Resource list for working in US

World Immigration

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for those of you wishing to work in the us and obtain a green card, these are the steps that you should follow:

1. apply for visa screen certificate (this will be the most time consuming,

and can be done before you take any of your exams) http://www.cgfns.org

there is a separate area for nurses form canada or mexico who are covered under the nafta treaty. look towards the bottom of the list to see this one.

2. complete application for cgfns exam (if you are going to take it)

hint if you submit a complete set of your transcripts with the school verification form, this will cover the complete requirements for visa screen as well as the exam. deadline for exam is approximately 90 days before the exam. this is the date that all data must be recieved by cgfns in their office, which includes verification from your nursing board, as well as transcripts. there are no exceptions, if anything is late, and you will have to wait another four months for the next exam time. the exam is only given in 6 locations in the entire us, if you are planning on taking it there.

importantthe verification from your nursing school as well as your license verification must be sent in an envelope with the appropriate seal over the flap as well as the person's signature who sealed the envelope over the flap. if either of these are missing, it will not be accepted.

3. contact the bon (board of nursing) in the state where you are interested in getting your license. you are not committed to working in this state once you get your license. once accepted by them, you will receive a letter called "authority to test", usually referred to as att. you must have this letter in your hand before you register to take the nclex exam. you do not need to take the exam in the state where you will be licensed.

passing nclex does not automatically give you your license. until you actually have been assigned a number, you do not have a license in the us. so please do not list a us license for visa screen if it is not in your hand or you will delay your processing . also any reference to your "current" license means the license where you are currently working, not the one that you will receive in the us.

hope that this helps you and answers many questions for you in advance.

good luck with reaching your dreams and goals......

:balloons:

Hi Suzanne4,

I am new on this website. If I make any mistakes, please forgive me. Can you please explain to me what is CGFNS for? Thank you very much.

Hi suzanne and all dear nurses,

can you help me ?i have the Rn license in my hand and i passed TOEFL .have to appear for TSE or IELTS.do you know which is easy?

Now i don'tknow what to do ,do i have to find a sponsor or file for EAD.i know i have to apply for visa screen,heading for that.by going through all these questions from our nurses i beleive that there are sponsores willing to sponsor green card ,do you know anyone of the hospitals sponsoring for nurses?

is there any chance to work before getting EAD? i don't understand whether the sponsors will wait to get EAD to work ?

also since i have only 8 month of experience in my country and i'm not working for the past 1 year (because i'm here on H4 visa ),i don't think hospital will sponsor for a less experienced nurses even agency.can i do any voluntery work in any hospital if i have to wait for EAD and if they willing to give me an experience certificate ? is that illegal ?

i know i have lots of questions ,sorry but if you could help me by writting whatever you know or familiar with it ,i'll really appreciate that.pls.

Hi suzanne and all dear nurses,

can you help me ?i have the Rn license in my hand and i passed TOEFL .have to appear for TSE or IELTS.do you know which is easy?

Now i don'tknow what to do ,do i have to find a sponsor or file for EAD.i know i have to apply for visa screen,heading for that.by going through all these questions from our nurses i beleive that there are sponsores willing to sponsor green card ,do you know anyone of the hospitals sponsoring for nurses?

is there any chance to work before getting EAD? i don't understand whether the sponsors will wait to get EAD to work ?

also since i have only 8 month of experience in my country and i'm not working for the past 1 year (because i'm here on H4 visa ),i don't think hospital will sponsor for a less experienced nurses even agency.can i do any voluntery work in any hospital if i have to wait for EAD and if they willing to give me an experience certificate ? is that illegal ?

i know i have lots of questions ,sorry but if you could help me by writting whatever you know or familiar with it ,i'll really appreciate that.pls.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hi Suzanne4,

I am new on this website. If I make any mistakes, please forgive me. Can you please explain to me what is CGFNS for? Thank you very much.

CGFNS I believe is the US governments insurance that foreign nurses meet the same training as them in the US, this comany has various roles with include credential verification, visa screen (which is required for nurse immigration)

I am sure someone will add their thought on the CGFNS

One comment I have found in my dealings with them is that they are slow.

1. Since you already have a US nursing license in hand, you do not need to worry about the CGFNS exam, at least for most states. If you are currently in the US, you are not going to find the IELTS series, which is the exam offered originally for schooling in Australia or the U.K. The exam that is offered all over in the US is the TSE.

2. You cannot file for an EAD for yourself. That is granted by the US Government 90 days after a change of status is made by a facility (hospital or agency) on your behalf.

3. With the new rules that are now in effect, in order to submit your documents for a Change in Status, you must have the Visa Screen Certificate in hand, as a copy has to be included or nothing will get processed for you.

4. You must have passed the full set of the English exams, as well as NCLEX or CGFNS to be issued the Visa Screen Certificate. It usually takes about four months on average to receive it.

