hi guys! i just want to ask some help i need some suggestions or opinions on what i'm going to do next. cause im already close to losing hope to work as a nurse in the US.
I already passed the NLE, IELTS, NCLEX (state of cali) and fixed my Visa Screening Certificate. And it took me almost 3yrs to get all of these through hardwork and for not giving up on my dreams.
So on april 2008 I decided to go here in the US to look for employers who would petition me so I can work as a USRN. But to my amazement no hospital, home care, staffing, nursing homes, name it I check them all if they sponsor international nurses and all I heard is "we are not sponsoring right now due to retrogression" I also tried asking some agencies but it seems like you're the one who should be chasing them and not the other way around. So I'm really in deep thought what to do now... go back to the philippines and try the impossible to get a decent nursing job, try other countries, or stay here and be a TNT (hehe)... please tell me what you think guys... Thanks!
I've had the same dilemma. I had to think really hard... Yeah, the US economy is not at its best at this time...
Manufacturing companies etc are going to China... Even foreign owned companies here in the Philippines are opting to go to China because of its cheap labor...
I decided to try another country... I'll disclose the country once I'm there lol... Inshallah...
I was angry at myself for being lured into taking up nursing but I came to love what a nurse does. I guess that helped me cope up with the frustration of not being able to be a nurse in the US.
I've passed the NCLEX, CGFNS and got a workable score in the IELTS and I'm still here in the Philippines... lol... I believe I can still use these someday... maybe after 10 years... It doesn't matter...
hi guys! i just want to ask some help i need some suggestions or opinions on what i'm going to do next. cause im already close to losing hope to work as a nurse in the US.
I already passed the NLE, IELTS, NCLEX (state of cali) and fixed my Visa Screening Certificate. And it took me almost 3yrs to get all of these through hardwork and for not giving up on my dreams.
So on april 2008 I decided to go here in the US to look for employers who would petition me so I can work as a USRN. But to my amazement no hospital, home care, staffing, nursing homes, name it I check them all if they sponsor international nurses and all I heard is "we are not sponsoring right now due to retrogression" I also tried asking some agencies but it seems like you're the one who should be chasing them and not the other way around. So I'm really in deep thought what to do now... go back to the philippines and try the impossible to get a decent nursing job, try other countries, or stay here and be a TNT (hehe)... please tell me what you think guys... Thanks!
Don't despair. Who knows it might be a " blessing in disguise ". Maybe God has other plans for you. Don't stay in a place where you are not welcome. The US is not the only country in the world.
Let me share with you the story of my father. 30 years ago, he lost his job and felt it was the end of the world for him because at the age of 40 yrs old, he knew it will be difficult to find another job that will pay him the same salary.
After spending sometime with no success in finding the right job, he decided to go into business for himself. To cut a long story short, he became a very successful businessman making more money than he could have made if he was still employed in his old job.
Your predicament at the moment may seem hopeless, but in the future when you have found the right job, you will look back at this experience as one of them that made you a stronger person.
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Is it true that H1B visa is not affected by retrogrssion, and easier to enter to U.S.
No, not all H1b for hospitals are un-capped, some hospitals can and do use H1B but you must meet H1b requirements (have a bachelor's) and be a specialist nurse. Expect it to get harder to use H1b as recently in the press about how much it has been abused and will be clamped down
H1-B visas are under a lottery system for the most part and the next time that a petition can be submitted is next April, 2009 for a start date of October, 2009.
The H1-B was designed for the specialist and expecting to come to the US without any experience and as a new grad does not meet the requirements for it as well. The US government is currently going thru and investigating all H1-B visas at this time due to their mis-use.
The other issue is that one must posess a license in the state where they would be working, as well as the English exams and the VSC in hand before they could even have an employer submit for it.
I would be very leary of even considering this type of visa now. Plus it is a temporary visa and one can get it cancelled at any time by the employer. It grants you no rights what so ever.
That still has nothing to do with it at all, as it is the federal government that issues the visas and there are not any. It does not matter if someone finds an employer at this time, when you are looking at five years plus for a chance at a visa, how do you know that they will have a need for you that far down the road, and that they will even be in business then.
