U.K to U.S Nurses..

[SaLou88]

Hello Friends,

I have just joined allnurses.com in hopes a bit of light can be shed on my situation.

I have a read 1000's of topics on the same thing but majority are a lot older posts now.

Long story short, I am wanting to begin my process into moving and working State side as nurse for various different reasons now family etc.

I have been qualified for 2 years.

I have been reading all sorts and read a lot about different agencies, contacted them etc.

Ordered all of my NCLEX revision packages.

Is my best bet to join with an agency and let them assist me in all the visa/ces kind of stuff?

Also, is anyone aware of the legislation around which states which actually allow you to work their as an international Nurse e.g I heard California won't.

FINALLY... what sort of time frames has everyone been looking at if you've done it yourself?

Many thanks,

Sarah-Lou

[sunnyincalifornia]

Yes agencies can help you to find a job but the hardest part is getting a work visa. In order for you to work in USA- you would need a H1b visa and they are very hard to get by. Plus the other part is H1b visa application is filed on April 1st for a lottery. Last year for about 85000 visas there were about 240000 applicants. So you can see, its almost like playing the lottery. Once you get a H1b , it only starts on October 1st. So you also need to find an employer willing to wait from April to October.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Yes agencies can help you to find a job but the hardest part is getting a work visa. In order for you to work in USA- you would need a H1b visa and they are very hard to get by. Plus the other part is H1b visa application is filed on April 1st for a lottery. Last year for about 85000 visas there were about 240000 applicants. So you can see, its almost like playing the lottery. Once you get a H1b , it only starts on October 1st. So you also need to find an employer willing to wait from April to October.

Not totally correct.

nurses generally can go the EB3 route and not H1b, this was how I originally was going to the US and is generally how it is still done. This stems from labour abuse many years ago.

Starting point really is meeting state requirements which due to how UK training is, is very difficult. Transcripts must show clinical and theory hours in Paeds, Mental Health, Obstetrics and Adult.

Agencies in in most parts get you to fill out paperwork so I would save money and do this all yourself. Once you have applied to the state you plan on living and working in, met state requirements and passed NCLEX it is then time to look for employer. Only employer can apply for EB3 Or H1b so make sure resume is aimed for US employers and contact hospitals.