new here and want to know more about RN Requirements in USA

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 17, 2006

hello everyone! just signed up a few minutes ago. what a cool site! i'm glad to be a part of this group.
i'm planning on working as a registered nurse in new jersey. does anyone know if ielts is accepted in new jersey? i heard that toefl is the english exam required there. but i already took the ielts and passed it. i dont want to take the toefl exam anymore unless i really need to.
i also want to ask if you have any idea on the length of petition processing there, once an employer will sponsor you?
hope you guys can help me. thanks!

hello, kataya0429 and welcome to allnurses.com

i moved your thread to the international forum for a better response. suzanne, the moderator for this forum, will come along and assist you with your questions.

enjoy the forums.

lawrence01 · Jan 18, 2006

hello everyone! just signed up a few minutes ago. what a cool site! i'm glad to be a part of this group.
i'm planning on working as a registered nurse in new jersey. does anyone know if ielts is accepted in new jersey? i heard that toefl is the english exam required there. but i already took the ielts and passed it. i dont want to take the toefl exam anymore unless i really need to.
i also want to ask if you have any idea on the length of petition processing there, once an employer will sponsor you?
hope you guys can help me. thanks!

Each State BON has its own req'ts. You should know the website of your specific BON as everthing you need to know iaboout req'ts are there.

Go to http://www.ncsbn.org to know their website.

I think NJ is under Vermont service center and a few already got approvals for July 2005.

suzanne4, RN · Jan 18, 2006

a big welcome to you. :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons:

now, to your questions. are you in the us now, or still overseas?

have you taken the cgfns exam, have you applied yet for licensure to nj?

ielts is just fine for there. you can use it for the vsc that you will also need to have. can't tell you about the process until i know if you have passed either nclex, or cgfns exam, as nothing can be filed on your behalf without one of those.

i can give you better info when you answer the above.:)

kataya0429 · Jan 19, 2006

hi thank you for your response. :) i'm still overseas. i've already passed cgfns and ielts. i applied for licensure examination in california, right now i'm just waiting for the exam permit. i opted to choose california for the state board because it has fewer requirements compared to nj. once i pass nclex california, i'll just request for receprocity to nj. in addition to my prior questions, do you think my plans would work? hope you can give me an insight on these matters. will be waiting for your reply. thanks again! have a nice day! : ) :) :) :)

a big welcome to you. :balloons: :balloons: :balloons: :balloons:
now, to your questions. are you in the us now, or still overseas?
have you taken the cgfns exam, have you applied yet for licensure to nj?
ielts is just fine for there. you can use it for the vsc that you will also need to have. can't tell you about the process until i know if you have passed either nclex, or cgfns exam, as nothing can be filed on your behalf without one of those.
i can give you better info when you answer the above.:)

suzanne4, RN · Jan 19, 2006

hi thank you for your response. :) i'm still overseas. I've already passed CGFNS and IELTS. I applied for licensure examination in California, right now i'm just waiting for the exam permit. I opted to choose California for the state board because it has fewer requirements compared to NJ. Once I pass NCLEx California, I'll just request for receprocity to NJ. In addition to my prior questions, do you think my plans would work? hope you can give me an insight on these matters. will be waiting for your reply. thanks again! have a nice day! : ) :) :) :)

If you have already passed the CGFNS exam, I definitely would not have gone the route of CA. You will not be able to endorse until you are physically in the US, and get a SSN# issued to you. You do not request reciprocity, you will need to endorse and follow that procedure. You will not get a license issued to you, only a piece of paper that states that you passed, you cannot endorse that piece of paper. A license will not be issued to you until you actually submit a SSN# to CA BRN. Passing the NCLEX exam alone, doesn't automatically give you a license. CA requires that you submit a SSN# before they will issue the license and assign you a license number so that you can endorse. You have up to three years to get the SSN# to the BRN.

Not sure if you have applied for a Visa Screen certificate, but you will need that as well.

By going route of CA, when you wish to work in NJ, you actually made things much more difficult for yourself, and added months on to the process.

kataya0429 · Jan 19, 2006

so what do you think i should do? once i receive my eligibility from nclex CA, can i request for a transfer of Nclex State so that i can take the other state's exam instead? a state which issues license at once after passing nclex? maybe i can do that before registering to pearson? what can you suggest? or should i apply directly to nclex NJ? or another state perhaps Vermont? pls. help me i dont know what to do? : ) i really want to expedite the procedures. i'm hoping to leave for the US this year.

i'll be applying for visa screen soon.

thank you. : )

suzanne4, RN · Jan 19, 2006

You can not transfer the approval to sit for the NCLEX. You must beign the process all over again with the new state. From Day One of the process.

NCLEX is the same exam, not specific to one state. A nursing license is specific to one state, and each state has different requirements for licensure. So the approval to sit for the exam can never be transferred, you would need to begin the entire process all over again, as if you have never aplied to CA, and I do not advise that, unless you just sent in your applicaiton to CA in the past few weeks. If it has been a few months, just wait.

