grantsally1

Hi I used Trustforte Corporation for my evaluation, Oz to US. Not a problem, not expensive, very quick service, same day if you want to pay extra. You just have to scan and send you docs to them. I got my evaluatoin just in case it was required for my visa (E3), but it was never asked for by US consulate. You don't have to go through the CGFNS again. If only CGFNS had competition? You can see what the private sector offers as opposed CGFNS, much cheaper, quicker and friendlier. Good luck

Hi Candabeth. The most difficult part will be landing a job. A lot of Rn positions only require an associates degree however that is slowly changing some states faster than others. You will have to look at university and magnet status hospitals which require a percentage of Bsn employees. The visa will not be an issue, finding a job over others may be. Unless you have a specialty and or experience it may be tough going. I don't want to put you off but just spelling the facts as is now. Good luck.

Good to hear. It sounds like you have what the hospitals will desire. E3 visa is great and if you have a spouse they can get work authorisation. Also no need to fill out i94 cards everytime you leave and re enter the US. A lot of the HR in hospitals do not know about the E3. Even the US customs guy stamped my passport EB3 before correcting it the other day. He probably hadn't seen it before. Depends where in the US you will be going. I guess the west and east coast would see more E3's than other parts. H1B would be a hassle and cost for an employer making it much harder to land the job you are after. If you need any more info during your transition I am happy to help out. It is a long process but very achievable.

Hi booha I would not rush into signing up with an agency yet. If you sign up and break the contract you could be up for a lot of $$$$$$. Agencies will make promises to get you in but it does not mean they will be able to secure a job for you. I would apply direct to a number of the large hospitals which have their own recruiters. Look at large University hospitals etc. I don't think you can be fussy in where you want to go. You may have to look outside the State your are licensed to find a job and be preperared to endorse your license along the way. Are you an Australian citizen using the E3 Visa? If not what visa are you planning to use? You will require some experience in a specialty nursing area not so much to satsify the E3 criteria, but to secure the job at the hospital over others? Good luck.

My degree was a Bachelor of Nursing Degree (3 years) but it included everything required for general nursing under U.S requirements. I did not compete a 4 year BSN degree. I don't have specific clinical hours with me they are back in Aust. but I think I may have completed about 90 hours obs and peads each however I completed extra obs with midwifery training etc. Mental health about the same. Vermont BON used to have minimum required hours for theory and clinicals listed on their website and I exceed those expect the humanities theory subjects most theory so check out their website under Nurse Licensing. Each BON is different however I would assume them to be similar to Vermont, excluding humanities. CGFNS will basically give you an indication once they issue your CES report. If your are training is the same as a first level general nurse a lot of the BON's will use this to forward you toward the NCLEX. Most BON's have this information on their websites for foreign trained nurses. I would stick with CGFNS even though they are expensive and slower. You can now get a 10 business day turnaround with them once they have all your required documents but it will cost you more. Most BONS use CGFNS and they will issue you a Visascreen later on using the same information with your CES record so from my experience use CGFNS. I'm not sure the best approach for you regarding job hunting but I would not even concern yourself with that until you become licensed in the U.S and some others in that area may be able to assist you then. Pay rates vary on where you work and also your experience. My hourly pay here is not much less per hour than back in Australia however I am paying less tax here and the cost of living is exactly 50% less here than where I was living so financially I am better off than back home. But as I said you pay will mostly be a factor of your experience. RN wages in the US are fairly good when you look at the average wages in most States and cities. Hope this helps

Thanks Ghilbert I was persistent with the Hospital HR and was employed in L&D in CO. Heard many good raps about lifestyle in CO however some areas are expensive by US standards for leasing. Hospital hired external attorney to complete the paperwork as they had not employed prior on this visa type. The consulate only looked at the LCA. Very happy settling in adjusting to the computerized recording systems etc. Glad I did not use an agency. There is diffinetly a business to be had transitioning Australian nurses to the US bypassing agencies however that said it is getting harder with most BONs requiring socials upfront. Thanks again.

Hi there. Not sure who you are referring to regarding hours Cgfns or Vermont? I completed my uni degree in early 1990's when training, education was the same as the U.S (general) covering all subjects and had no problems at all other than the slow CGFNS process. I did complete high school. I applied to Vermont as they did not require SSN back then, they now do. They required 40 hours humanities which we study in high school ie history, language but only college hours are acceptable to them. This is just a Vermont thing that I wasn't aware of when I applied and would have not wasted my time and money if I knew this. I didn't waste more time with an appeal and went through NM instead who issued a license when I passed NCLEX. I then endorsed to CO and happily working in the U.S. now. I suggest you apply direct to Texas if you wish to work there. Endorsing still has issues particularly if you have no prior US nursing experience then you may have to supply your Aussie work history and even go before the BON for endorsement approval. As I mentioned before in other posts the e3 visa is the easy part, it is getting through hospital HR who have not dealt with these visas before which makes it difficult. You will have to stand out with a lot of experience or a specialty or both to be offered a position above others at the moment. Good luck.

