NEW rn needs help and advice asap

[obs1925, LPN, LVN]

hi to all nurses!!!

i just passed the very recent licensure exam in my country (philippines)and am very interested in working in the US. A lot of my friends are in the process of applying for the california nclex but i have read in a lot of blogs and forums here in this site that california is not a very good choice for initial licensure exam because of the retrogression and slow licensure process. IS this true? coz I am torn between applying for california or vermont because i hear that in vermont it has a faster processing time and better reciprocity laws than in california. California would naturally be a more convenient decision for me since i have some relatives and friends working there, so they can help me out while i'm starting. Is it okay to apply in vermont and take the exam say , in a nearby state somewhere in the west coast? or is one really forced to sit for the exam in vermont/east coast?? please help, if anyone who has a good knowledge base on this matter, pls reply. am really so confused right now, after all it would be much more expensive for me to take the exam in vermont in the future when the time comes...

would really appreciate a factual response on this one...

thank you very much all!!!!!!

[november17, ASN, RN]

If you want to test for a Vermont license, you would have to do it in Vermont. What is the difference in the time? It cannot be very much. Maybe a few weeks?

And the reciperocity laws are more or less universal. Once you are an RN in one state, you can be an RN in any state if you pay the fee to be licensed there (as far as I am aware).

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

with retrogression you have plenty of time to apply for licensure and to sit the NCLEX. You need to decide where you want to live and work in the US as regardless of where you take the initial licensure if you then want to endorse to another state you still have to meet the requirements for foreign trained nurse. If you go with CA then because they do their own evaluation so if you go to another state and it requires CES then you have to get it done. Also CA will not issue you with a hard license until you are in the US and have a valid work permit and get SSN. Also no matter how quick you want it to go I140 is taking well over 7 months before getting approval, there is currently no quick way to move to the US.

I would suggest doing plenty of reading in this forum

[suzanne4, RN]

Sorry, but there is no such thing as reciprocity anymore, that has failed to exist in the US when the testing was changed over to the NCLEX exam.

The NCLEX exam has reciprocity, meaning that the results of it are valid in all 50 states and US territories; but you still must go thru the endorsement process and your credentials must be accepted in the new state, it is not automatic. Especially for foreign grads.

What you need to decide on first is where you wish to work, do not pick a state because it is the fastest, as you can spend more time endorsing. CA does not issue a license until you are in the US and ready to work and can present them with a SSN#. It also takes about a month to get your results.

Highly recommend that you read the Primer at the top of this forum for much information that you need to have. I would read that before you do anything.