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Hey Esme12 totally agree. Ridiculous responses but inflammatory topic I suppose. I hate arguments about immigration! I wonder if ppl realise how hard it is to become a citizen of a country which is not your birth country! Here in the UK, foreigners are tested on British history, culture, geography law, etc, etc....all good and well but your average British person doesn't know a tiny fraction of the answers so why should a foreigner know???? Why do we judge people from other countries so harshly??? This 'us versus them' mentality it's crazy...personally I dislike ALL lazy, disrespectful people with a bad work ethic and no interest in contributing to their community, whether they're 'locals' or 'foreigners.' Perhaps we should have a system where people only get to live where they want to live based on merit, not birth-right....just sayin!!!

Please take care everyone when posting! Love2readRN I totally empathise with your plight but you've gotta expect some anger when you post things like that about being the only nurse in the world affected by the shutdown, come on. Listen I am in the same boat actually so you are not the only one. My visa is on hold too and I'm pretty down but the shutdown will not last forever. We just have to grit our teeth like everyone else and wait until they get their sh!t together, which surely will be within the next 2 weeks tops. The immigration issue, ouch it's nasty. I work with a lot of overseas nurses. Some of them went through a lot to get here (UK) and they seem to genuinely like it here. BUT...there are a lot of overseas RNs who don't seem to particularly like Britain and are constantly going on and on about how fantastic it is 'back home' and any chance they get they're back home for a visit. I often wonder why on earth they uprooted themselves to come to the UK, it seems a lot are either financially motivated or just took any job they could cos their fantastic home country couldn't offer them employment. But I can only speak for myself.....although you seem pretty passionate too.....I absolutely love the States. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I envy those born in America who do not have to go through the hell I am going through just to live and work there. I know a lot of Americans are very proud to be Americans, but I've equally met many who do not appreciate what they have - I wish they had to leave America for a while and not know if they could ever return, I bet they would appreciate the place a lot more! But that sentiment can also be applied to the UK. Do I deserve to be able to live and work in Britain freely just because Iwas born there? Because frankly I hate many aspects of living in this country. I am desperate to get away from here. But what about John Doe on the other side of the world who loves Britain and desperately want to live here and make his home here, and is struggling with ludicrous immigration issues and may not ever get here? Do I 'deserve' to be here more than him? I ponder on these issues a lot. Going through an immigration process makes you quite philosophical.percyRN you do not need to get a lawyer. If you definitely meet the criteria for a H1b visa, be determined and focused and SEND YOUR RESUME OUT TO EVERY HOSPITAL in the area you want to work. If you tick all the boxes, hopefully someone will consider sponsoring you, especially if it is a more rural/undesirable area where they do not have tons of applicants. Good luck!

I know you've already made your mind up but I just read your post and wanted to throw my 2 cents in. I generally find that those who discourage you from working in the OR are the ones who have the least, or no experience at all, of the actual OR. Standing in the corner for an hour watching your patient have a lap chole during the 'patient journey' does not consitute in any way as actual OR nursing experience. As a student nurse the majority of your clinical rotations are spent in non-critical care areas, and in my experience when they do their critical care rotations they get assigned to the ER or the ICU. Hence, the OR has this ridiculous reputation that you will lose all of your skills based on no evidence whatsoever. I would argue that actually it is the cream of the crop that end up in the OR. It is generally classified as the most specialized area of nursing practice without advanced certification and requires skills that you will never learn on a Care of the Elderly ward or the outpatient clinic. The skills you will use in those places are generic, run-of-the-mill nursing interventions that basically we can all do. As great as that is, the skills you will learn in the OR are skills that most other nusres will never attain. So, you could theoretically do their job with your eyes shut, but they could not do your job without additional training. Which is why they are very quick to dismiss it. It's called an inferiority complex. The surgical patient comes into the hospital for the sole purpose of having surgery, and you are there to take care of them at their most vulnerable. The ward nurse will wipe their brow and tickle their chin before and after the event, but you are there for them during the actual surgery. it is exciting, complex, challenging and the ones who try and put you off are the ones who would not be capable of doing it. I wouldn't want to do anything else!