Just not a good idea to try and start anything at this time. And with the number of new grads coming out the Philippines, it may be getting closer to ten years for a chance at a visa for the US to work.
Do you mean down the road? Because the Philippines consistently has the same Visa Bulletine PD schedule as ROW and that has never quite made sense to me.
My question to all of you, is five to ten years down the road, if retrogression lifts, who do you think will employ you? Seasoned US nurses who take time off have a hard time re-entering the system without completing a refresher course. Five to ten years down the road if you do not work as a RN how employable do you think you will be>
They say medical information changes every 5 years and your education will be outdated. My advice is to find a paid RN position to keep your skills active.
Do you mean down the road? Because the Philippines consistently has the same Visa Bulletine PD schedule as ROW and that has never quite made sense to me.
Yes, down the road. There are more and more graduates that are coming out of programs there at this time and no place for them to work. And what is even worse is that their pass rate on the NLE is only about 44%, which means poor preparation as well for licensure exams to begin with.
Even with the 60,000 that passed last year, there are no jobs and with the less than 10,000 visas per year from the US, and that number includes spouses and children, the chances of getting a green card are going to be quite slim. The dates have not changed as of yet, and that really does not matter, the issue is that it would take 4 years just for 10,000 nurses or so to be able to come to the US. The number that are actually going to get approved for the green card is going to get slimmer as well, let alone just not having a visa number.
Many are still going into nursing there, around 950,000 at last count currently enrolled and no place for them to go when they are done. Requirements are tightening up all over the world and most other countries are requiring passing of the local license as well as actual paid experience.
We expect the US to follow suit as well, if nothing more than a weeding out like what was done with the CGFNS exam in the past.
Hope that this explains the reasons why I have been posting like this.
How long this retrogression will lasts? i heard ryt after the election or if it's amended.
As long as there are more applicants than there are visas available, there is going to be a retrogression. And as long as your country is producing nurses that are unable to get a job in your country, things are only going to be much slimmer for a chance for everyone.
We are expecting the US government to require the local license as well as paid experience, just like almost every other country does now before one will even be considered for a visa to work here in the US.
Currently, there are over 950,000 enrolled in RN programs in your country, you do the math. The US only grants just under 10,000 EB-3 visas for those from your country and that includes spouses and children per year. And the majority have gone into nursing for the sole reason of being able to go to the US.
Does not matter if things open up tomorrow for a short time but the issue is that even if the 20,000 per year materialize, that is for the world, and just for three years. And one is not even considered for a visa until they have a completed file and that means that an employer has petitioned them and they have approval on everything. That is why you are still seeing nurses with PD dates of 2004/2005 still waiting for a visa for the US.
Suggest that you take the time to do some reading about what is going on with the retrogression and why it even exists, not rumors that are floating around Manila that have no basis for anything.
There are no shortcuts to working in the US and trying to come up with one only gets a big bite taken out of you. I understand that you are anxious to get to the US, so are many others. But without having current work experience and an expected wait of more than five years, it is going to be impossible to do. Highly recommend that you focus on going to another country where you can get paid experience as an RN.
hi,I believe you should follow the advice you have been given.I am also having a similar experience having passed CGFNS and IELTS 3years ago and having a visa screen certificate.
I belive except for the visa screen certificate, the others do not expire so,keep you fingers crossed on the USA issue while you expolor other opportunity.
oneproudigorot, MSN, RN
64 Posts
I've had the same dilemma. I had to think really hard... Yeah, the US economy is not at its best at this time...
Manufacturing companies etc are going to China... Even foreign owned companies here in the Philippines are opting to go to China because of its cheap labor...
I decided to try another country... I'll disclose the country once I'm there lol... Inshallah...
I was angry at myself for being lured into taking up nursing but I came to love what a nurse does. I guess that helped me cope up with the frustration of not being able to be a nurse in the US.
I've passed the NCLEX, CGFNS and got a workable score in the IELTS and I'm still here in the Philippines... lol... I believe I can still use these someday... maybe after 10 years... It doesn't matter...