Holyhell

If GSA is legit, then in order to come to the US to study, you need an F1 (student) visa. Before graduating or completing your program, you can apply for OPT well in advance, this is discussed with your international advisor at your university. Theres a time limit to apply for OPT and if you miss the deadline, then you're out of luck cos you missed your opportunity. OPT allows someone to find employment in their field of study e.g. studied nursing, employment only as a nurse. OPT is only good for 12 months and can extend for additional 17 months for a total of 29 months (extensions are only benefited by science, engineering, and math US degrees and if the employer takes part in e-verify). So in other words, I dont think a nurse would be eligible for renewel of an OPT after the 12 months is up. GSA states: "Participants are also eligible for multi-year employment opportunities with university-affiliated hospitals", on their website. To remain in US after OPT, an F1 student can adjust to H1B visa by applying via an employer that is exempt from the H1B cap (e.g institution of higher learning, non-profit organisation, government research facilities etc.) GSA seems to imply that they can do this. But it seems too good to be true, so Alexk49 may be right, it could be a scam.

Yeah, I know. Its really unbelievable. Its definitely a pickle. But I should probably give you a heads up about the ASN programs. They are also competitive but probably not as bad as the BSN programs. Initially, I was considering the accelerated 2nd degree BSN programs but the wait times, GPA requirements and seat limit was ridiculous. You'd feel like you're applying to med school, thats how rigorous the process was. I called around and finally took a chance on one ASN program and I was admitted without much fuss or delay. Definitely check the wait times for the school you plan to apply to. I totally skipped a local college that had a wait time of 2 years and instead applied to and got into a college that was in a different county. Definitely worth the drive :) I definitely agree with your prediction. Before it used to be all about not enough MSN educators but now it seems that the lack of funding is the prevailing issue. A news outlet not long ago was suggesting to those with employment issues to seek employment in one of the top 10 careers, one of which they listed as nursing. I thought it was sorta ridiculous because if there is a horde of people applying to nursing programs, the waiting list will be just as bad as retrogression for international nurses. Plus there would not be enough educators to accomadate the amount of students applying. In addition, with the lack of funding colleges are getting for their programs, its really a moot suggestion. I mean, nursing is a passion not a last resort!

http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/FL02/109080114 I found this interesting article from this year. Its interesting to see how the various Central florida schools are not getting the funding they need to supply the state with much needed nurses. The writer made a good point, we need to increase capacity not decrease them. I think its weird that we need nurses here but they are cutting the needed supply that the schools can produce via funding and then also on the immigration front, international nurses cant help the shortage because of retrogression. I wonder how all this is gonna play out, especially for us Floridian nurses.

Thanks JanFRN. Waiting is not the issue and I understood from previous threads that there is a backlog due to understaffing and greater influx of applications flooding the colleges. I just wanted to make sure my case wasnt unique and if theres a problem on my end, I can quickly rectify it appropriately without creating further delays. Thanks Silverdragon102, your post was helpful. Gives me an idea where others stand and what I should expect myself.

Has anyone experienced this? I have one outstanding document. I called the sender and they said they sent it to the BON of my choice. I understand theres a backlog at the various BON's in Canada but has it taken anyone else this long for the BON to declare an outstanding document received? Or should I be concerned? I 've heard some say that it took them 6 months to be assessed but does that include wait times for the BON to input documents received in their computer?

Hey Moonlessnight, check this website out: http://geo.international.gc.ca/can-am/detroit/visas/inadmissible-en.asp It explains who is inadmissible to Canada. You should read it. Take care!

Well, I dont understand how you dont see that your statement may be inciting fear.

