TN TO GREEN CARD

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Hello Fellow RN's & Future RN's
I Just wanted to share my road to becoming a Green Card Holder as a RN Nurse from Canada I've been on this forum for some time now taking every bit of advice from everyone & anyone that has some on the immigration process. So i decied to do a write up on my experience and maybe this could help some people now or in the near future who are trying to get there green card. My journey started in January 2015 I was able to get all the documents required in order for me to apply for a TN (CGFNS Visa Screen, Proof Of Passed NCLEX, BSN Degree, & State License) I got my 1st TN in April of 2015 which was valid until 2018 worked for my hospital for about 1.5 year until I asked about sponsoring for a green card I spoke with my boss who sent me to HR who sent me to Executive of HR department all and all, My boss put in a very good word for me to the Executive of HR, the department told me that unfortunaley the hospital/company usually doesn’t sponosor nurses's that but they were willing to work with me, that being said they were willing to fill out all the necessary documents that was needed to file for my green card just as long as I paid for all the cost which was the documents that needed to be filled out & filed to USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services) and my own lawyer etc which I was fine with below is my timeline and how long it took me to get my green card.
Good Luck To You ALL!!

Prevailing Wage Determination : is part of applying for PERM (RN Nurses Are Schedule A Occupation so its a little bit easier), for those who don’t know what (PWD) is click the link before this needs to be done before anything gets sent to USCIS
https://www.mmhpc.com/2015/06/prevailing-wages-for-the-perm-based-green-card-process/

I-140 Timeline Nov 28 – 2017 | Package sent to USCIS Dec 1 – 2017 | Package received by USCIS Dec 4 – 2017 | Cheque cashed Dec 14 – 2017 | I140 Approved (Premium Processed)

****The reason for the gap between August to November the Hospital Needs to post a job posting on site and needs to be up for a certain amount of days*****
****With the approved I-140 I could have filed the I-485 right away due to my husbands country being CURRENT in the EB3 Category which is CANADA but I had to wait until my husband came to the U.S. from Canada and waited 90 days from his arrival to file the I-485 due to us doing Cross-Chargeability because I wasn't born in Canada & he is, my husband came to the U.S. Jan, 26,2018*****

I-485 Timeline
May 7 - 2018 | Package sent to Missouri Service Center (NBC) May 8 - 2018 | Package received by USCIS
May 23 - 2018 | Physical Noticed Mailed May 24 - 2018 | Cheques Cashed May 29 - 2018 | Recieved Physical Notices June 22 - 2018 | FingerPrints Completed Sept 19 - 2018 | AP/EAD Text/Email Approval Sept 21 - 2018 | AP/EAD Physical Cards Mailed Sept 26 - 2018 | AP/EAD Cards Received Oct 19 - 2018 | I-485 Interview Scheduled (Interview Date Nov 27, 2018) Nov 20 - 2019 | I-485 Approved Nov 25 - 2019 | Green Card Received

***Aug 29,2018 Recieved RFE (Request For Evidence) text/email for birth certificate my husband sent in his "short form" birth certificate instead of a "long form"***
***Recieved the actually Notice by mail Sept 2,2018, Re-sent "Long Form Birth Certificate" to USCIS Sept 12, 2018 USCIS recieved it Sept 13, 2018***

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Thank you so much for detailed process timeline. It's very helpful for those who are thinking of working in USA in future.

I have few questions: Do you mind sharing which state you worked as a RN?

Where did you get your nursing education and licence from?

How long did the TN visa process take to complete?

Thank you!

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i work in Georgia got my BSN @ ryerson university in toronto, canada

the TN process doesn't take long as long as you have all the necessary documents needed you can go straight to the canada/US border and apply for it on the spot

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Specializes in Surgical/Trauma/Neuroscience/Cardiac ICU.
On 11/25/2019 at 10:48 PM, The_Gift said:

Hello Fellow RN's & Future RN's
I Just wanted to share my road to becoming a Green Card Holder as a RN Nurse from Canada

Hi @The_Gift, thank you for posting this. This is promising.

I'm single and just started my career in the US under TN and I do not know if staying in the US is my end goal.

Questions:

1. Was renewing your TN status in 2018 not really necessary since you got your EAD? I had read that it would tricky to cross the border in those times after filingfor I-185.

2. I was not born in Canada either. I guess cross - chargeability applies to me as well?

3. Was the lawyer fee expensive?

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Wow thanks for sharing

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@hypnotizer

question #1

yes it was necessary because you wont to make sure you always remain in a status while you are out here in the U.S. and yes once the i-485 is filed you can't leave the US untill you get a EAD & a travel permit

question #2 cross- chargeability would apply to you as long as you have a spouse/partner even tho i am a Canadian citizen but born in the Philippines they will go with your country of birth but because my husband was born in canada i was able to you use canada

question #3 the lawyer fees wasn't really that much it was more the cost of the applications from the USCIS that made everything add up and look like it was more expensive then it is. But for me it was well worth it

On 12/20/2019 at 12:56 PM, hypnotizer90 said:

Hi @The_Gift, thank you for posting this. This is promising.

I'm single and just started my career in the US under TN and I do not know if staying in the US is my end goal.

Questions:

1. Was renewing your TN status in 2018 not really necessary since you got your EAD? I had read that it would tricky to cross the border in those times after filingfor I-185.

2. I was not born in Canada either. I guess cross - chargeability applies to me as well?

3. Was the lawyer fee expensive?

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Hi The Gift! Got some questions.

1. Do you need to have a nursing license in Canada to apply for TN? Or the State Nurse License is enough?

2. Whats the name of the immigration law firm you used? They must be good at doing this.

Thanks

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Specializes in Surgical/Trauma/Neuroscience/Cardiac ICU.
On 6/7/2020 at 8:32 PM, JRS said:

Hi The Gift! Got some questions.

1. Do you need to have a nursing license in Canada to apply for TN? Or the State Nurse License is enough?

2. Whats the name of the immigration law firm you used? They must be good at doing this.

Thanks

Just to answer your question #1. Yes, you will need to be registered RN first in your Canadian province then you can use that registration to either endorse/ reciprocity to a US RN license depending on the State.

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@JRS yes you will need to have a Canadian RN license before you can do anything

The law firm I used was based in Atlanta,Georgia they also do have other offices in different states the lawyer I used her name is Layi

https://www.leimmigration.com/

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Specializes in CCRN.

Hi @ The-Gift, BSN, RN.

Your post inspired me for applying for Green card.

I hope you don't mind if you can email me( [email protected]) for some inquiry or you can pm me for your email.

Thank you for the information.

God Bless.

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Specializes in Emergency and ICU 14 years.
On 6/20/2020 at 1:05 PM, hypnotizer90 said:

Just to answer your question #1. Yes, you will need to be registered RN first in your Canadian province then you can use that registration to either endorse/ reciprocity to a US RN license depending on the State.

Hi I am a Canadian RN which states offer reciprocity I haven’t found any that will

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Specializes in Surgical/Trauma/Neuroscience/Cardiac ICU.
On 10/14/2020 at 1:31 AM, nlocke said:

Hi I am a Canadian RN which states offer reciprocity I haven’t found any that will

Did you do NCLEX? Michigan/ New York/ Maine are some States that do reciprocity.

You could read thru this https://www.nursinglicensure.org/

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