US Nursing Experience

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Hi Everyone,

Wondering if any fellow canadians could share their recent experience with regards to obtaining a job and VISA in the US. I am thinking of a move to

Florida and wondering how long the process takes between obtaining a job offer to actually going down to start work. How were the NCLEX and CGFNS exams? Any info greatly appreciated.

hmmm... i guess everyone has their own reasons. for the most part its safe to say $$ plays a big role. perhaps working conditions will come in 2nd. i dunno. the main reason why i started to travel was cause i didnt want to go back to our surgical floor and have 10 to 15 patients each shift (NOC). i was replacing someone in the ICU at that time. i got spoiled w/ having just 3 patients. i honestly can say that back then, i didnt fully realize how much more $$ money i could make doing the same job w/ less patients here in the US; i.e.: safer, better working conditions (in general)-depends on the facility. ofcourse everyone has different reasons. right now for me its going to be how much comprimise im am willing to make between salary and quality of life. the one thing that i can say is that i am fortunate to have these choices.

after seeing my fair share of indigent patients..., as i sit here warm and dry, in front of my laptop w/ a fridge full of food... wether i will end up here in the US or Canada. neither is a bad choice! :) :Melody:

Well said!

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HI suzzane, thanks again for all your great info. I have another question. I have all my paper work in place for my visa screen. Does it take CGFNS 3 or 4 month to get the visa screen to you?? Or is that the amount of time it takes to get your paper work in order for it? How long does it generally take? I have tried calling them but they are in renovations now.

First, lets get you moving in the right direction. You do not need the CGFNS exam for Florida, only the Credentials Verification done by CGFNS. You need to apply to Florida for licensure, once they receive the documentation form CGFNS and you receive a letter from FL BON that you have met all requirements, you submit payment to Pearson-Vue for the NCLEX exam. Once they receive payment and verification form your state, they will send you an ATT letter. This letter is only good for 90 days. Druing this time, you should also apply for the Visa Screen Certificate. It will take about four months after you complete the NCLEX exam for you to receive this certificate in the mail.

Since you have a Canadian passport, you are eligible for a TN Visa, under the NAFTA Treaty. Which means that as soon as you have your Visa Screen Certificate in hand, you will be able to begin work in the US. You are looking at about two to four months before you will get your ATT letter, then taking the exam, and another four months or so for the Visa Screen Certificate. You will need to have that in hand to cross the border for a job.

Hope that this helps.............

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HI suzzane, thanks again for all your great info. I have another question. I have all my paper work in place for my visa screen. Does it take CGFNS 3 or 4 month to get the visa screen to you?? Or is that the amount of time it takes to get your paper work in order for it? How long does it generally take? I have tried calling them but they are in renovations now.

I just called them a couple of days ago, and they stated that it would take 6-8 weeks to process, after receiving all of my paperwork.

HTH

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You will be very lucky if you get it in that amount of time. Especially since they are closed this week, at least part of it, for a major remodel of the facilities over the next few months.................things are getting moved temporarily......

Good luck.............but please keep me posted and let me know how long that it actually takes.............

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Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see. I'm in no big hurry. I was just posting what I was told.

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HI and thanks, it only took me about 2 weeks to get my DC license. I am so impressed. I take my hat off to them.

HI suzane thanks for all your great help. I am sending my verification of licensure from minnosota and just recently from DC to CGFNS/ ICHP . Is the visascreen a general document or is it something that needs to indicate that I m licensed in DC. thanks again
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My niece got her visascreen in the mail 7 weeks after they had all her info.

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HI and thanks, it only took me about 2 weeks to get my DC license. I am so impressed. I take my hat off to them.

Some of the BON's are a pleasure to deal with. I have 11 licenses, and some BON's are better than others. I'll miss using the compact.

Glad to hear you had a good experience!

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HI suzzane, thanks again for all your great info. I have another question. I have all my paper work in place for my visa screen. Does it take CGFNS 3 or 4 month to get the visa screen to you?? Or is that the amount of time it takes to get your paper work in order for it? How long does it generally take? I have tried calling them but they are in renovations now.

Hi, I'm not Suzanne :) but I thought I'd let you know that I spoke with CGFNS today, and was told that the renovation only took a day or two, and that they gave me the same time frame that I was given before. It's just an FYI.

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With them it is the luck of the draw. If you are overseas, then you can count on every day of the four months. Since you are on this continent, the earliest that I have seen has been four weeks, but I have also seen six months.

It is a hard one to guess, but I wouldn't want you to accept a position based on the fact that you will have this certificate quickly. It usually doesn't happen, and especially when you need it the most. When it arrives, it will be there........then you will be quite happy........ :)

It has just been promises made out of there that are not always kept. Look at some of the other postings on the International forum and you will see why I am stating this.......

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With them it is the luck of the draw. If you are overseas, then you can count on every day of the four months. Since you are on this continent, the earliest that I have seen has been four weeks, but I have also seen six months.

It is a hard one to guess, but I wouldn't want you to accept a position based on the fact that you will have this certificate quickly. It usually doesn't happen, and especially when you need it the most. When it arrives, it will be there........then you will be quite happy........ :)

It has just been promises made out of there that are not always kept. Look at some of the other postings on the International forum and you will see why I am stating this.......

I'm not sure if you are addressing this to me or someone else, Suzanne, but I am actually fairly knowledgeable re nursing in the US and immigration, etc. I'm in no hurry to go back to the US, so whenever the screen is done is ok with me. I just thought I'd post my most recent conversation with CGFNS, in case anyone was interested - like I said, just an FYI.

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hi, if you want to be a nurse here in the usa, be prepared to have some money saved. every thing costs money, every little bit of paper work which you have to do, costs at least 20.00 american. for example once i got my license($), i had to send out a verification form which i had to obtain from cgfns and then i had to send that form to the board of nurisng so they could send it to cgfns. the cost was 26.00 for this one. ( this is just a piece of the puzzle) there should be one flat fee for the whole visa process.

one of my nursing friends wanted to know how long it took for the cgfns to issue certificate once you passed the nclex boards/bon verification and had all the other paperwork done?

mzkittenrn :p

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