Ghilbert is absolutely correct. At no stage did the Consulate ask to see any paperwork other then the certified LCA. A couple of basic questions and that was it. Not even a look a the job offer from memory or the Visascreen etc etc. You don't have to worry about the visa side of things at all, the hard part is getting the job offer. Your issue will be with hospital HR which haven't dealt with E3 visas before. Often they are reluctant to change or do something different. If other Aussies have been or are employed on E3 visas at the location it will make it a LOT easier for you. Thanks to Ghilbert, Dixie9 i think, and silverdragon with their advice, I did everything myself and did not use an agency. Most large hospitals will recruit direct and may use an immigration attorney. I doubt any agencies other than travel nursing will get you in the door with a hospital as they charge upwards of $10K fee for the privilege. And travel nursing requires prior U.S nursing experience. If you have experience you should be okay with a lot of searching but without experience you may struggle. I am now working in the U.S on E3 and loving it. It takes time and $$ but you have the option of E3 and most others don't. I did not have to complete make up courses as I completed my degree a long time ago when it was a general nursing degree which included obs, paeds and I did midwifery after that. At least you can now get GCFNS to do your report quickly by paying extra and not wait for an eternity. Believe me they were the most slow and frustrating part of the process. You have to expect that when they have no competition.

I had no problems with NCLEX and passed 1st time with 75 questions now licensed and working in U.S. I did my bachelor of nursing in early 1990 and it covered all areas unlike the same nursing degrees now days. You could do a 4 yr BSN in Australia rather than the standard 3 yr degree if you are thinking of returning to the U.S. You will pay more for a degree as a non resident in Australia keep that in mind. Good luck with your decision.

I'm not sure what you are asking. If you don't already have a license in any State, you cannot endorse to another State until you have a permit. You will have to apply for an initial license with your NCLEX passed. Also, please read up on New Mexico BON; they recently introduced a policy. When you apply for an initial NM license, you must show that you will remain in the State and not solely apply for licensure to endorse elsewhere immediately after. New Mexico doesn't require an SSN for application as yet. You should look at the State you wish to work in rather than finding a cheaper/faster approach, as it will take you longer, cost more and cause you grief by jumping State BONs. Also, the service at NM BON was not exactly friendly when I used them. I think they may be very snowed under with applications. Good luck anyway.

Well done on getting your license. I am around the same stage that you are and awaiting a job offer at the moment. I got my NM license last month and endorsing to CO now. If you have got this far by yourself like me, I wouldn't bother dealing with an agency just yet. There are a couple of things that may make it hard to gain employment in our situation. Depends on the hospital and if they are aware of E3 visa and the HR's prior history of recruiting 'outside the square' so to speak. A lot will probably think it is to hard but not know it is actually easy and cost free for them. The other obviously depends on the State and City your applying. Some States are doing much better than others employing new candidates. If you have the experience that they are after and are aware of the E3 visa you are half way there. I think agencies can charge up to $15k to the recruiting hospital for the privilege. I don't think many hospitals are that desperate to pay $$$$$ when they have an oversupply of applicants presently. good luck

Thanks for that steep bay. I will be using an E3 visa, which requires a job offer from the employer and doesn't have to supply an SSN at that stage. As soon as I get a job offer together with LCA from the employer, I can apply at a U.S. consulate for the E3 visa on the spot. If approved, I can apply for the SSN before landing in the U.S., which is then supplied to the employer before starting with them. You only need a valid Visa to apply for SSN outside the U.S. Not sure about other visas, though. I had no problems getting New Mexico License without SSN and am currently endorsing Colorado using an SSN waiver for foreign nurses for endorsement—$ 43 plus a $30 nurse verification fee. I don't know how R.N.s will circumnavigate the SSN issue with the boards of nursing when they all change to SSN requirements before any applications. It will be impossible for foreign nurses to apply for full stops. We all know we have to have an SSN before working, which is fine, but it makes it very hard to gain licensure, and that's the only issue most of us have. Regards and best of luck.

New Mexico doesn't require SSNs. I can confirm that as I just got a license issued there as a foreign nurse.

Just found out as well I passed the NCLEX RN exam. I am an Australian nurse and went to Hawaii and sat my exam in Honolulu on 21 st August. Computer cut off at 75 questions. Heaps of SATA questions. My husband did the p.vue trick about 3 hours after the exam and it said 'at this time you can't re register..... My official pass came in this morning!

Thanks for the quick reply. One less thing to worry about in this long process.