I am new member here and i would like to get some information about getting RN license in CA,USA. Before that i must say that there are lots of forums on internet about nursing but i found this one very useful.Thanks all in advance.
I am a registered nurse from Pune,India. I have completed my Diploma in nursing in 2002. Then i worked for 6 years in hospitals in India, mainly in the ICU(Intensive care unit) departments. Now i am persuading Bachelor's degree in India which is 2 year course and i have already completed one year of it. I would be finishing this course by Nov 2009. I would like to work as RN in CA, USA. My husband works there and i already have got H4 Visa.
From going through the forum posts i came to know that rules,requirements of different boards keep changing and different cases have different answers so i decided to compile complete list of my Q here and post to get MOST up to date information about the question involved.
The main objective is to minimize time i waste after finishing my Bsc course in Nov 2009 but before i start job in CA, USA as RN.
1: What all exams do i need to appear for ?
I know CA does not require CGFNS. Also My nursing diploma was not with english medium but my current BSC Nursing course (2 year course after Diploma) is completely in English. But i guess Nurses from India need to give English lagnuage exams. So i think NCLEX + IELTS are the only exams i need to give. Correct me if i am wrong. Also is TOEFL/TSE exam accepted instead of IELTS ? If yes which one is easier and quick one to finish ?
2: What are all the steps involved in passing NCLEX exam ?
From some of the posts i got the idea that , I need to get my education certification verified from CSE even though i will not appear of CGFNS ? If yes what is the procedure for this ? And how much time it would take normally ? Can this process be started from india even though i plan to appear for NCLEX in USA and not in INDIA. Also i would like to go through any process only after i get my Bachelor's degree but it is going to take time i would like to start the verification process as early as possible. So in that case can i start with my Diploma certificates now and later on get Bachelor related certificates verfied? Will this speed up anything ?
3: How long before i sign up for the tests do i need to get the verification done ? If i read correctly so far , NCLEX exam can be given throught the year. SO how much waiting period is there for exam registration normally. Or is it like i can even register today and appear for exam tomorrow ?
if this depends upon where i would appear it would be CA, USA.
4: What are all the Visa types that Nurses from India can have to work here as RN , legally. I have h4 but i know i can not work here with that. Can you list all of them. And is it posssible for my h4 to get converted
to any of them ? i know this question better be asked to immigration attorney but what your experiences suggest ?
5: How easy is it to get the JOB once you are in US and cleared all the exams and in some cases got the required visa.( I know most of the times employer only will be sponsering visa.) How much time normally it takes to find the job considering i will have 3 + 2 years of Nursing education and 6 years of work experience. I would like to get the answers to these queestions mostly in contexts related to me. Like nurses from India or from other non english speaking counries, for jobs in CA, USA etc. I understand answer varies case by case but still what past experinences suggest with respect to this ?
6: What does this retrogression thing mean ? How does it affect my chances of getting job in CA, USA with valid visa.Preferably Green card. From some pointers i could collect that this is case when no. of applicants are more than visas available. But somewhere i also read that Nursing profession has been included in some 'special' category in USA where they quickly get visa. Will somebody please provide details about this issue. Mainly in the context of Indian nurses. What is current status ? When nurses are going to start getting valid visas next time ? Is it only done once in year ? Or the process is going on throught the year ?
7: In each of the valid visas to work as RN in CA, USA, how much time the processing normally takes to get them after NCLEX exam has been cleared ? Can one start job before its done and if one is already in USA ?
8: How to prepare for NCLEX-RN exam if you have studied Nursing from India. From forum posts i found Saunders/kaplan/suzane books widely used. is there anything else i should be considering. Also from what i read Saunders is good for contents while kaplan/suzane is good for Q & A. Is this correct. Mainly syllabus for Indian nursign and US nursing is bit different so i do not know which books among these three really fills gap between Indian nursing and US nursing education ? How much time Indian nurse normally has to prepare before she passes the exam ? I read somewhere for International nurse passing rate is around 50 %. Is there any corresponding figure for Indian nurses ?
9: Does the material for exam change drastically each year ? Reason i am asking these question is , is it ok to buy old books for NCLEX RN preparation ? Or one should always get new one ?
10: I have mainly worked in ICU(Intensive care unit )in India but is it possible to get jobs in other departments once you come to USA. Or all the experience that i hold (6 years) will be void in that case ?
Thanks and eagerly waiting for answers to above questions.
Hey thanks a lot Suzanne. You seem to got little bit irritated with so many repeated questions. I can understand but i would also like to tell that i did use quick search methods before asking questions. I only repeated some of the questions because
1: I wanted to know if there is any update to answers
2: Wanted answers exactly in my context.
Anyways most of the questions are answered and i am much more aware of situation here.Thanks a lot. Only thing i do not understand is never ever you straightforwardly answer my question of reports being false about many nursing jobs available in USA as its usually marketed.
