chepita

I don't think they would waste their resources. They'd be well used, it is just that we do not qualify. We are not citizens or residents, it's this country's money. It is fair.

We are basically on our own, but there a a few choices. Private loans, with a US citizen cosigner is one, but it is a loan. My son attends a private college and they have scholarships based on academics regardless of nationality. The state university I attended for nursing school offers some aid for need and some aid for academic achievement. When in F-1 I was awarded some aid per semester based on my grades, not much, but it helped. Look for private aid, F1 students are not elegible for anything state or federally funded. It's only fair I guess...

I've asked this before, but the attorney I am about to retain told me that I could stay here while I was in school and that I could file I-140 and that would get me "on the waiting list". I am confused, can I or not? OPT ends Dec 19. I graduated ADN and passed NCLEX and have a Louisiana liscence. The hospital is willing to petition me, do they have to pay for anything in the process? When should I start the process or should I at all? Please let me know.

My attorney said you could file I-140 and stay here with F-1 status, attending full time and everything except working. Is that right? He said that would place me on the "waiting line", which I know could be years. Is this accurate? Can I be in F-1 with I-140 filed, waiting for a time to file I-485?

I recently did the change of status for my son from F-2 to F1. He was able to study in highschool with the F-2, but for college, for degree seeking classes, he needed the F-1. With F-2 status he would only have been able to take non degree seeking classes, personal enrichment classes, or audit. If you are going to pay for classes they might as well be towards your BSN. The change of status process took less than take 90 days, but that is the prudent time to expect and to plan your issues by. Good luck, whatever you decide to do, and congratulations on your RN degree!

Congratulations, I still remember how good if feels to pass!!!

Believe me, I know I'm blessed!!! I am making the best out of this opportunity and learning all I can. I want the hospital to value my work and mysef as a worthy individual that can be an asset for them. Visa uncertainty can affect us all in many ways. I am aware of how lucky I've been so far. We'll see what lies ahead... Good luck and ciao!!!

The bonus is for signing a contract for one year. The hospital's human resources department is aware of the expiration date on my EAD. It will allow me to work for them for one year, like I signed on my contract. Being under OPT was no problem at all. I applied like anyone else, got hired and received a great orientation. They are aware of the excat circumstances. They of course have a copy of my EAD. The hospital has an incentive program for ADN to BSN and are more than willing to include me in it when my OPT is over in December. It may not be exactly true for everyone, for every hospital or for every state, but it is true for me. I will never lie or mislead anyone with my words.

That's right. I am working under OPT and simply applied for the job, was interviewed and was hired on the spot. I got my sign on bonus and everything. I just dread the fact that if nothing changes, it will be over in december!!!!

I HAD 75 AND PASSED ON FEB 29. I HAD THIS HORRIBLE FEELING FOR DAYS , I WAS SURE I HAD NOT PASSED. BUT I DID!!! I PAYED THE $7.00 TO CHECK IT ON LINE. I COULD NOT WAIT!! I TOOK IT ON FRIDAY AND FOUND OUT ON SUNDAY. STAY CALM. IT IS OVER NOW AND KEEP YOUR HOPES UP. YOU GRADUATED AND THAT IS A HUGE SUCCESS. LET US KNOW WHEN YOU FIND OUT. GOOD LUCK:up:

I passed!!!! I just found out!! I'm still shaking!!! Thank you Jesus!!!! I love this feeling!! OH YEAH!! OH YEAH!!! OH YEAH!!

