Can International Students with Associate of Nursing and RN license work in USA

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Hello all, I just got my RN license and am wondering if international students have to obtain a bachelors degree first to work in the USA in a hospital. I was hoping to gain experience and study at the same time, but friends say you need a bachelors as an international student.

Hi there am also interested in the ADN nursing program,I would be an international student like your self.

I would like to know if as an international student are u allowed to take the NCLEX-RN EXAM,to gain your RN License after completing the program.

Is it true that you will not be able to work in the US with an ADN?

And Do hospitals only sponsor person with a BS?

Thank you?

No its not true, you can work in the US with an ADN,

. And yes, everyone can take the NCLEX Exam. but the problem is that due to retrogression, the US is not giving away any green cards. and since 2006, a lot of people are already on that waiting list, waiting to get a green card.

Hospitals will not sponsor you with a BS until the retrogression is over;/. They wont sponsor you at all right now.

Why would this change your dreams? There are plenty of good nursing programs and plenty of places to practice nursing besides the US. You can still be "the greatest nurse in the world," regardless of whether you are able to stay in the US or not ... Best wishes!

I do not want to become a nurse somewhere else than in the US.. but I applied for nursing school today even if its a risky move, but I dont really care.. life is about taking chances and I only live once. the problem is that my degree is not valid in sweden... so its basicaly.. im going ALL-IN, this is it.. :/

So then you're choosing nursing for the wrong reasons. If your sole purpose is to be a nurse in the US ONLY then you don't have a passion for nursing at all. There are people who post on this board, foreign and from US who are in nursing because they have the passion for nursing. If you're thinking that nursing is your ticket to the US then think again.

I do not want to become a nurse somewhere else than in the US.. but I applied for nursing school today even if its a risky move, but I dont really care.. life is about taking chances and I only live once. the problem is that my degree is not valid in sweden... so its basicaly.. im going ALL-IN, this is it.. :/

You are doing something very risky, the visa retrogression if over 5 years and to qualify you have to present the minimal degree that is allowed in your home country. You are saying an ASN is not valid in Sweden, therefore you would not qualify for a work based visa. Just don't be upset that once you complete your degree and finish your OPT you will be asked to leave the USA and wait until your visa is approved. Slots in ASN programs are hard to get into, you will be denying someone an education that you will be able to use in your home country.

So then you're choosing nursing for the wrong reasons. If your sole purpose is to be a nurse in the US ONLY then you don't have a passion for nursing at all. There are people who post on this board, foreign and from US who are in nursing because they have the passion for nursing. If you're thinking that nursing is your ticket to the US then think again.

please, give me a break.. stop assuming things because you have no clue about what you just said! I have wanted to become a nurse for over 10 years now. My goal is to become the greatest nurse in the world and I believe I was born to be a nurse. My goal has all the time been to work in the US, thats why I got here. So NO! I havent spent 60 000 $ so far to work in another country than the US! Understood?

You just said you don't want to be a nurse other than in the US. So in other words you don't want to be a nurse if it's not in the US? If you were born to be a nurse, then you wouldn't care where you practice as a nurse, in the US, UK, Australia, Middle East etc. So you must becareful on how you word things because people might interpret it the wrong way even if it wasn't meant to be. Understood?

Also if your degree isn't valid in Sweden, then you really should look into another nursing school so it can be valid in Sweden and in the US. You will be required to return home and if you can't practice as a RN while you're waiting for your chance at a visa, how are you going to keep your skills up to date? Even if you get the chance to come back, then what is a potential employer going to say when they see that you haven't worked as a paid RN in 4-5 years? They're going to say that you're outdated and most likely will hire someone else with more recent experience. Weigh everything before you make final decisions.

You are doing something very risky, the visa retrogression if over 5 years and to qualify you have to present the minimal degree that is allowed in your home country. You are saying an ASN is not valid in Sweden, therefore you would not qualify for a work based visa. Just don't be upset that once you complete your degree and finish your OPT you will be asked to leave the USA and wait until your visa is approved. Slots in ASN programs are hard to get into, you will be denying someone an education that you will be able to use in your home country.