Getting H1 as nursing instructor question was asked considering MSN only. Meaning if i opt MSN and then try to get H1. As i know for sure H1 are processed each year independently of previous year. If instructors are allowed to have H1 visas i might still work in USA with that.
-Nurse
In order to get hired as a nursing instructor in the US and especially in CA, you must have current work experience here in the US. It is your choice as to what to do, we are only telling you what is happening here right now.
And since there were 800,000 petitions submitted 17 months ago for the I-485 and no movement on them, the expected wait until AOS processing even opens up again is going to be more than 5 years as was explained to you above.
We have answered each and every one of your questions, if you take the time to do some reading here on this site, you will be able to get more in depth idea as to what is happening in the US right now. And even if you were to get the H1-B visa down the road, it still is a temporary work visa that can be cancelled at any time, it is not permanent and does not really help one with anything.
We are asking you to take the time to do some reading here, there is no reason that we repeatedly have to go over all of your questions again. We are telling you what is happening here and now, and in CA. Whatever you decide to do is up to you. There is no decision that anyone can make for you.
Hey thanks a lot Suzanne. You seem to got little bit irritated with so many repeated questions. I can understand but i would also like to tell that i did use quick search methods before asking questions. I only repeated some of the questions because
1: I wanted to know if there is any update to answers
2: Wanted answers exactly in my context.
Anyways most of the questions are answered and i am much more aware of situation here.Thanks a lot. Only thing i do not understand is never ever you straightforwardly answer my question of reports being false about many nursing jobs available in USA as its usually marketed.
Getting H1 as nursing instructor question was asked considering MSN only. Meaning if i opt MSN and then try to get H1. As i know for sure H1 are processed each year independently of previous year. If instructors are allowed to have H1 visas i might still work in USA with that.
-Nurse
Yes, I do get irritated. These same questions can be found with their answers all over this site. Things are not improving, they are actually getting worse here right now and this is on a daily basis. And the other item that you may not be aware of is that your husband's job is also not guaranteed at all. If his employer has lay-offs, then he is going to be affected by this as well and could lose his job as well as his visa. Things are that bad. Lay-offs are happening on a daily basis, it is scary to get up and turn on the news on a daily basis.
As far as jobs being advertised in your country for the US, the same thing is going on in the UK as well, but that still does not mean that there are visas available. And be aware that many of these so-called agencies that are advertising in India are also demanding payment for them to start the process for anyone, as well as having large cancellation fees if anyone leaves them. And you forgot to add on about the $20,000 US bond that needs to be paid to most of these agencies before they even permit one to leave India. Employers do not issue visas, that is only done by the US government. And we do not have any and have not had any in more than two years. But your issue is that you cannot even start any process until you have actually taken and passed the NCLEX exam as a start, that is a specific requirement here as to what needs to be done.
We are stating what is happening today in the US, what is going to happen 5 years from now, who knows? But an ad in your country most definitely is not telling of what is happening here right now.
Suggest that you actually look for ads in the local papers here now and see what is happening.
By the way, which part of the state is your husband in?
And we volunteer here with our time, there is no reason that each and every question that you pose must be answered in detail. And in your context as you call it.
Every single item that you have asked, can be found already answered on this very site. True, it will take some work on your part as it is not all in one place, but that does not mean that I have to take additional time to repeat myself here.
And yes, you did tell us that we have a wonderful site here and we do. But we are unable to spend so much time responding to questions like this when they have already been answered and I am sure that they have been, because I am aware of what I post.
We are asking that you take the time to do some reading here and I would also recommend that you take the time to actually do some reading on the CA forum and find out what is actually happening here with jobs and not refer to what you see posted in India that was probably paid for in advance sometime last year but is not current.
Until you actually take and pass the NCLEX exam, the series of English exams and have a Visa Screen Certificate, focusing on anything else is just a moot point at this time. No employer can even offer a job without that if you are wishing any type of temporary work visa. Next issue is that you do not even complete your BSN until a year from now and cannot even begin to apply to programs here for the MSN until that time. You also need to hold a license as well for the US.
Less than 45% of the first time testers that trained out of the US pass the exam the first time, that should be your focus, and nothing else about hypothetically what is going to happen afterwards.
There is no guarantee to anyone on the H1-B that there job will be here for three years as a start as well.
MSN instructors make about 1/3 to 1/2 of what a hospital nurse makes. Also to teach you will have to speak English flawlessly and without a heavy accent.
Hey thanks a lot for answering all of my questions. I have no more questions to ask now.
