Soon to be a nursing student, looking for ways of moving to the US

!80s Love Child! · Jan 7, 2008

Hello Jelena!

We are actually in a very similar position! My mother is a Neonatal nurse too and I am about to start my nursing course in September this year:D How exciting is this!

I was thinking of applying to a community college in a US state first for two years then apply again for the 4 Year BSN course at a US university. Or getting someone to finance my education there e.g. a sponsor or obtaining a scholarship.

Is anybody willing to direct us to the right path on how to get full sponsorship to study in the US for 'free' or at least reduced fees? But I doubt it as we will be classed as International students. In addition, waiting list to be admitted to a Nursing School in the US would take ageeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

When will this nursing shortage end in the US? Rough estimates anyone? Because I am very worried that once I apply to the US for a place in nursing - all positions have already been filled up! That would be a headache for me because in the UK, a lot of nurses couldn't find jobs after graduation at the moment!

Could anyone please suggest and share scholarship schemes/agencies willing to sponsor International students like us? Please? Thanks.

But then I think one of the conditions would be is that after graduating, you would have to work inside the state for at least 2 years, etc etc. But I wouldn't mind.

And sorry Jelena for hi-jacking your thread. Hehe.

Markus.

suzanne4, RN · Jan 7, 2008

There is no longer any guarantee that if you train in the US, you will be able to remain here afterwards. That currently is not the case right now. Immigration is separate from anything, and there just are no visas no matter what else you may think. And the shortage is not as severe as you may be hearing in other countries. And you can look at Los Angeles to see what I am speaking of. It is more difficult to get petitioned for there without significant work experience and even with that, most hospitals are no longer wishing to even start the process since they do not know when the nurse will be available for them. Add into that the fact that they need to get approval from the union if they are unionized and that is not easy to come by any longer as well.

Even if an agency is petitioning, they still need to find placement for the nurse and the requirements still need to be met of the union.

We have been under a retrogression since October, 2006 and those that came to the US to train and have graduated since then have had to go on with their studies to remain in the US.

On a student visa, you are unable to work in most cases. You can only work up toi 20 hours per week with special permission from the US government when you first start your program. You also need to prove that you can pay for your schooling as well as living expenses to be able to get a student visa for the US.

Not sure what things will be like a few years from now, but do not expect them to be getting better as there are more going into nursing but the number of visas available per year has not changed at all.

suzanne4, RN · Jan 7, 2008

Hello Jelena!
We are actually in a very similar position! My mother is a Neonatal nurse too and I am about to start my nursing course in September this year:D How exciting is this!
I was thinking of applying to a community college in a US state first for two years then apply again for the 4 Year BSN course at a US university. Or getting someone to finance my education there e.g. a sponsor or obtaining a scholarship.
Is anybody willing to direct us to the right path on how to get full sponsorship to study in the US for 'free' or at least reduced fees? But I doubt it as we will be classed as International students. In addition, waiting list to be admitted to a Nursing School in the US would take ageeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!
When will this nursing shortage end in the US? Rough estimates anyone? Because I am very worried that once I apply to the US for a place in nursing - all positions have already been filled up! That would be a headache for me because in the UK, a lot of nurses couldn't find jobs after graduation at the moment!
Could anyone please suggest and share scholarship schemes/agencies willing to sponsor International students like us? Please? Thanks.
But then I think one of the conditions would be is that after graduating, you would have to work inside the state for at least 2 years, etc etc. But I wouldn't mind.
And sorry Jelena for hi-jacking your thread. Hehe.
Markus.

There are no programs to give someone a free education in the US, even for most Americans this is not available. Scholarship schemes as you call it are just that, schemes that will not benefit you at all, but make it more likely for you to get deported.

There are no shortcuts to working in the US, there are already many that have been waiting for green cards that already have passed their exams and have made it thru the immigration process but there are no visas.

If you are going to go into nursing, do it because that is what you really wish to do, not as a stepping stone to get to the US faster. If you have already been accepted to a program in the UK, highly recommend that you complete that before doing anything. In your other posts, you mention not attending school here unless you have at least a green card; you cannot get the green card without having the RN behind your name.

At the moment since there are no visas available and we do not expect thing to open up for sometime, make sure that nursing is what you really wish to do and perhaps do it in some other countries to get experience first. Things are going to get even tighter here, the push is for more in the US to go thru nursing and that is what we are seeing now. So the need for foreign nurses is going to be declining, and we have gone thru periods of time where there were no visas issued for nurses for more than five years and this was when the US was still accepting the H1-B. Actually that was the only way to get to the US just a few years ago, but that route is no longer available to nurses.

Jelena88 · Jan 7, 2008

Thank you, both to Markus and Suzanne!

I think that the best solution for me would be finishing college over here, maybe getting some experience and then trying to immigrate to the US... That would take several years, and I am very impatient, but I guess you just have to play it smart if you wanna make it work.