Thanks. I'm a non-USA nurse so I am not familiar with the terminology. What does 'with-holding' mean. What am I holding back lol. It's a tad frustrating as it is difficult to communicate to others something we are extremely familiar with, so I am having a bit of a struggle getting explicit information. I know very well that all of us find it hard to put something accross, whether it's directions or translating something, without a vague assumption that the other party 'kinda knows' the answer to what they are asking. Like, we'll say "go past Main and take a left at the Saltgrass and you'll see the body shop right there next to the ------ that you're looking for." Assuming that the person asking for directions knows what a Saltgrass and a body shop is, and talking to them like they're an idiot if they fess up that they don't know what you're talking about! I literally know nothing and am very pro-active but I am not getting satisfactory results from my endeavours & homework, haha. I've looked on so many websites and they all literally say different things. Here in the UK, our taxation system is MUCH simpler than in the USA. Everyone who earns less than about £10,000 is completely exempt from tax. Those who earn above that, up to about £35,000 pays 22% tax. Above that its' 40% tax. For all of us. It seems a lot more annoyingly complicated in the States! If someone in the UK said to me, "I'll be earning £25,000 per year - how much tax will I be paying?" I'd say, "22%." Evidently, it's not that clear-cut in America! Sheesh...

Hi all... Could anyone give me an idea how much is generally taken from an RNs salary per month in Texas? I know TX has no state tax. My annual salary will be $65,000 per annum. I am finding it pretty hard to do any planning for my budget when I do start working in TX as people are quite secretive about this info. I am not interested in how much money people have in their bank accounts and I am not overly focused on money but I would like to know roughly how much money I will be coming out with each month so I can make some plans and get organised. The job offer was a couple of days ago and when I spoke to the HR staff on the phone I did ask about this and she said she would 'put something together for me' and let me know. In the meantime though I would be very grateful if anyone could give me some idea, I have been on all of the tax calculation websites but I don't find them to be helpful - they all give different answers so I don't know which one to believe! Thanks guys xx

Gingers' Mom, for some reason I didn't see your last response to this thread ^ until today, thank you it's very helpful. My husband has had an American Express credit card here in the UK for a couple of years, he is quite convinced that this will count towards a credit history once we arrive in the States, is he right? I have been offered the job at the hospital I have been alluding to and I asked the recruiter directly how much I could expect to pay in taxes per month on average and she said she would 'put something together and get back to me.' (Salary $65,000 pa). So I'm none the wiser, haha. I would like to figure out what kind of brackets I need to work within to plan for a rental property (we won't be able to get a mortgage straight away), i.e will we be able to afford to rent a $1,300 per month apartment or do I need to look at properties under $1,000, etc. I guess i will just have to wait until my recruiter gets back to me won't I.

Well I have a 3-4 week wait to ensure my visa has been approved (I'm a non-USA nurse) but the recruiter sees no reason why it would be rejected as I meet all the criteria. So as soon as the visa is cleared I can hnd my notice in my current job and finally come to the US of A!!! At last!!! I have been working towards this for a long, long time I am absolutely ecstatic my hard work nd determination has paid off. x

OMG been offered a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo! Happy tears x

Wow....months later? I will have pulled out every hair in my head by then haha. Thanks so much for your advice it really helps. I am going to wait until either tomorrow evening or Friday morning and call them both if I still haven't heard anything. The interviews were 2 weeks ago. I am relieved to hear that it isn't considered too aggressive or inappropriate to contact them.

Thanks. It is TOTALLY excruciating. I still haven't heard anything I will call em on Friday if there's still no word. Good luck with your job.x

No I just used the normal service the quick service costs double the $$. It took a couple of months, they already had the documentation they required from the CES report. They mostly used the same information

You seem a bit vague, where overseas precisely? Is it definitely the USA you are aiming for? Because if you just generally want to go ''overseas' you would be well advised to go to Australia/NZ instead the process is much simpler and visas are easier to acquire. Unless you are 100% committed and determined to go to America it will either never happen or it will take you years and years. It's not impossible but it's very difficult and you have to be extremely motivated and willing to do A LOT of donkey work. Signing up to agencies will entail even more expense and longer waits, I believe. But if you've absolutely got your heart set on the States....it can be done...good luck. You need a H1b or EB/2 visa. To be elidgible for these, you need a BSN, a CES report and possibly to take the exam, from CGFNS, an ATT from your BON, take and pass the NCLEX-RN, get a VisaScreen letter from CGFNS and get certification in your area of speciality, which entails taking another exam and will result in you then being a 'Certified ----- Nurse' (pediatric/emergency room/whatever). This process took me about 3 years. In addition, to qualify for an EB visa you must have at least 5 years experience. THEN, you can start sending out your resume.

Thanks.....I got an email on Friday from one hospital saying they are still interested in me and are 'looking into things' with a view to making an offer. Talk about suspense!!! At least they're still interested though so I'm keeping everything crossed!! I emailed the other one and asked for a application status update....not heard back from them yet.....I will just have to be patient won't I.