Suzanne,
I would just like to let you know that even though i would like to work in USA, it still remains very big decision of our life. And that's why i asked so many questions and also repeated some of them till i got clearer picture. Where did i say you _have_ to answer every question which i ask. But at the same time that's why we have these forums for ? Ask as many questions as you want and those who know the answers, answer them. Or answer which ever they feel like or which they know answers for .. Isn't it how it works ? Also the question was repeated was about false reports about Nursing Job vacancies in USA. Coz this is single most important question in whatever i have asked so far. As it would allow me to share this info with other friends from same field and help them also make real knowledge based decisions. May be you have never worked in other countries for a long time and you might not have an idea about how big such decisions are and how human beings tend to ask same questions again and again even if they being answered somewhere else JUST TO BE ABSOLUTELY SURE IN THEIR MIND that they are doing right things.
I completely agree with you when you say i do need to pass the exam even before imagining how the situation would be after few years. But if even after passing the exam , i will not be able to work , Why would i waste my time and money for preparing an exam which is not going to take me anywhere ? And for this very reason it makes all the sense in the world for me to ask questions even about 5-6 years' situation down the line.
Believe me when i say your answers were really helpful and it really made me aware of so many issues. But you seem to be either worried about current situation in US job market and not at peace of your mind or you might be somewhat biased about people like me. Anyways i would again like to thank you for all the answers.
I also do not wish you to waste your time replying to this particular post as i have no more questions in this one and all of questions are already answered. I just wanted to let you know here that there are always two side of coin and also let you know what goes in poster's mind and express my thoughts about your comments in some of the post above.
MSN instructors make about 1/3 to 1/2 of what a hospital nurse makes. Also to teach you will have to speak English flawlessly and without a heavy accent.
I cannot believe you just said that. That's the most xenophobic thing I have ever heard. Those who were not born and raised here do acquire some degree of accent. But that doesn't mean that a person cannot teach just because of that. What about those who are from the South? I am having a hard time understanding them sometimes. Does that mean those who are qualified to be a teacher cannot teach in another state that doesn't speak in their accent? And are you suggesting that those who have accent from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, etc are not qualified to teach in the US just because their accents are different than yours?
Please be sensitive and be considerate when you make comments like this. Remember this is an international forum. Many here do not speak English as their first language. If you insult one of us, you are insulting all of us.
While it is true the IELTS is a slightly easier test and definitely much less expensive, there are a few states which require TOEFL and will not accept IELTS.
Make sure you check with BON requirements so you don't waste time with IELTS when only TOEFL will do.
Also, some states require that the English Language proficiency is submitted along with the application for licensure and so you must have that before you recieve eligibility to take NCLEX. Most states, however, do not have this requirement so you are OK to take IELTS afterward for your Visa Screening.
Where in last 4-5 lines it mentions different case when Nurse is in US, she can start working even after getting i765 . I485 will still come after years but that should not be problem as far as working is concerned. So i can be here on H4 , clear exams, get license and apply for 'Adjustment of status' and this should allow me to work here within next year or two rht ?
Can anybody let me know if there is anything wrong in this information ?
Where in last 4-5 lines it mentions different case when Nurse is in US, she can start working even after getting i765 . I485 will still come after years but that should not be problem as far as working is concerned. So i can be here on H4 , clear exams, get license and apply for 'Adjustment of status' and this should allow me to work here within next year or two rht ?
Can anybody let me know if there is anything wrong in this information ?
--Nurse
You have to file 485 first which is AOS, which is not being accepted at the moment, and then you will get your 765 which is authorisation to work whilst your file is being processed.
But then if Nurse is already in USA , is there any difference in I 485 or I 765 is accepted ? Or the rules are same no matter if Nurse is outside USA or inside USA ? So are the last 4-5 lines in the above link false ?
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
But then if Nurse is already in USA , is there any difference in I 485 or I 765 is accepted ? Or the rules are same no matter if Nurse is outside USA or inside USA ? So are the last 4-5 lines in the above link false ?
--Nurse
For I485 to e accepted visa has to be current and that is not the case, all that can be filed is I140 and that does not give permission to work. Rules at the moment are the same for nurses inside the US as outside. Many international student nurses in the US are having this problem and having to either return home or to another country once they have completed OPT (as long as they qualify for it) or have to maintain student status
Unless you qualify for H1b (which on the information you have given us you do not) then currently at the moment there is no way for you to be able to work in the US
suzanne4, RN
26,410 Posts
In order to get hired as a nursing instructor in the US and especially in CA, you must have current work experience here in the US. It is your choice as to what to do, we are only telling you what is happening here right now.
And since there were 800,000 petitions submitted 17 months ago for the I-485 and no movement on them, the expected wait until AOS processing even opens up again is going to be more than 5 years as was explained to you above.
We have answered each and every one of your questions, if you take the time to do some reading here on this site, you will be able to get more in depth idea as to what is happening in the US right now. And even if you were to get the H1-B visa down the road, it still is a temporary work visa that can be cancelled at any time, it is not permanent and does not really help one with anything.
We are asking you to take the time to do some reading here, there is no reason that we repeatedly have to go over all of your questions again. We are telling you what is happening here and now, and in CA. Whatever you decide to do is up to you. There is no decision that anyone can make for you.