Hey Sunshine888, I sent my application to CARNA and got an email in 16 days with my Stakeholder number and password. Greg08 is right, check your email first and if its still not there, try calling them to see whats going on. Thanks Greg08. Yes I understand that taking the CRNE is going to be a challenge. I've been studying while I've been waiting to be assessed eligible. I've been looking around at cost of shipping but I dont know whats reliable or not. If you find out anything, please let me know too. Sunshine888, recheck your email from CH. It tells you all you need to know. Message me if you cant find it in the email. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that you HAVE to go through Mercan Recruit because CH uses them to process all North American IEN applicants.

ICE doesnt even have the manpower and resources to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants with a criminal history let alone find people on the internet. For those who want to see what Obama has planned for immigration, go to his website: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/ For those who want to see more accurate wait times for visas and where the US department of state stands with visa processing for qualified applications, go to the US department of State site, they have a Visa Bulletin board with up to date information: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4384.html Nurses are in the employment based category 3 (EB3). The December projection of visa processing is for applications with priority date of May 1st, 2005. Take care and good luck!

Just a heads up.... If you dont have valid status within the country and leave, you can trigger a 3 or 10 year bar depending on how long you overstayed in the country. So even if you dont get deported, you can still be barred for years when you leave. There may be a chance of obtaining a clear background check if you voluntary leave rather than getting deported. Therefore, "foreseeable future" may be longer than expected. "Section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,... Known as "the 3/10-year bar," this provision bars from re-entry those who have accumulated more than six months of illegal presence. Illegal aliens with six to 12 months of unlawful presence are barred for three years; those here for more than a year illegally are barred for 10 years." http://www.cis.org/articles/2003/back1003.html

Thank you very much. You have been very gracious in answering my questions. I appreciate it. Yes I do have a drivers license. I have to exchange it within 90 days for a Canadian one. I was gonna fly in instead of driving up and take advantage of public transporation but since somone mentioned how cold it gets there waiting for public transportation and possible safety issues with walking, I decided to ship my car instead after landing.

Nevada Board of Nursing link: http://www.nursingboard.state.nv.us/

As long as you are registered in the philipines, you should be able to apply for registration in Canada. Its going to take a while tho to get assessed eligible. I sent my application on October 1 by FedEx and they received it on the 2nd and I'm still waiting:confused:

hey moonlessnight! hopefully you at least started the registration process before you were removed. if you havent, most things can be done via mail or internet. what you need to do is apply for registration in the state you got your education. it cant be a different state, so since you went to unlv, then you have to get registered in nevada. thats step one. of course to complete step one. i had a canadian friend who was freaking out b/c she thought she couldnt take the nclex because she didnt have a ssn#. anyways, long story short, you can register without a ssn#. i live in florida, so call your board of nursing (bon) in nevada to verify if this is the case there. once you get your authorization to test (att) then only can you take the nclex. the att is only valid for a weeks so you have to take the nclex within the time frame they provide or you will most likely have to apply all over again and pay more money. now, after you pass nclex, and get your license to practice you can then start applying for jobs in canada and after you get a job offer, they will assist you with a work visa. as long as you entered the united states with a visa (papers) or in other words entered with inspection, and stayed here for at least one year which i gather you have, then in most cases, canada will provide you with a visa. i'm not sure about cases where they deport someone, but i'm assuming since you qualify because you entered the us with papers but overstayed, there shouldnt be a reason why canada wouldnt allow you a visa at least. listen to above posts and seek canadian immigration attorney's advice first. i'm sure you know the steps to registration since you have a bsn in the states and they teach us the process. just keep in mind, that they may not require a ssn# to register. they didnt in florida and my canadian friend who didnt have a ssn# was able to register without problems. to reiterate, this was in florida so check your state requirements. even pearson vue the examination authority didnt need a ssn# from my friend so she was able to sit the exam. you just need a valid id like an unexpired drivers license or passport. make sure you sign your passport can they have turned away people for an unsigned passport. if there are testing sites in philippines, then there shouldnt be a problem really to sit the test as long as you have that att !!! the united states immigration system causes a lot of heartache and i know many people hightailing it out of here because they dont feel its worth it anymore. i know many people who are immigrating to places like uk, australia, new zealand, and yes canada because the path to obtaining visas are more assessible to people in skilled occupations. while i was in nursing school, all foreign nations i spoke with said they were planning a move to canada. i guess canada is reaping the benefits from the us failed immigration system. people from previous posts are right, once they put you into removal proceedings and then deport you, theres nothing you can do. if you had a pending i-485 or if someone made a mistake on your visa, then theres something to work with otherwise i dont see how you can fix it. but i'm not an attorney so this is something you have to research yourself and speak to a qualified individual. your best bet is to look to the future. try first to see if you can get registered in nevada. once thats done, you'll have more options available to you. just a reminder, you may not need a ssn#, check with your bon and the authorized testing company for the nclex. here in florida the authorized testing company for the nclex was pearson vue, i'm not sure if its the same for nevada. if you go to your board of nursing website and print an application for registration, you may see the details you need right there on their site and application form and instructions. but call to your bon to clarify. i hope this helped. i'm also trying to get registered in canada after obtaining my license and registration here in the united states. we are all god's children and its always sad when i hear cases like yours. best of luck to you and your family. i'll keep yall in my prayers.

