carvanaragon

welcome to california rep

also, along avenida, near jose reyes memorial hosp, or within the area of national orthopedics hospital. they are also cheap there. usually any color would do but try to contact your facility if they do have a particular color. goodluck.

congrats rep. dont forget to bring a lot of scrubs when you come here. you will be saving a lot while you are starting. i am so happy for you and your family.

while waiting for your papers to be done, find a hospital where you can practice as a nurse and get the necessary skills to prepare you to work here. while many employers get new grads, it is for your own consumption. it is very difficult to come here and work without any clinical experience at all. so while you have time there, get a nurse job and learn the most of it. this is just my advice.

in california, deductions include social sec,medicare,fed, st tax, st disab insurance, union if u belong to one. so roughly, deductions ranges 31 to 33 percent of your gross income. but you need not worry because u will still have a lot to spend. it is really expensive upon starting because u start anew, u will be purchasing many new necessities but after the first few months to a year, all will be well. another thing is that being new in this country, you wont have a credit history so it is a little more difficult to get credit cards. when starting, applying for gas, public utilities, electricity etc, i had to go to their offices when normally they can do it by phone. so a piece of advice, once you get here, go to dept of motor vehicle, get a ca ID and drivers license if applicable. also prioritize your ss number. everything you fill up in here needs an ss number. welcome to california

you can file for an advance parole concommitantly with AOS and EAD to enable you to leave the country just in case you need to. it takes 60 days or less for processing. it took me 8 months from filing of I-140, AOS to receipt of green card. i was able to go home to my country and come back to US using my advance parole before i got my green card.

it is easy to get a SSN, they have form which you sign. better, download a form from their website try searching social security administration. instructions for filling up and needed documents are also available in that site. prepare your form before going to their office. you will be asked to present 2 valid proof of identification like passport, birth certificate (NSO), etc. It is also necessary to bring proof that you are elligible to work in the US. (mine was EAD). goodluck and congrats again.

In my case, i also paid for my lawyer's fees but still went on and took the services of the lawyer recommended by the hospital HR. It made the process easier for all of us, the HR, the lawyer and me since most paperworks are already with the lawyer and all she did was update data and the HR had no second thoughts in giving some of the information since trust has already developed between them. It took us only 6-7 days to accomplish and file my paperworks to the USCIS and were able to beat the deadline set last December 30, 2004. My lawyer went ahead and file my paperworks even without my visascreen because of the deadline we were trying to beat. If you have the visascreen on hand or is nearly at hand, perhaps it is better to submit them all together. By doing so, you will bypass the RFE stage which in my case caused a delay of approximately 2 months. Discuss these things with your lawyer and decide which one is best for your case because each case is unique and different from any case. This was what happened to my case, so i hope you can pick up something from it.

congratulations!!!!!

in my case, i was given 84 days to submit with a closing statement that says, failure to do so may result in the denial of my AOS. move fast....

Apply for an advance parole also called travel document (I131) to the USCIS. Usually it is approved within 60 days. The fee is about 165 dollars. goodluck

My EAD expires on Feb 28, 2006. I will still be renewing my EAD on October for the first time. I submitted my VS soon after i received it from ICHP.

Do you have any idea, how long it would take service centers to process AOS? i have my EAD and currently working but i still would want to have an idea how long should i wait for my AOS. i already submitted my VS.

my PD is December 28, 2004. my papers were filed in California service center. i had the approval of my I-140 this may 2005. my I-485 is still pending up to this time.

thanks for the info.

do you know of any program in california for MDs for RN license? thanks a lot.

There are a lot of foreign MDS already in the US as RNS. But most had obtained their nursing school prior to coming to the US. One option could be to go back home, obtain a nursing course then take the NCLEX. In the Philippines, MDS taking up nurses have a shortened program. I dont know if this exist in your country too. Since your father is here as a tourist, he has to consult an immigration lawyer how he can change his status from tourist to student if he plans to take up nursing in the US. welcome to all nurses.

welcome to allnurses, kabayan. Dont give your commitment to the first agency that you see. Try to go to as many agencies you can find and compare and contrast. if you can, it is better to try working things on your own first even before going to an agency. I have gone through the same path you are taking. i did not work with any agency, i worked on my own and it can be done. I graduated March 2004 in Pangasinan, though i come from Baguio. i took my local board last June, took my NCLEX last November 30, 2004. I started working in Southern CA last May 3, 2005. Rate of 21 is rude and a commitment of 3 years is not very friendly.

congratulations..... welcome to the USA.

yes, i am now in surgical floor. it is an HCA facility 415 beds capacity. i walked in, submitted application and was interviewed same day. i was lucky they took me in. the hospital filed immigrant petition for me. it was approved last May. this is in southern california.

if calling from the philippines dial 001-909-101-7878. the number u are trying to call is a US number... try to get a local number, calling this number is a long wait since you will be getting menus and options and be asked to wait in the end and you are charged overseas calls. try to call their customer hotline.

i am also a new nurse grad from PI who came here in South CA on a tourist visa . no experience as nurse. took NCLEX here at CA. able to get a sponsor but here in Southern CA. i started working last may 3.

yes, i am in southern california. which hospital will you be? welcome to the US.

English proficiency is a needed requirement for the VS. There is no way you can be issued a VS without it.

hi zuriel i travelled recently with advance parole. AP once issued by USCIS allows you to travel in and out of US as your visa. that is the purpose of the AP. before i went out of the country, i heard a lot of negative comments about AP like it is not a guarantee that immigration would let you in at the port of entry etc. i inquired from my lawyer and she assured me that there would be no problem because that was the purpose we applied for the AP. i called the USCIS customer service hotline and i was told that AP would allow one to travel in and out of the country. so, when i went home to my country last march 30, 2005, i had a peaceful mind. i returned to US through LAX april 30, 2005 and there was no much question asked. just bring with you the 2 copies of original AP issued to you by USCIS. hope you will have peace of mind too.