I don't meet the criteria for a EB2/3 as I only have 4 years expereince not 5. So I am going through the H1b route. As I said in my original post I already have my CES repoort and VisaScreen certificate from CGFNS. But thanks for your reply anyway x

Hi all.....I am aware that this question has been asked before but I am going crazy here and need some advice. Please! I had two interviews last week (Wed & Thurs) and haven't heard from either of them yet. One of them said 'I really like what I am hearing, let me meet with such-and-such (another manager presumably) and I will speak with you soon.' The other one, I asked directly when I could expect to hear back from them and she said, next week. I said, please will you contact me either way and she said yes, definitely. But....nothing! And both hospitals lead me to believe they were quite anxious to fill the position and had been advertising the post for some time without much interest from applicants so presumably they are not interviewing tons of other people which would explain a long wait....unless that's just something recruiters say to 'keep you hanging on' when in fact they have no intention of contacting you for several weeks after your interview? I feel like I am going mad checking my e-mails every chance I get, what is the appropriate time to contact them and request feedback or is that a total no-go? I know people have different experiences and some believe 'what will be will be' but perhaps there is a recruiter out there who can enlighten us as to what the proper etiquette is in this situation. After a week is it deemed overly aggressive to contact HR to ask when to expect a response? Or does it show a pro-active attitude? I wish they would be honest and not say they would get back soon but then fail to get back "soon" after all; it's kind of cruel and I have pretty much convinced myself they are not interested even though the interviews seemed to go really well. What should I do? Please help, I am getting really down about this. thanks x

I believe you have a strong advantage being a nurse midwife. I don't know how far your UK credentials will carry you or whether or not they will require you to obtain some sort of American nurse-midwife certification too. Although- you must have a CES from CGFNS if you've already taken the NCLEX? It is very difficult, not to find jobs, there are thousands of posts, but to find a hospital willing to sponsor you for a visa once you meet the criteria. Go onto UCIS website to make sure you do meet the criteria for a H1b visa. Once you do you would be well advised to apply for positions in more rural areas as opposed to say Houston or Dallas as they are more likey to have more difficulty filling positions and will subsequently consider sponsoring overseas RNs. I wishI could tell you more but I am just at the interview stage so far, and as great as that is it's only half the battle as an offer of a job does not necessarily mean the visa application will be successful. So I am just keeping everything crossed. Good luck x

Thanks guys. I did have a look on the UCIS website and it says 3 months but there is an express service so who knows. I realise that mostly NPs get approved but if the RN position you are applying for requires a BSN, and a lot of critical care positions for experienced RNS do (ICU, OR, ER) then the employer can demonstrate that you are eligible for sponsorship. A lot of more 'basic' RN positions (ward-based or clinic based for example) do not require a BSN so would not qualify.

Thanks Silver Dragon & thank you Gem for continuing to respond to my questions. Where did you hear that only advanced/educator nurses get h1bs? I have made it quite clear to the potential employer that I would require sponsorship for a H1b and I have had a 'preliminary' Skype interview with them already, which must have gone well because the same day they emailed me to schedule a 'proper' interview next week with the nurse manager plus the whole staff team, oh boy...sleepless nights...! Surely if they only sponsor ANPs or nurse educators they would have said thanks but no thanks, like a lot of other hospitals have said to me. I haven't been vague about my credentials. I think the H1b is extremely subjective and depends upon how effectively the potential emplyer petitions on your behalf to demonstrate that you are the best candidate for the job. I read somewhere that it's like match making and has a lot of grey areas (sorry 'gray' haha.) Also, how desperate the hospital is to fill the vacancy and how long the post has been advertised yet remains unfilled due to lack of interest or suitable candidates. Hence those hospitals in rural or unpopular areas are more likely to consider sponsorship than the big flashy hospitals in major cities. And with reference to USCIS Gem, it clearly sets out the criteria on there and I do meet the criteria...BSN...licensure...'specialist' experience...and finally, specialist certification. Fingers and toes crossed!!!!!!!! Are you in Houston yet Gem? x

Hi everyone, I am a British RN who has been working towards my dream of living in Texas for many years now. I now finally meet the criteria for a H1b visa (passing NCLEX, TX RN license issued, getting Visa Screen certificate, taking & passing the CNOR exam and achieving certification - all done here in the UK whilst working full time as a British RN)and as anyone who has done this from outside the States and was trained/educated in a way which is massively different from American nurse training would probably agree, it is hands down the biggest achievment of my life so far. The second achievement will, obviously, be securing a position and making the dream become a reality. So, finally, I have been blessed with TWO interviews! I have already had 2 'preliminary' Skype interviews with recruiters, and next week I have 2 second interviews scheduled with the nurses in charge of the departments. In all probability they will be the ones who ultimately decide whether or not to extend an offer of employment, so I am EXTREMELY anxious to get it right. One of these interviews is going to be in front of the whole nursing team of the department so I am having sleepless nights! Is this what is classified as a Peer Interview? Anybody out there ever had a Skype interview? Or if anyone just has some general interview tips for me for experienced OR nurses, or for overseas nurses interviewing for USA positions, it would be a wonderful help. Thank you!!!