hi lolita! janfrn is right. i am already licensed and registered here in usa. you cant apply for registration in canada unless you've already obtained registration in your own country first. since you are working lolita, i assume you are registered already in your home country. you can only get a work visa after a canadian employer has provided you with a job offer. but most wont even do that unless you are at least assessed eligible by their board of nursing first. while i've been waiting, i've been studying and researching hospitals and possible areas to live etc. and then coming on these message boards for clarification and insight from the experts! make well informed decisions because its never a good thing being stuck honoring a contract to a place you would never have picked in the first place if you had at least did a little digging on the basics! hey janfrn! i totally understand the backlog but i wonder why theres been such a huge influx recently? i guess i was still in shock over how rude the lady from carna was when i wrote that message! i mean, she sounded like she needed a vacation or a change of job cos i'm sure saying the same thing to every ien who calls has to be driving her crazy wow those day light hours are crazy! we have been getting dark here before six recently. but never at 3 or 4 in the afternoon!!!!!!! during nursing school, i had clinical rotations at this one hospital that had a lot of canadian nurses. b/c since then i was contemplating moving to work in canada, i would ask questions whenever the opportunity arose. anyways, my point is, i was always impressed with their knowledge and delivery of care. i mean, i had never seen or heard of a flexi-seal fms until this nurse showed me how to use it in the critical care unit. made me wonder why others werent using it, . she definitely left a great impression on me. well anyways, my heart is set on ab so hopefully it all works out. otherwise my friend in bc is gonna see a lot of me cos thats my second choice . i'm not favoring sk at all, even tho their cost of living is lower and housing affordability seems better of the 3. hey janfrn! how long does it take the hospital to orientate their ien's at the u? i've seen one hospital in bc that has a 10 week classroom time for ien's. is the u that developed in orienting their ien's and gn's? and during this time, the ien's get paid right? my recruiter for ch said that they require certain things, i cant remember exactly off the top of my head, i'll have to go back to the email to verify but it was my understanding that there will be a skill check list to be completed etc as part of deal. which is great b/c not only does it reassures me, it reassures the hospital of my ability. i'm looking to work in a step down icu unit like pcu or something similar and then work my way up to icu after i've build confidence and the knowledge. do you know if canadian rn certifications (eg. critical care, geriatrics are some examples) are recognized in the us and vise versa? would it be a good idea to start with simple certifications that would also help with knowledge (diabetes, htn) and after some experience in the field then work myself up to gaining that critical care certification (which isnt an easy task)? what would you suggest? over hear nurses earn more with certifications, is it the same in canada? thanks for taking the time to read my posts. i've always been accused of asking too many questions thanks anyhow! hope yall had a great weekend!:)