Recruitment of international students who studied nursing in the US

Azdream'nRN · Nov 13, 2003

The only problem I see with this is that you are a new graduate nurse. If this agency is going to float you from one hospital to another or even to another floor in the same hospital for 8-13 week work assignments, or keep changing your shifts as they desire, then this could spell trouble. Even if they say they are not going to do this, a lot of times they do it anyway because they are there to fill in the staffing holes as the business dictates and you would be the one who would be getting hurt.

You would have to reorient each time and would be making lots of mistakes as all new grads do. You would do much better to keep on with one and the same hospital for about 2 years until you learn how to manage patients loads, etc. I don't know how a new grad would manage to go from one hospital to another or to even keep changing floors. This is how agency work is. They keep changing your assignment as they need and want. This could spell disaster for you as you will make a lot of mistakes in the beginning and might not find support staff to be understanding as you are an "agency" RN. That puts you in a REAL HOLE and in a different category with the other nurses and you are really more on your own than anything else. Many RN's do not like agency RN's and don't want to be bothered with their questions. Some can be helpful, but others may not be.

The staff in general would attempt to re-orient you each time you change assignments for a few days, but it's not enough as you need to stay in the same place for a while until you learn how to nurse. If you keep messing up, which you will as a new grad, they could just pull your green card sponsorship and they can do that. It would spell disaster and would discourage you a lot. This is UNNECESSARY, but it happens. I have been nursing since 1986 and agency nursing since 1989 and I would not go with an agency in the very beginning, but would advise you to stick with a well-known hospital that would sponsor you for your green card within a two year period, even though the lure of the extra cash is there. In the short run, you would be making a lot more cash, but you would be HIGH risking so much else, like losing your hard earned nursing license and immigration status altogether. The states pull nurses licensure for mistakes a lot more than people realize it.

It's much safer nurse-legal wise and immigration-legal wise as well to just stick with ONE hospital in the beginning. If they say that you are not going to go to more than one hospital, then this is the real trick too, because that place could always lose their contract with that hospital. It also happens all the time. Then you are in the middle when they switch hospitals on you mid-course. This is down right dangerous for a new grad!!! I hope this post helps.

Azdream'nRN · Nov 13, 2003

I forgot to add, that once you get into this contract with that agency, then you can't leave them if you want to just because of the high work demand, frequently changing assignments, etc., until you have completed your 3 year contract or unless they terminate you. The U.S. immigration does not care what your employer does to you! If they terminate you, you lose your chance for a green card. Our immigration laws are also written in a way that an immigrant under sponsorship from a company cannot just change sponsors either! Surprise! People don't know it until they try it, then it's too late!

Problem is, when it gets too overwhelming for you as a new grad and you want to leave it, then you CAN'T, unless you are willing to go back to your home country and work for lower wages, or find sponsorship in Austrialia or UK. Doing this would mean losing your chance for a green card. It is really VERY unwise to do this and you should by all means go with a well known hospital that has a good reputation in the way they treat new graduates. Talk to new nurses and find out how their hospitals treat them! Especially immigrant nurses. You can ask at your school. A lot of times there will be an ADN RN there going back for her BSN. Ask one of these. It is so much safer all around and many of the places are offering sign on bonuses as well and they have even raised the pay standards in California as well. This new grad agency "opportunity" would be the kiss of death for your career and for your stay in the USA altogether, believe me, I have seen a few cases! Best wishes!

shiropaku · Nov 14, 2003

Dear C'wing

Konnichiha! C'wing. Thank you for your reply.

Actually, I wasn't expected to pass NCLEX-RN when I took the test, so I wasn't ready for immigration issues when I received a notice from the Nursing board!

Now, I'm gathering information about how I get a working permission & green card.

I would like to post my progress when something new happened to me.

Shiro

shiropaku · Nov 14, 2003

Dear Azdream'n RN

Hi, Azdream'n RN.

Thank you for your opinion which is very clear and reliable .

If you hadn't given me the advice, I would have never concerned the risk you explained.

