Canadian RN moving to california

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Hi, I'm a RN in Canada moving to California to do travel nursing. I have my licence in Minnesota and I am looking to work in Southern California. I have applied for my licence to be transfered to California through Nursys. I got confused when I applied for my licence in California, because I noticed you need to send school transcripts, licence validation....I figure I didn't have to do that, since I have my visa screen with CGFNS and my licence with Minnesota?? I've tried calling the California board of nursing, but I can't get through. Also, how long does it take before you get your licence when transfering from Minnesota?

Thanks!!!:)

This is to Bethlearning:

Sorry, this site won't let me email you back because apparently I do not have "more than 15 quality threads" yet. In response to your email, although I know it doesn't answer the question in this thread really, I have had to apply to another state in order to obtain a SSN before I can apply to Cali. The California board of nursing told me this is what I must do, and from what i've read on here it doesn't look like there is much chance of a hospital being desperate enough to hire a Canadian nurse and wait for them to get their nclex, visa, visascreen, ssn, and all that. You can't get a visa without a license, and you can't get a SSN without a visa, and you can't get your nclex without a SSN basically, so it's a huge mess. I applied to MI, was deemed eligible within 4 weeks, wrote and passed the NCLEX, and now i'm just waiting on my "official" results and license. It's fairly easy for Canadians to apply to NY, Arizona, and Alaska with no CGFNS requirements (I think NY might only require the one that verifies your education but not the actual cert that you write the qualifying exam for). It's really a roundabout way of having to get there, but once we're where we want to be it will all be worthwhile :).

And to Yassi, that's unfortunate about your hours not meeting the board's requirements. That makes me worry about my bachelor's degree too. I went to school at York University in Ontario so i'm not sure how different it is. We practically did no hours in peds in my program. What did they suggest to you, do you have to do an extra course to make up those hours? It blows my mind how everyone up here says our nursing education is superior to that in the states and how they love Canadian nurses when we apparently aren't meeting their requirements. I came across things studying for the NCLEX and on the NCLEX that were never even taught in my nursing school. Ridiculous. Anyways, good luck and I hope you can figure everything out!

This is to StudentRS:

Did you end up getting a California state license and securing a job in California? I recently graduated from University of Toronto and am looking into starting my career in San Francisco California where my boyfriend lives. I am facing this issue where you can't get a visa without a license, and you can't get a SSN without a visa, and you can't get write the nclex without a SSN and I don't know how to get around this. Everyone is suggesting to me to try to get a hospital to sponser me but I don't know what the chances are of them sponsering me without a license/visa/ssn are going to be like. I do have a previous degree in Biomedical Sciences so I think I might have to fall back on that and work in research for a bit....but that would not be my 1st choice. Any advice would be greatly greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Cassie

No, I haven't gotten that far yet. As of right now I am licensed in Michigan and I just received my visascreen a few weeks ago. I will be applying for jobs in Michigan soon and hopefully if I get one I can get my SSN and apply to California. When I had contacted the California board of nursing about the SSN issue they told me I had to work in another state first to obtain one. I contacted numerous hospitals in California regarding this and if they assist Canadian nurses with no response whatsoever. From what I've read on here, the job situation in California isn't good enough for a hospital to hire, assist, and wait for a foreign nurse to become licensed there when there are nurses within the state looking for work and tons of new grads too. You can't write the NCLEX for Cali without a SSN, but Michigan, Alaska, and Arizona don't require one to apply for a nursing license. Arizona is close to Cali, that might be your best option for now. Actually, as of January 1st 2012, Michigan changed their requirements so that Canadian nurses now have to obtain CGFNS certification as a part of the application requirements. So, maybe not Michigan as an option, I applied prior to so I never had to do the CGFNS cert. My friend recently applied to Arizona and it was easier than Michigan- no transcripts or crazy paperwork. Just their application, verification from the CNO, and fingerprints. I'm probably going to apply there as well just because it's closer to California and would be a better travel experience. If you start studying for the NCLEX now or already have and apply to let's say Arizona, the process will be fairly quick and you can write the NCLEX as soon as you get your ATT (or when you're ready, I waited the whole 3 months) and you'll have your license in basically a few months. You could fall back on working in research, but it won't get you anywhere in nursing and the longer you wait to write the NCLEX and find work the harder it will be. If nursing is what you want to do just do it, it will be worth the effort and wait! In the meantime work around here, build experience and your resume and that will increase your chances of getting hired in the states. Did you write and pass the CRNE yet? I believe you must hold a nursing license here in order to apply for licensure in the states as well. Anyways, good luck and feel free to ask if you have any more questions!

Another thought- it would probably be quicker or the same length of time to go the nursing route as opposed to research. By the time you would even get an employer to hire you in research, sponsor you for a visa, and receive the visa to work there you would likely already have a California nursing license and visascreen. For nursing, you can get the TN/NAFTA visa which you get at the border when you go there, other visas take at least 6 months to get and often require the use of an immigration lawyer (my cousin's husband got transferred to Cali for work in a solar company last summer and it took him about 6 months to get a visa and they had to hire a lawyer to get it). You don't need a sponsor to get the TN/NAFTA visa, just a job offer and a letter from the employer explaining your contract.

HII!!

I found this SO helpful since i went to York Uni too and i know how you feel. So im in the same boat...what now? I just cried my eyes out today when i found out the vicious cycle of "no ssn, no exam...no exam, no license...no license, no visa" and so on. I thought it was as easy as doing the NCLEX and proving i was an RN in canada. This sucks!!! I was planning on moving there in september and have already quit my job. Any suggestions to get me there faster?? Im freaking a little :(

Im going to cali this week, was hoping to find a place to stay in September....i dont know what to do now...

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

There are many threads discussing current concurrent issues with CA that has been enforced since last year in the Nurse Registration forum in the world tab above.. There are now a few states that require a US SSN before accepting application and I expect more to follow as this I believe is a federal requirement not a state requirement

Specializes in Neurosciences.

Hi Yassi, Do you mind telling me what BC school you graduated from? I am waiting for a reply from eh CA board of nursing for my licensure via endorsement too, and it's been almost a month, so i am a little concerned!

Specializes in Neurosciences.

Hi there!

DId you get your california license yet? I am in the exact same boat as you and wonder if you got your license yet! thank you!

Specializes in Neurosciences.

Hello Yassi,

did you get your license yet?

Hi all,

I am an RN (new grad) from ON and I cleared my nclex without having to go through the ssn/cgfns. I think some states require but I am registered with WI and it did not ask me anything other than school documents for the proof. To be more precise, I actually got the ATT even before writing crne:). I hope this helps.....

Hey guys I have wrote passed NCLEX, obtained my VisaScreen Cert. Just wonderign if and what states we can apply for without an SSN??

there are 14 states that dont require a SSN but VA and TX are the fastest and easiest states.

i am also canadian, originally licensed in MN and got my TX license in

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