Kirbypineapple

Thanks for the feedback. I'm curious why an employer wouldn't just straight up hire a Canadian? The licensure via endorsement is the same process whether it's a Canadian or from another state (i.e. Minnesota), and in both cases it would be on a TN visa. Does having a license in another state make it easier in some way? It sounds like our friend got their Minnesota license, didn't work there, then applied via endorsement to CA without an SSN and got through somehow.

My wife and I are Canadian and I'm moving to California for work. She is an RN who passed the NCLEX in 2016, and has worked for about a year in a Canadian hospital. We're trying to navigate the process of getting her licensed in California but it's been a bit challenging. Our understanding: She can't apply to be licensed in California with out a SSN. She can't get an SSN without a job. She can't get a job without being licensed. The work around we've read about is that you get licensed in another state that doesn't require an SSN to become licensed, and then obtain licensure via endorsement. The odd thing about the application forms for licensure via endorsement is that they explicitly support a transfer from Canada, but require an SSN or ITIN. Would a simpler way of doing this be to apply for an ITIN and then apply directly to the CA BON? We have one friend who recently applied to the CA BON without an SSN or ITIN and their license was granted, and they seemed to think it was no big deal.