In fact, recruiters' offers sound pretty good though I wasn't sure to take the opportunity immediately.

I was wondering why everybody don't take the opportunities.

Just simply is it not well known service? or

Is there any reason why they don't take it?

etc.

I don't know the reality of American nursing world very much.

Again, thank you for your advice. It is very helpful.

shiropaku · Nov 15, 2003

Actually, I should have mentioned it when I introduced myself.

I waved to gradate an American nursing school because I was a nurse in Japan.

I'm currently a language school student.

I self-studied to pass the exam.

Though I passed NCLEX-RN, I have never practiced in the American nursing field, which is probably harder to get a job in The United States.

Soy · Nov 15, 2003

Hello to you all, it's so great that we can connect on-line. And it's even more wonderful that we have an expert on board!

I've started clinicals and the issue Azdream'nRN brings up is CRUCIAL because already, I've learned so much from the RNs that are on the floor and if it weren't for their support, I wouldn't be able to handle the demands of the job. It really is a team effort. The RNs and CNAs that are already there before you can either help make you day go easier or make it very difficult. I've learned so much from RNs and CNAs that I would really hate going to a different hospital every week. I also like the security of going with an established hospital.

I had another question for you Azdream'nRN: Would you happen to know whether private or public is an issue in terms of hospitals to approach for sponsorship? That is, do county hospitals also sponsor international RNs?

Good luck shiropaku in your search and let's stay in touch everyone!

-Soy

Azdream'nRN · Nov 16, 2003

Dear Soy,

It just so happened that I had personally met with the nurse recruiter at our local county hospital approximately 2 months ago and had asked her if they were currently sponsoring international nurses. She said that they were indeed sponsoring immigrant RN's. They had told me that they would pay approximately 3/4 of the attorney's fee in the way of a relocation bonus. The other 1/4 should not be that difficult to manage then. I had also contacted a private hospital and they said they were also currently highly interested in sponsoring international nurses. It seems to me that whereever the need is, one could find sponsorship.

I also spoke with a nurse from Amsterdam and he obtained his green card within 2 years of sponsorship, then quit his job and went with a nursing agency. Don't know if his sponsorship was from a private or public hospital, but he was working with a nursing agency after that and was finally able to make good money and have the freedom of not being tied down with a regular hospital job & made good money too.... :) GOOD LUCK and if you have any questions, please just ask.......

amycar11 · Nov 16, 2003

this topic is such a timing for me... i just don't know if i'll be able to express my thoughts and not get it misunderstood...:)

i'm a graduating nursing student from iloilo city, philippines and frankly speaking, my parents "suggested" that i take up nursing so that i could go to U.S.A. or London (as long as it's out of my country) after i graduate... i love my birthplace, but our economy right now really sucks...

many business firms closes up and employment here is very limited and exclusive... one has to have a backer or someone in that company is a relative in order for someone to be employed... even if you're employed, the employment is on casual basis only and you'd have to renew your contract after 5-6 months...

thus, my reason for taking up nursing... :eek:

now my question is: if i will be granted a visa (US) after i graduate and pass my board exam here in the philippines, will i be able to work as a nursing aide or health care giver while i wait for my CGFNS or state board exam? :confused:

i really want to work in the "land of opportunity" even for a couple of years just to help out my family here in the Philippines and just come home afterwards... but sometimes, i'm hesitant and scared, what if i will be deported (or something like that) before i could fulfill my family's dream...

please help... i would greatly appreciate it:kiss

shiropaku · Nov 16, 2003

Oha-yo(Good morning)!

Soy, thank you for your encouragement!

Ifm going to try my best.

I need to gather more information to determine what is the best way to handle my situation!

Dear Azdreamfn RN,

I have been thinking to take a job opportunity from a nursing recruiter, not an agency.

I thought they were the same, but maybe they are different?

Sure, Ifm going to ask more information from them.

Your advice is very clear and makes sense.

Dear amycar

>will i be able to work as a nursing aide or health care giver while i wait for my CGFNS or state board exam?

What kind of visa are you going to obtain to come to The US?