It is not a problem to find a hospital to sponsor you, you would just begin training as a "new grad" so don't worry about that.

Good luck to you............................ :balloons:

Hi suzanne,

I have completed CGFNS, IELTS & Visa Screen. Will be taking RN exam shortly. Can you please guide me to get a good employer to sponser my Green Card. I am on dependent visa (h4) right now. I am looking for job openings in NJ, NY & CT area. Giving preference to South Jersey or North Jersey.

Thanks in advance

Hi suzanne,

I have completed CGFNS, IELTS & Visa Screen. Will be taking RN exam shortly. Can you please guide me to get a good employer to sponser my Green Card. I am on dependent visa (h4) right now. I am looking for job openings in NJ, NY & CT area. Giving preference to South Jersey or North Jersey.

Thanks in advance

You need to give me alot more info before I can give you any suggestions. What are the areas that you favor to work in? Big city or small city? Teaching hospital or community facility? Did you have any work experience in your home country before coming to the US?

You need to give me alot more info before I can give you any suggestions. What are the areas that you favor to work in? Big city or small city? Teaching hospital or community facility? Did you have any work experience in your home country before coming to the US?
I prefer working in Cardio vascular and thoracic department as my previous experience was in this area, but willing to work in other departments requiring almost similar skills. The location (Big or Small city) of the hospital does not matter, as long as it is a teaching hospital which concentrates on maintaining high standard of nursing practice, promotes further education and allows good orientation and supervision during probation period.

I have 2+ yrs of previous work experince from my home land in Cardio vascular and thoracic nursing, of which nearly 1.5 years in CVTSICU and CCU, the rest is in Cardiology ward.

Thank you very much for the help. awaiting valuable reply.

I prefer working in Cardio vascular and thoracic department as my previous experience was in this area, but willing to work in other departments requiring almost similar skills. The location (Big or Small city) of the hospital does not matter, as long as it is a teaching hospital which concentrates on maintaining high standard of nursing practice, promotes further education and allows good orientation and supervision during probation period.

I have 2+ yrs of previous work experince from my home land in Cardio vascular and thoracic nursing, of which nearly 1.5 years in CVTSICU and CCU, the rest is in Cardiology ward.

Thank you very much for the help. awaiting valuable reply.

Your major areas for cardio-thoracic are going to be right in NYC. If you send me your e-mail address, I can give you some suggestions.....

Sending my email Id in private message

thank you very much for the detailed letter. after reading your letter, i understand the steps to working in the us is a lot easier than the way i did. i applied and wrote the cgfns. then wrote the toefl. then tried tse. then tried to find an agency. by that time the two year time period for the validity of english test failed and i had to take ielts ( it was better i did not have to take two separate tests). then applied for visa screen and now i am applying for nclex which require credential evaluation. so it was literally painful and time consuming trying to be able to work here. after reading your mail, i understand it is a lot more simpler. if only i and many other nurses back in my place knew this. what u told was totally new and informative and thank you very much

for those of you wishing to work in the us and obtain a green card, these are the steps that you should follow:

1. apply for visa screen certificate (this will be the most time consuming,

and can be done before you take any of your exams) www.cgfns.org

there is a separate area for nurses form canada or mexico who are covered under the nafta treaty. look towards the bottom of the list to see this one.

2. complete application for cgfns exam (if you are going to take it)

hint if you submit a complete set of your transcripts with the school verification form, this will cover the complete requirements for visa screen as well as the exam. deadline for exam is approximately 90 days before the exam. this is the date that all data must be recieved by cgfns in their office, which includes verification from your nursing board, as well as transcripts. there are no exceptions, if anything is late, and you will have to wait another four months for the next exam time. the exam is only given in 6 locations in the entire us, if you are planning on taking it there.

importantthe verification from your nursing school as well as your license verification must be sent in an envelope with the appropriate seal over the flap as well as the person's signature who sealed the envelope over the flap. if either of these are missing, it will not be accepted.

3. contact the bon (board of nursing) in the state where you are interested in getting your license. you are not committed to working in this state once you get your license. once accepted by them, you will receive a letter called "authority to test", usually referred to as att. you must have this letter in your hand before you register to take the nclex exam. you do not need to take the exam in the state where you will be licensed.

passing nclex does not automatically give you your license. until you actually have been assigned a number, you do not have a license in the us. so please do not list a us license for visa screen if it is not in your hand or you will delay your processing . also any reference to your "current" license means the license where you are currently working, not the one that you will receive in the us.

hope that this helps you and answers many questions for you in advance.

good luck with reaching your dreams and goals......

:balloons:

Hi Suzanne,

I sent you an email but maybe I should contact you here then your advice can be viewed by others.

Can you offer any reassurance to a UK RN when starting nursing in the US?

Need to know if you are mentored for a while until you feel settled. What about preceptorship ?

Ooh so nervous about that first day!:uhoh3:

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