Slow Down and take a deep breath. :)

Do you already have a job offer in NJ? Has a petition bee filed on your behalf? Or are you coming over on a tourist visa? Since you have already passed CGFNS, you should have just gone the route of NJ for licensure. I would go aead and submit the application for the Visa Screen Certificate now, especially since you have already passed CGFNS and the IELTS series.

kataya0429 · Jan 20, 2006

i applied for nclex California last sept., so i'm just waiting for the eligibility to arrive. the reason why i applied for california instead of new jersey was that at the time of my application, i havent taken the cgfns yet, i just took it last november 2005 : ) luckily i passed : ) if i applied for nclex new jersey, and uncertain whether i'll pass the cgfns, the submission of my application for nclex nj may be pended. i want to be able to take nclex in a state that wont require cgfns, so that in case i fail, dont need to wait for the next cgfns exam, and i can still take the nclex since its not a pre-requisite.

so i guess i just have to wait for the eligibility for california? i'm willing to take the risk of doing the process all over again if it means i wont have a problem receiving my license once i pass nclex. do you think it would be a good idea to just re-apply? what if i apply directly to nj nclex now, since i already passed cgfns? do you know how long it takes for their eligibility to be approved? if its just a month or 2, i might consider it. but if not, i just have to wait for the eligibility from california. and then take it form there.

i'll be offered a job in new jersey. my name was already submitted to the hospital's recruitment dept. but i dont know if the petition was already made.

i dont need to take toefl, right? just confirming,:) cause i heard from someone that toefl is the only english exam accepted in nj? i hope its not true cause i already took the ielts. it would be a relief to find out that i wont need to take toefl anymore. : )

by the way, i dont have a US VIsa yet, so that's another problem. : )

thank you for helping me, i really appreciate all the information you are sharing : ) keep it up! God BLess! : )

You can not transfer the approval to sit for the NCLEX. You must beign the process all over again with the new state. From Day One of the process.
NCLEX is the same exam, not specific to one state. A nursing license is specific to one state, and each state has different requirements for licensure. So the approval to sit for the exam can never be transferred, you would need to begin the entire process all over again, as if you have never aplied to CA, and I do not advise that, unless you just sent in your applicaiton to CA in the past few weeks. If it has been a few months, just wait.
Slow Down and take a deep breath. :)
Do you already have a job offer in NJ? Has a petition bee filed on your behalf? Or are you coming over on a tourist visa? Since you have already passed CGFNS, you should have just gone the route of NJ for licensure. I would go aead and submit the application for the Visa Screen Certificate now, especially since you have already passed CGFNS and the IELTS series.

starbin, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2006

i applied for nclex california last sept., so i'm just waiting for the eligibility to arrive. the reason why i applied for california instead of new jersey was that at the time of my application, i havent taken the cgfns yet, i just took it last november 2005 : ) luckily i passed : ) if i applied for nclex new jersey, and uncertain whether i'll pass the cgfns, the submission of my application for nclex nj may be pended. i want to be able to take nclex in a state that wont require cgfns, so that in case i fail, dont need to wait for the next cgfns exam, and i can still take the nclex since its not a pre-requisite.
so i guess i just have to wait for the eligibility for california? i'm willing to take the risk of doing the process all over again if it means i wont have a problem receiving my license once i pass nclex. do you think it would be a good idea to just re-apply? what if i apply directly to nj nclex now, since i already passed cgfns? do you know how long it takes for their eligibility to be approved? if its just a month or 2, i might consider it. but if not, i just have to wait for the eligibility from california. and then take it form there.
i'll be offered a job in new jersey.
my name was already submitted to the hospital's recruitment dept. but i dont know if the petition was already made.
i dont need to take toefl, right? just confirming,:) cause i heard from someone that toefl is the only english exam accepted in nj?
i hope its not true cause i already took the ielts. it would be a relief to find out that i wont need to take toefl anymore. : )
by the way, i dont have a us visa yet, so that's another problem. : )
thank you for helping me, i really appreciate all the information you are sharing : ) keep it up! god bless! : )

at this point i would suggest- not to apply to nj again. just let the eligibility from ca arrive, take and pass the test then endorse your license to nj. since you already have a job offer, you will get an ssn one or two weeks after (you get your permanent visa and) you land on states. send the nj licensure application as soon as you pass the ca nclex. nj bon requires a background check before issuing a license, therefore, you can not expect to get the process done in 1-2 months. especially if you are applying for initial licensure.

if you have been offered a job by an agency, make sure that they send your nj license application early. i met a filippino girl who was licensed initially in ny but her agency placed her in nj. she is working as a cna in that facility because her agency did not send her licensure application on time. she was expressing frustration over that.

toefl/ielts/tse etc is not generally required by the bon for licensure. it is a requirement for visa screen. sometimes the language tests are asked by employers or the bon may ask for a language test if you are applying for a temporary permit/license. njbon does not have such requirement

kataya0429 · Jan 21, 2006

at this point i would suggest- not to apply to nj again. just let the eligibility from ca arrive, take and pass the test then endorse your license to nj. since you already have a job offer, you will get an ssn one or two weeks after (you get your permanent visa and) you land on states. send the nj licensure application as soon as you pass the ca nclex. nj bon requires a background check before issuing a license, therefore, you can not expect to get the process done in 1-2 months. especially if you are applying for initial licensure.
if you have been offered a job by an agency, make sure that they send your nj license application early. i met a filippino girl who was licensed initially in ny but her agency placed her in nj. she is working as a cna in that facility because her agency did not send her licensure application on time. she was expressing frustration over that.
toefl/ielts/tse etc is not generally required by the bon for licensure. it is a requirement for visa screen. sometimes the language tests are asked by employers or the bon may ask for a language test if you are applying for a temporary permit/license. njbon does not have such requirement

hi starbin : ) thank you for your advices. they were a big help. i will be sponsored by the hospital, so i wont be applying through an agency. in case they started filing for my petition now:) , how long do you think it would take to process everything? i mean how many months do i need to wait before i can leave for the u.s.? would it be possible to leave this year? :) i'll be coming from the philippines.