I came California as an international student and passed NCLEX, but I wasnft planning to become an RN when I got a student visa.

Now, I have to change my visa status to work here legally, which takes long and is complicated.

Unfortunately, international students canft obtain a job in The US because the purpose of the visa is just studying.

So, international students have no income. Moreover, you have to be a fulltime student to keep your visa status, which is pretty expensive.

I heard nursing exams are available outside of The US.

I bet you can take the exam in your own country!

In this way, you can avoid no-income disaster + school fee while you are in the US.

I donft know which is better though..

I hope someone else can give you a better advice than mine.

shiro

Azdream'nRN · Nov 17, 2003

Dear Amycar,

How I feel for you! You would have to take the CGFNS before you come to the USA and all of that paperwork is transferred to the hospital where you will be working. You would need their sponsorship for an immigrant visa first, as an RN. This kind of visa is not given to nursing assistants, even nursing assistants with RN degrees, unless and until they pass their CGFNS exams.

You could start contacting some Nurse recruiters in the USA in states right now where you would be interested in living and they will give you all of the information required for their particular hospital. They do telephone interviews for this sort of thing. It is going to take more than a year to get their sponsorship after you have passed your CGFNS, it is not a quick process, but to get started is what you need to do. It MIGHT be faster if you attend an employee fair. Just look for them. There are U.S. hospitals that come to the Phillipines and give employee fairs and you fill out applications and talk to the recruiters directly. You would not be able to work as a Nursing Assistant in the USA while you are waiting for the results of your CGFNS exam. Your entire entry visa process is weighing on the passage of your CGFNS exam plus your TOEFL exam. Best of luck, let me know what happens.

roberto6464 · Jul 4, 2007

Dear Soy,
I do know something about it. I am a nurse-paralegal and try my best to keep up with current immigration law. If you go to one of those international nursing agencies, you will just be sucked for a lot of money, you will have to sign contracts and pay over a large portion of your precious earned cash to them for their "fee." It's a RIP OFF, in return for a promise for your green card. The lawyers fees will eat you alive.
If you are already in nursing school on a student visa, you are at a GREAT ADVANTAGE because you have your foot in the door, meaning, you are already in the USA! :)
The BEST thing for you to do is to go and talk to some RN recruiters at various hospitals in the Bay area and explain your situation. They like to hire immigrant RN's WITHOUT AN AGENCYS INTERVENTION and can sponsor you too. They can consider hiring you upon graduation and you can work for them for maybe 2-3 years and they should sponsor you for your green card.
If you get an offer from an employer that only offers a work visa instead of your green card, then keep looking, a mere work visa is nothing permanent in the USA. If they want you to work for them for 5 years before you are able to receive green card sponsorship, then forget that too, it's too long to wait as our immigration laws are changing and God knows if you even like the place that hires you to stay there for that long.
Hospitals are starting to send their own recruiters to Asian countries, bypassing these agencies to bring nurses in, however, it takes a long time for them to do this and you would have to pass the CGFNS exam if you graduated from a nursing school overseas.
If I were you, I would not leave the USA for a visit to your home country even on a student visa before you finish school, because the United States is not letting people come back in drastic numbers even though your student visa says you can come back in. You are taking a risk of losing everything you put in, like however many years you spent in school plus the money. They are really only targeting people from Asian and muslims countries at this time. Often times you can be on the plane headed back from your country and denied entry at the airport for any small reason. I have heard of many, many horror stories because the current presidential adminstration has changed our immigration system. So, becareful. I hope you will not have to return home anytime soon for any reason. If you don't believe me, just check out the legal site at http://www.ilw.com and read the bulletins for yourself.

I agree, do not go back home until you sort out your immigration status. I am an international student myself and I have found lots of recruiters willing to sponsor my green card right away.

jenchb01 · Jul 4, 2007

I agree, do not go back home until you sort out your immigration status. I am an international student myself and I have found lots of recruiters willing to sponsor my green card right away.

how about if you have only tourist visa?does it follow with the student visa?do you think there will be recruiters there in the us who can sponsor nurse with tourist visa?