Getting a job as a nurse after gratuating isn't too hard here, so that's a plus. I didn't know it's that complicated for UK citizens to get a US visa, plus the standard is way higher compared to Serbia, so I figured British people can actually afford studying abroad. The idea of a community college is not too bad, at least in my opinion. If you combine lower scholarships than the university ones are with the chance of getting at least some kinda financial aid + getting a, say, part-time job... It could actually work! Then, if you're a good student, it's easier getting into a four-year course and finding a job later on...

As for me really being into nursing... I am positive that nursing what I wanna do, it wasn't even until I heard of the nursing shortage that I started considering it as a way of getting to the US...

I guess I'll just have to focus on my studies for now and be as successful in school as I can, and just keep looking into the ways of immigrating along the way...

Oh, and one question for Markus: How high are scholarships for nursing schools in the UK and how does the whole visa thing work? Maybe I should consider coming there for school. It's easier getting noticed if you're good at what you do and developing as a professional than it is over here...

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 7, 2008

Thank you, both to Markus and Suzanne!
I think that the best solution for me would be finishing college over here, maybe getting some experience and then trying to immigrate to the US... That would take several years, and I am very impatient, but I guess you just have to play it smart if you wanna make it work.
Getting a job as a nurse after gratuating isn't too hard here, so that's a plus. I didn't know it's that complicated for UK citizens to get a US visa, plus the standard is way higher compared to Serbia, so I figured British people can actually afford studying abroad. The idea of a community college is not too bad, at least in my opinion. If you combine lower scholarships than the university ones are with the chance of getting at least some kinda financial aid + getting a, say, part-time job... It could actually work! Then, if you're a good student, it's easier getting into a four-year course and finding a job later on...
As for me really being into nursing... I am positive that nursing what I wanna do, it wasn't even until I heard of the nursing shortage that I started considering it as a way of getting to the US...
I guess I'll just have to focus on my studies for now and be as successful in school as I can, and just keep looking into the ways of immigrating along the way...
Oh, and one question for Markus: How high are scholarships for nursing schools in the UK and how does the whole visa thing work? Maybe I should consider coming there for school. It's easier getting noticed if you're good at what you do and developing as a professional than it is over here...

Each University in the UK will have their own International fees so large city will probably cost more. Even if you do your training in the UK you have to prove that you can financially support yourself whilst in the UK and still affected by retrogression if looking to go to the US. Visas for the US are allocated on place of birth. Studying abroad outside the UK for UK students can be very expensive especially in the US

!80s Love Child! · Jan 7, 2008

Oh, and one question for Markus: How high are scholarships for nursing schools in the UK and how does the whole visa thing work? Maybe I should consider coming there for school. It's easier getting noticed if you're good at what you do and developing as a professional than it is over here...

Hi Jelena!

Thanks for your interest in pursuing a nursing degree here in the UK. The UK wholeheartedly welcomes International students...if you have money and visa of course hehe;). You would be looking at around £8120 for a Nursing degree (BSc/DipHE) here per year for International students.

With regards to your query about VISAs, The London Southbank University can explain it better than me. You may wish to visit their website for details: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/international/visaentryinfo.htm

If you don't want to study in London, then you have loads of options as more and more UK unis do Nursing programme.

If you want to apply to a UK uni for Nursing for September entry then do it before the 15th January 2008!!! You need to fill in an online application form via the UCAS website: http://www.ucas.co.uk/ You can browse through all UK univs offering Nursing courses there. And don't hesitate to contact maybe through e-mail the unis you are interested in. You are only allowed to apply to 5 nursing schools. So choose wisely. For your application to be processed you need to pay 15 UK pounds sterling. Sorry, I don't know your money currency conversion thing. Hehe.

Good luck! Come join me at King's College London this September.

Hope that really helps you!

Markus

Jelena88 · Jan 8, 2008

Thank ya, Markus! And all of you who were kind enough to read my thread and post a reply.

I'll be sure to check out the sites you left me links to and see if I can figure something out.

In the meantime, I am just going to focus on getting ready for my entrance exam, I have a lot to learn... And, even if I don't make it to the US, at least I'll be doing something I love, which is very important!

Can't wait to start the nursing skool!!!

Ironclad · Jan 8, 2008

Thank you, both to Markus and Suzanne!
I think that the best solution for me would be finishing college over here, maybe getting some experience and then trying to immigrate to the US... That would take several years, and I am very impatient, but I guess you just have to play it smart if you wanna make it work.

I don't think you understood what Suzanne said. In may make much longer then several years to immigrate to the US as a nurse. The situation may change in the future, of course. But at this time waiting time is about 5 years.

suzanne4, RN · Jan 8, 2008

Be aware that the two year community college degree in nursing in the US is not accepted in most other countries if you decide to go to another country afterwards.

It is not even accepted in the UK for licensure.

Ironclad · Jan 8, 2008

What's accepted in the UK?

suzanne4, RN · Jan 8, 2008

It must be at least three years long in the training for it to be at least similar to their minimum training. Essentially the four year BSN from the US can meet this requirement, but then add in the fact that the UK has a hiring freeze for those that do not hold a EU passport. Only extensinve experience in an area that they need will get one a chance at a visa to work there.