I know im doing something very risky.. its just.. I have spent so many hours, energy to get into nursing school. I have been studying from 9am - 9pm 4-5 times a week. Its been blood, sweat and tears! Many tears.. I have put down my soul in this... so for me, its very hard to lay down a very good pokerhand if you know what I mean. This has been my world för 2,5 years now. I have no motivation at all to start over in sweden..

sigh.. im just so sad...

The nursing education in the US is different from the one in sweden. If I go back with my ADN or even get a BSN, I still have to go back to school, to take additional courses before im eligible to work.

But I guess that even the greatest poker players must fold a very good hand sometimes...

Also if your degree isn't valid in Sweden, then you really should look into another nursing school so it can be valid in Sweden and in the US. You will be required to return home and if you can't practice as a RN while you're waiting for your chance at a visa, how are you going to keep your skills up to date? Even if you get the chance to come back, then what is a potential employer going to say when they see that you haven't worked as a paid RN in 4-5 years? They're going to say that you're outdated and most likely will hire someone else with more recent experience. Weigh everything before you make final decisions.

i know.. you are right.. I will graduation in fall 2012, opt ends in 2013. By then, everything should be OK?

I have created a life here.. its so hard to say goodbye to everything... but im fully aware of problems ahead of me.

I will forget everything I have learned in english, all the vocabulary, etc.. I have a lot to think about..

life is so unfair sometimes.

Your only hope would be to get a MSN with a specialty and experience which would qualify you for a H1B visa. Even when retrogression lifts, they have to accommodate all those ahead of you. America does not have endless job openings. I feel bad for you, but would from what you are saying to me, that American Nurses would have to repeat nursing school if they went to Sweden. What would be my changes of going to school and staying after graduation in Sweden?

As an educator, I would be concerned that you are struggling with just taking the prerequisites to get into nursing school, the nursing courses are much harder.

Think about getting the higher degree as Medsurg nurse has stated. It keeps you here as a student, but it will also be very expensive for you. Keep all your options open, be prepared that you will have to go home after your studies are over and your opt is exhausted. But make sure you get that degree that will be valid in Sweden, so that way you can work in Sweden as a RN while you're waiting for your green card, or you get your specialty and wait for your H1b visa. Things can get better by 2012 or 2012but no guarantees that a visa will be waiting, so it's better to have all your ducks in a row.

BTW, where is Krokomosse?? I know it's in Sweden and forgive me if I mispelled the place. I had a friend who was a foreign exchange student from Sweden and lost touch with her, and have been trying to find her ever since. She was from that place.

Your only hope would be to get a MSN with a specialty and experience which would qualify you for a H1B visa. Even when retrogression lifts, they have to accommodate all those ahead of you. America does not have endless job openings. I feel bad for you, but would from what you are saying to me, that American Nurses would have to repeat nursing school if they went to Sweden. What would be my changes of going to school and staying after graduation in Sweden?

As an educator, I would be concerned that you are struggling with just taking the prerequisites to get into nursing school, the nursing courses are much harder.

Im not struggling with the prerequisites, im getting good grades, but the 12 hour studying is how I study. I dont need to study 12 hours a day, but I want to, because the information is interesting, so its volentary.

About sweden and nursing school , the reason why you have to take additional classes is because, different terminology, different procedures, clinicals are little different from US etc.

I can tell you that the information I have learned in the us is nothing that I know of in swedish. What im trying to say is that, if I had to explain the HIV virus for a patient in sweden for example, it would be much harder because I have learned it in english. ah.. i hope you know what im trying to say.

To work in sweden, you have to basicly speak fluent swedish. there are some international nurses there, and a lot of the patients may not always understand english terms/ medical terms which can make it hard to understand the nurse/doctor. you have to take a nursing assessment test which is in swedish.

So theres a lot of differences between us and swedish nurses, but I think swedish nurses are so bad! I work in a nursing home during the summers in sweden, and I see patients asking the nurses questions like, "why is that good for me?" or "what does that do?" and there answers are - " i dont know" . things like that makes me angry. Thank god only few of them are like that, but I believe that american nurses are more skillful than swedish, thats why I dont wanna end up like that.

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