international student going for nursing

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hey everyone, im new here and i have couple of questions.

1. whats the major difference between a nurse with associates degree and a nurse with bachelor degree?

my school offer only associates degree but first i have to take classes and than apply for the 2 year program.

2. as of right now im an international student, does any one know the process of getting a green card through a nursing degree?

p.s. im a male, 18, from Queens, NY.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

1. whats the major difference between a nurse with associates degree and a nurse with bachelor degree?

my school offer only associates degree but first i have to take classes and than apply for the 2 year program.

graduates of both associate's and bachelor's degree programs in nursing are eligible to take the nclex-rn which if passed, will enable one to be licensed as a registered nurse in the state where you intend to practice.

you'll see rn's with either an associate's or a bachelor's degree in all types of health care settings. for staff nursing positions, there isn't really a difference in roles and responsibilities between the two degrees. you may also find that nurses with similar amount of experience are paid the same salary regardless of degree. however, some nursing positions such as administrative, case management, and unit educator roles usually require a bsn.

typically, nurses with associate's degrees who are interested in pursuing career advancement and graduate school studies enroll in an adn to bsn completion program.

2. as of right now im an international student, does any one know the process of getting a green card through a nursing degree?

the process of receiving an immigrant visa (or green card) through employment of a foreign rn is very slow right now because of a huge backlog in applications which led to what is called "retrogression". many foreign rn applicants have been waiting for more than five years now and have still not received their visas due to retrogression. there are no special provisions made by the immigration service to allow legal employment to foreign nationals who received their rn training in the us. although, there are special types of working visas for foreign rn's at the current time, only rn's with exceptional experience or clinical specialty qualifies for them. because of this current situation, the rn route may not be a viable option for you at this time if you are looking into becoming a legal immigrant or guest worker in the us.

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I'm an international student studying nursing also. I'm in a ADN program, and have one year left before I graduate and take the NCLEX. I don't think there is any difference whether you have a ADN or a BSN when it comes down to getting a green card. At present, it's very hard to get a green card due to the long wait list. The only option is to marry an American, but I would only do that if you are really in love with the person, and also, it may be possible for a international student to join the US army once he or she has their license, but I wouldn't advise anyone in joining the army just for residence in the US.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Just to be aware that if you have to leave the country after you complete your training there may be issues and your training not recognised by your country.

Moving this to the International forum as much you need to be aware of and retrogression is the main one

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thanks everyone for the responses. i appreciate it.

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