NCLEX Waiting Times

clee1 · Jun 25, 2007

The NCLEX is administered by Pearson Vue Services on behalf of the licensure State. Actually taking the test, once you have approval from the State, doesn't really take very long.

You can take the NCLEX at any Pearson Vue testing center. The NCLEX is the same, no matter where you take it. For instance; I am licensed in Georgia - but I took the NCLEX in Chattanooga Tennessee, the closest testing center to my home.

First, application has to be made to the State your daughter wishes to be licensed in. After processing, the State issues an "Authorization To Test (ATT)". This processing time CAN take awhile, especially since she graduated from a foreign school. After successfully passing the NCLEX, the State then issues a license; this can also take from 5 days (in my case) to up to, so I've heard in some States, six weeks.

If your daughter wants to practice in the US, you are really not saving any time by testing in Guam or Saipan - the State where she wants to work still has to issue a license (they call it "by reciprocity"), and that process can take far too long as well.

I hope this information has helped. Best of luck to your daughter.

rn999 · Jun 26, 2007

Hi Ray,

I thought I read somewhere that NCLEX can now be taken in Manila as well. I found this website and hopefully you could get some info http://www.vue.com/nclex/

Good luck to your stepdaughter.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 26, 2007

Hi Ray,
I thought I read somewhere that NCLEX can now be taken in Manila as well. I found this website and hopefully you could get some info http://www.vue.com/nclex/
Good luck to your stepdaughter.

NCLEX can not be taken in Manila at the moment but there are hope in the future

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 26, 2007

Hello Everyone,
I have a step daughter who just finished a four-year degree in Nursing in the Philippines. She wants to work in the States, but has a couple of questions about where she should take her NCLEX exam. It's mostly about waiting times she's concerned about.
1) She has the option of taking the NCLEX in Guam or Saipan but...
2) ...she'd prefer to take it here (in the U.S.) if the processing times won't be too long.
It would be most convenient for her to take the test here in Illinois (Chicagoland) but she's heard that the times to get a test date and for her to get the results are very long (months and months). Does anyone know how long it does take get these things in Illinois. Is it as long as she's heard.
Would it be faster if she took the test in Wisconsin or Michigan? Would it allow her to then practice as a nurse in Illinois?
Sorry for all the newbie questions. I'm having a hard time finding the answers elsewhere.
Thanks for your help. :)
Ray

Hi

Check out the international forum, plenty of answers for you. Currently no visas at the moment so she can not come to the US and hope to change her status and find a job as it can't be done at the moment. She would be better taking the exam for the state she wants to live and use either Hong Kong or one of the other international states. If she hasn't got a tourist visa she will find it hard to get one. I would suggest reading the thread Primer to working in the US and threads on retrogression in the International forum but like I said plenty of other information there

suzanne4, RN · Jun 26, 2007

Moved this thread to the International Forum where it is more appropriate. Foreign-trained nurses have different requirements for many states as far as licensure.

The NCLEX exam is a national exam, and the results of that exam are honored by all states and US territories. But each state has its own licensure procedures. Illinois requires the CES be completed before they will even look at her application for licensure. She must apply for licensure as an RN, the NCLEX is only one step in the procedure and it requires permission to sit for the exam. If she is going to need to get a green card for her to work in the US, not a good idea to come over on a tourist visa with the idea of staying. Actually is in violation of US Immigration Law to do that.

Please take the time to read the Primer at the top of the International Forum, there is much information there that you need to know about,

Where the nurse writes the exam has no bearing on anything, but the state that they write it for does. Guam actually requires a tourist visa for the US, Saipan just requires a special VEP, which is a three day visitor's visa.

CES is a credentials eval done thru CGFNS, www.cgfns.org

RaycerX · Jun 26, 2007

Thanks for all the helpful comments regarding my step daughter. I'll look at all the suggestions and see what works best for her situation. With this thread moving to the International forum I'd be interested in what route other nurses from the Philippines took to get to the States.

For some background info; I'm an American (born and bred) and my wife is a Filipina. She received her green card when we got married 2.5 years ago. She's not in nursing though. I don't think I mentioned this before, but my stepdaughter also has a 6 year old son which I know complicates manners. Any suggestions here would be great.

Besides her daughter wanting to come to practice in the States my wife also has a sister (with two daughters) who also just graduated from nursing school and will most likely use an agency to come here. She thinks that will be the most uncomplicated way to do it.

In any case, my head is spinning with all of this activity and strategizing we're trying to do to prepare for all these family members coming over in the next year. Did I mention she has a son too (also in nursing school....... :-)

This is an exciting time for us, but also very stressful as we try to figure out how best to do things. Having a very limited budget doesn't help much either. We'll figure out a way though. And hopefully, the best way.

Thanks for all everyone's input and suggestions, in any case.

Ray

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 26, 2007

Thanks for all the helpful comments regarding my step daughter. I'll look at all the suggestions and see what works best for her situation. With this thread moving to the International forum I'd be interested in what route other nurses from the Philippines took to get to the States.
For some background info; I'm an American (born and bred) and my wife is a Filipina. She received her green card when we got married 2.5 years ago. She's not in nursing though. I don't think I mentioned this before, but my stepdaughter also has a 6 year old son which I know complicates manners. Any suggestions here would be great.
Besides her daughter wanting to come to practice in the States my wife also has a sister (with two daughters) who also just graduated from nursing school and will most likely use an agency to come here. She thinks that will be the most uncomplicated way to do it.
In any case, my head is spinning with all of this activity and strategizing we're trying to do to prepare for all these family members coming over in the next year. Did I mention she has a son too (also in nursing school....... :-)
This is an exciting time for us, but also very stressful as we try to figure out how best to do things. Having a very limited budget doesn't help much either. We'll figure out a way though. And hopefully, the best way.
Thanks for all everyone's input and suggestions, in any case.
Ray

As said in one of your other posts, no reason why it is a problem for your step daughter to fetch her son.

With retrogression it may take them a bit longer than 12 months before they move out to the US. Process is apply BON and pass NCLEX then find employer who will file I140 and depending on service centre time scale you are looking up to 8-9 months approval, file is then transferred to NVC which when visas are available then is when visa fee bill is generated and DS230 forms completed (this is when her son is included) once visas available and DS230 completed then file is transferred to local embassy for interviews and medicals. Looking at approx anything more than 18 months and that is when visas are not in retrogression