually possess a green card at this time? If not, then they are not going to be able to work in the US. The EN is the same as the LPN here and is not accepted for immigration purposes.
You are posting in a thread that is specific for nursing students here in the US, so you need to let me know what type of visa, etc. As student visas do not permit any work.
You are telling me that work visa is not an issue but it is a great one since their training does not qualify for one.
If they already have a green card, then they are going to need to get their credentials assessed as well as apply to a BON for licensure as an LPN and then pass the exam before they can do anything. Depends on where they wish to work as well, there are some areas that are no longer hiring the LPN, and only RNs.
The LPN is not acceptable for the E3 either if they have Australian citizenship.
Withholding information that is key to giving you information that would be of value makes no sense at all to me. Chances of getting hired as an LPN are quite slim at best now, we do not have a shortage of them.
Without knowing more about visa status, it is just not feasable to give you an answer. There are so many items that could make significant changes such as if they even have a SSN# to begin with. Many states will not issue a license without it.
And if they are coming here to study for the RN, on a student visa one is not able to work at all. And if they were born in India, there is a long wait to be able to get a green card, five years plus at the moment.
Thanks for responding to my query. (AUSTRALIAN EN WANTS TO WORK IN US IN NURSING)
Actually the reason work visa does not matter is because the person will have a green card or authorization to work because of marriage to a US citizen.
But you mentioned there is no dearth of LPN here in US depending on states.
(1) How is California or Massachusetts in terms of jobs for jobs for LPN.
(2) How long does it take to train for RN if a person is already LPN and has given the exam and got credentials assessed.
I am hoping I gave you the info you asked for regarding the visa status.
Thanks for responding to my query. (AUSTRALIAN EN WANTS TO WORK IN US IN NURSING)
Actually the reason work visa does not matter is because the person will have a green card or authorization to work because of marriage to a US citizen.
But you mentioned there is no dearth of LPN here in US depending on states.
(1) How is California or Massachusetts in terms of jobs for jobs for LPN.
(2) How long does it take to train for RN if a person is already LPN and has given the exam and got credentials assessed.
I am hoping I gave you the info you asked for regarding the visa status.
I will appreciate a reply.
Regards
AUSPICIOUS
Permission to work is not granted immediately, it takes months after the marriage occurs before one is able to work.
A bridge program for the RN can be anywhere from one to two or more years, but they are not that easy to get into at the moment since many hospitals are phasing out the LPN job and having them go on for the RN. All depends on how their credentials are evaluated and then go from there.
Depends also if they will give credit for all of the program that was completed in Australia, there are so many variables added into the equation that it will be hard to give an answer without them having their credits assessed. I am very familiar with the coursework in the RN programs in Australia but not the EN programs any longer as they cannot usually be used to work here. Your friend is getting a family-based petition and not one that is employer-petitioned which would be impossible to do.
Is there any way for international graduate students in the US to get financial aid? The nursing faculty for ACNP program told me to speak to office of financial aid. The OFA told me they only have information for US citizens and referred me to the office for international students. OIS don't seem to know much about it.
Is there any funding/grants/loans for non-citizens/non-PRs or are we on our own?
it depends on your college. sometimes the college website lists the scholarships available with the eligiblity criteria. in my case, i checked my college website and got to know of scholarships for international students. also in your college email, you get emails when there's a new scholarship available.
We are basically on our own, but there a a few choices. Private loans, with a US citizen cosigner is one, but it is a loan. My son attends a private college and they have scholarships based on academics regardless of nationality. The state university I attended for nursing school offers some aid for need and some aid for academic achievement. When in F-1 I was awarded some aid per semester based on my grades, not much, but it helped. Look for private aid, F1 students are not elegible for anything state or federally funded. It's only fair I guess...
We are basically on our own, but there a a few choices. Private loans, with a US citizen cosigner is one, but it is a loan. My son attends a private college and they have scholarships based on academics regardless of nationality. The state university I attended for nursing school offers some aid for need and some aid for academic achievement. When in F-1 I was awarded some aid per semester based on my grades, not much, but it helped. Look for private aid, F1 students are not elegible for anything state or federally funded. It's only fair I guess...
It's very fair. It was your choice to become an international student. Why would they waist limited resources on foreigners like you and me?
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mrmac-cheeso
23 Posts
suzanne,
since there is absolutely NO way to stay here to work in the US after POT expires, I think im considering other options like working in Canada but still i cant help to look at the possibilities/chances that the retrogression will be over by May of 2009 (the time I graduate from my BSN program).
Do you happen to know the statistics of how many foreign nurses are in the waiting line for the green cards and how long would it take for this to become current and clear?
Even with the new nursing bill introducing 20.000 cards IF the bill is passed next year or so, would this even help with the retrogression?
http://www.shusterman.com/