Hello all.... Please can anyone out there tell me how long it takes to process a H1b visa for employment in a hospital which is affilliated with a university and exempt from the cap and annual cut off points. I have an interview lined up (woo hoo!) and I am really hopeful and positive however from experience I now realise that most managers/recruiters/HR staff who do the interviewing and hiring are surprisingly oblivious of the nuts and bolts of acquiring the actual visa. They seem to be able to tell you whether their facility is willing to sponsor overseas RNs or not, and following interviews can then subsequently make a decision about whether they want to offer you the position or not, but beyond that, it is clearly the remit of the hospital's legal department who deals with the technicalities. I understand that an offer of a job does not necessarily guarantee that the application for a visa will be successful. But if there is anyone out there who knows what the approximate time frame is for a H1b applicant between being offered a job, and actually starting employment, I would be very grateful. Thank you!!!

Thanks so much Alana211. From what I can understand the reason the on call situation is so extreme is because although the cath lab have quite a few STEMIs they don't get enough of them to warrant staffing the lab 24 hours a day 7 days per week. Unlike a regular emergency/trauma OR which deals with multiple cases e.g stabbings, AAAs, fractured NOFs, lap appendectomies etc, so can have a skeleton staff team overnight. So they have the cath lab staff constantly on standby but they are not needed every night/weekend. I think I would definitely enjoy it though, if I'm fortunate enough to get the job. x

Thank you for your advice. To be honest what you are describing does not sound too dissimilar to regular OR duties, I frequently scrub for long procedures (6-8 hours) wearing lead aprons etc so I don;t think I will struggle with that. I guess it's just the on call. I had my interview yesterday and it was very positive and the on call seems to be manageable from what was discussed.x

Hi Candabeth, I don't know anything about the E3 visa so I can't really comment on which specific criteria you are obliged to meet before employers will consider sponsoring you. as for the H1b, certification is definitely a must. The main criteria are: a BSN (or equivalent), USA RN license, and the final clause is that you are either a nurse practitioner or clinical specialist (with certification), a nurse manager, OR work in what is deemed to be a 'specialised area' such as critical care, emergency room, or operating room WITH CERTIFICATION. When I passed the NCLEX back in Feb and was issued with my license I sent my resume out and made some telephone calls but got no responses, nobody was interested. I passed the CNOR last month, resent my resume and BOOM I got two interviews!!!! So you definitely need to get it. Hope that helps. Also if you read the posts above written in response to my original post, most of them are negative i.e. there are tons of American nurses who can't find a job nobody is willing to take on an overseas nurse so don't even bother, etc. there is one positive post from someone who says persisitence is the key and they are right. I have been persisitent and found two potential employers who are willing to sponsor me so don't give up!! x

Hello everyone I have an interview scheduled for a cardiac cath lab and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice or tips please. I am an experienced OR nurse (scrub, circulating and PACU too) and want to branch out and learn new skills. Clearly there are a lot of transferrable skills that you can carry over from the OR to the cath lab - the lab is an operating room in a sense - however I have very little experience specifically in cardiology. My main areas are urology, general, bariatric and vascular (including endo vascular.) I am aware I have tons to learn but has anyone else out there had a similar experience? Did you find the transition manageable? I want a challenge and enjoy pushing myself but I don't want to kill myself in the process. Also I don't understand why cath lab jobs seem to come with so much on call. This seems to be universal and accepted as coming with the territory - but why don't they just employ enough staff so that you're not on call literally half your life? It seems dangerous to me, called out all night and expected to do a full shift the next day with no sleep! This compromises patient safety hugely! You wouldn't expect this in any other area of nursing, why is it considered normal here? I do on call for the OR but certainly not as much as it seems I'll be doing in the lab...seems crazy. Thanks in advance guys! Any help greatly appreciated, I am very apprehensive! x

OK Thank you. And these deductions amount to approximately how much? Please try and be specific saying 'it depends' doesn't help because I don't know what it depends on. Thank you!