Exactly what I needed, a place to vent! I warn you, you might regret it!!! I took NCLEX on Friday Feb. 29, so it seems like I will fit right in. .. I am freaking out, I am sure it is everyone's story, but I honestly feel like I have never felt before!!! The only thing I can think about is the test, questions, what if..., what if not..., was this right, was this wrong, 75 questions? 50/50? who passed, who failed... This is the recap. Just to vent.... My husband and I drove a couple of hours from home to the city where I was going to test. First thing we did was go check the address of the testing center. Got there ok, had a bit of a hard time finding the hotel, found it, checked in and went to find a place to eat. I was starving, had a headache, cramps and PMS!! The voice on the GPS thingy was driving me crazy along with my husband's turning and re- turning to try to find a McDonald's!!!! The hotel lady said there was a Wendy's neaby, so my husband tries to find it with the GPS... I don't even LIKE Wendy's!!! He follows directions and we end up at this dark, not too pretty street, and sure enough, there's Wendys... A BAR !!! called Wendy's that is... At about nine o c'clock at night, we found the McDonald's. There was NOBODY in the place, except for a group of men "watching" us pull up as they smoked and drank!!! We got our meals, a shake to go and went to the "historical" hotel my husband had kindly booked for us on line because it was close to the testing center! It was "historical" ok, the bathroom creaked when you sat, shook when you flushed and the hair dryer in the bathroom looked like the vent tube behind the clothes dryer but had that 70's brown appliance tint to it. Finally, I showered and did my last 75 practice NCLEX questions... Oh! I forgot, I had a pulled muslce on my back and it was killing me AND, I was taking antibiotics for a UTI and the "expected side effects" were bad!!! So I finished my questions... scored in the 80's and decided to go to sleep with that feeling... the feeling of passing!! The next morning ran smoothly after a night of hourly waking up and trying to close my eyes and rest without my eyelids twitching!!! Drove to the testing center without any problems, got dropped off, got a good luck kiss and a prayer and went on up to suite 212. I prayed, had my lucky charms with me and felt ok. I sat for my test and I was honestly surprised that I was not shaking! I took a long deep breath, prayed again, gave myself a pep talk and got started. The first question, a pedi question!! Not my thing, and not a good way to start! I kept going, got a math problem, gtt/min. Worked it with confidence ( not a good thing, because on my drive back home I realized I typed in 33.3 ggts/min, not 33!!!) Oh well!!! I looked at the question # and it was 65 and I said to myslef, at 75 I'll take a break, but the very nice computer who had been monitoring and measuring my thinking for over an hour, and I guess was reading my mind also, offered me a break right at 71 questions. I took it, went to the bathroom and went right back in. Sat down again, answered four more questions and it all went blue...BLUE!!! I raised my hand and was escorted out, fingerprinted AGAIN and headed out with the eeriest feeling ever. I called my husband, he picked me up, I text messaged my son to tell him I was out, tried to read an NCLEX brochure that somehow ended up in my hand and couldn't, I just sat there. The way back was a total and painful review of the test, question after question!!!! After two hours we got home at around 1:00 pm, I answered the ACLS pretest to the best of my ability and left for the evening class for that. Oh! on our way back my husband tells me his friend from Canada would be arriving that evening and stay the weekend to celebrate his birthday, which is on Wednesday and that he needed my car to go pick his friend from the airport. Complete surprise! Are there clean sheets on the guest room? How's the kitchen? When did I sweep last?... We went out to eat with the friend from Canada who ended up bringing his own friend along... so two unexpected guests. Welcome, but unexpected. Well, they celebrated my husband's birhtday all right, until 2:30 am! My two teenage daughters with a friend had their own little get together next to my bedroom. Everyone kept it kind of quiet, but I could not sleep, the N-GHOST lingered... This was Friday. On Saturday I had to show up for ACLS training from 6:30 am to 4:00 pm. You know, we did the stations, practiced algorithms, watched videos had a test and had to run a megacode.... I just got back from that and checked the web for my grade even though I KNOW it is not there and found this as I looked for some kind of answer... I got several calls from people seeing how I did, a great thing, but will I let them down? My preceptor from work, my uncle, my son's girlfriend, my parents...they're all waiting with me. I have a plan B if I fail, I try to think about it with a cool mind, but that sinking feeling comes over me. I don't want to think or say I passed...what if I didn't? Right now, as I write, I don't know if I want to shower, have a drink (or two...), check the website again or just plain lay down and think about the NNNNNNN.... Oh! and my share of very happy news, I will be a grandma for the first time this summer, a young grandma that is, at 39!! Again, unexpected but welcome... On Wednesday we find out if its a boy or a girl...can't wait! WAIT?? Isn't waiting why I'm writting this? Isn't waiting killing me...

Thanks for being there. And look, I know, absolutely know that you do not make immigration laws, but you sure know a lot about them, and have been a very reliable source of information for me. I'll be in touch, Ciao, Maria

I go back in the fall to graduate in December. I am just so sad! I appealed my instructor's decision all the way up to the chancellor, I still got a no, but it made me feel better. My family and sponsors were very supportive, and the school allowed me to register late in order to keep my 12 hours for F-1. You are right, and my husband told me the same thing. We are all here, together, and legal. My kids and I are in school and that is what I need to focus on. I believe this happened to "buy" me time for something, maybe the visa thing. Like you say, expect changes, in my favor hopefully... This is were I just do not get this math requirement. I undersand the need for it, and I understand an error on paper would translate into a medical error. But, wouldn't the wrong answers on the tests of people who made bad grades on the cardiac tests, translate into medical errors also? There was this one girl who was not able to take a manual blood pressure, which we are also "required" to do. She's in there, graduating in May... And I feel embarrased and feel kicked out, like I had cheated or something, because I made 80% !! And my error was not in the set up, or in the working of the problem, I did it right, but I plugged in a 1ml in the set up from the word problem above, instead of a 2 mL. I don't know why that happened, but like the vice chancellor at the school told me when I asked him about the ME on the written tests, the B/P girl and my math "fail", he had to think and saw the unfairness, but he told me "they were judged to meet standard, and you were not". I am proud that two respected doctors in this area, took their time and thought I was worth it, to call and write to the school about this. I am going to stop with this today, focus on my Fine arts, EKG, Perspectives of Nursing and Public Relations classes, most towards a BSN, because math or not, I am getting my RN. I have overcome MANY obstacles to be here and do this. I just know I'd make a good nurse, I have a good GPA, and love to be in the hospital and work with people, and here I am, taking Fine arts... But I am going to enjoy my "easy" classes, learn my EKG's from A to Z, and face those that would be graduating with me in May, every Tuesday in my Perspectives class. I'll be the poster child, and convey the message to everyone in nursing, that no matter how good you are in everything else, it all comes down to 20 minutes and 10 problems, under terrible pressure. I am also going to test in the testing center for those with "special needs", that I never thought I had, but I guess I do. Oh! and I am taking the Drug calculation class !!! I apologize for the lenghth of the message, I just let it all out... I'm going to shut up now, and do my work. Thanks! Maria

Ok. so NO ONE could hire me after OPT?? I am in MedsurgII and III, well actually I have to wait a semester, taking other 12 hours, because I made 80% on my drug calculation test. I hope to get back in in May, and continue with my education. I will apply for OPT, and then go home? I can't be hired at all?? I just cannot believe that!!! That sole fact is what I had my hopes on. What about the nurse shortage? Not short anymore??? I am just devastated. I made a B on my cardiac test, and then all down the drain because of math. I got online to get some help from you, and read the thing about nurses and visas. I do not know if this if God talking to me or what I felt so sure of this being my calling, and what I had to do. I've put my family thorugh all this, and I see it all crash! I am scared...