UK nurse relocating to USA, is it worth it?!!

butwick · Jul 15, 2008

There is a minimum wait of 5 years for a green card (due to retrogression) which every foreign nurse need to possess to legally work in the US-now that is after you pass the C.E.S. from CGFNS

butwick · Jul 15, 2008

If you are willing to wait 5 years+ as thats the norm now in relocating to the US (have you heard of visa retrogression?loads of thread from suzanne about this) then the answer is yes.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 15, 2008

CES is an evaluation only done by CGFNS, it is not an exam.

Australia has the same type of system that the UK has, but they are the only ones. Both Canada as well as the US require training in all of the required areas before you can sit for the licensing exam.

You cannot start the job and petitioning process until you have taken and passed the NCLEX-RN exam, no employer can legally offer you a job until you have passed either that exam or the CGFNS exam, and since that is needed for only four states now, no reason to sit for that one. And it does not give you a license either.

If your training gave you clinical and theory hours when you were in school, you may find that your credits are accepted. But you will not know until CGFNS does the evaluation for the CES.

And if you need to make up the hours, it is only about 6 weeks to complete. Do you also have hours in peds as well as maternal health? Those are needed as well to meet the requirements for licensure here.

Best of luck to you.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 15, 2008

It is not necessarily a five year wait for all, it depends on the country of birth of the nurse. For certain countries it is going to be longer than five years for a chance at a green card, and not even a guarantee any longer.

AandE angel · Jul 16, 2008

Thanks guys, im still keen to go ahead with my application, im just waiting for my transcripts from University, we did do clinical time in maternity and paeds so im hoping that its only my Mental Health (not mine personnally!!) that will be the problem and if the time scale does end up being as long as is being stated then 6 weeks make up time is nothing - has anyone seen any forums/threads regarding USA schooling, my kids are 13 and 11 and wondering if anyone has any experience (good or bad) of intergrating into US school system xx

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jul 16, 2008

Each BON makes their own determination on transcripts etc and they have to go direct from nursing school or be placed in a sealed envelope with official stamp

LiverpoolJane · Jul 16, 2008

I started the process over ten months ago and still haven't had my ATT as it has taken so long to get my transactions from the Uni that now holds my old records. It does seem like a long wait and I'm sure the hurdles you and I are jumping through now are just a taste of things to come, with Visa Screens etc.

I have an Adobe PDF guide to living in the US it includes schooling amongst other things. If you PM me with your e-mail address I can sent it to you.

Thanks guys, im still keen to go ahead with my application, im just waiting for my transcripts from University, we did do clinical time in maternity and paeds so im hoping that its only my Mental Health (not mine personnally!!) that will be the problem and if the time scale does end up being as long as is being stated then 6 weeks make up time is nothing - has anyone seen any forums/threads regarding USA schooling, my kids are 13 and 11 and wondering if anyone has any experience (good or bad) of intergrating into US school system xx

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Jul 17, 2008

My son went over to England for a semester in college. Actually what we call college is University to us in the USA. He found the system very different, for example, in the USA when one graduates from college/university you have to take a mixture of courses, sciences, arts, lanuages, social studies and then your major. Where as in the UK the courses were all in your elected major. Also to get into University/College it seemed to me that the UK was a bit more selective than the USA, and high school in the UK was more intense.

Another difference was in the UK, university was fairly cheap to attend, where as in the USA a private University is very expensive and you only qualify in your home state for state school discounts if you live in the state.

As far as younger children, my husband's boss moved over from England last year. His kids 11-14 range seem to adapt well to the US system.

nicurn001 · Jul 17, 2008

If it takes you 5 years to gain entry to USA your children will be approx 16 & 18 , the eldest may be interested in University,the unit fee's would be charged at a nonresident rate ( read much higher cost) , whilst the younger child may be resident by the time old enough to go to University 9 dependent upon the state you reside in).At the ages you are talking about how independent will they be , it is posible at that age they may not wish to come with you to the USA.

Whilst the US remains the land of opportunity , there is no safety net ,if you hit troubles you are on your own .

I came to the US in 1988 ,have done OK , I know there is good and bad to being here ,on balance the good wins out , but as most Americans I am probably 1 major health problem away from bankrupcy.

NB A&E = ER (Emergency Room ) here

RGN1 · Jul 18, 2008

I got through all the USA hoops really quickly - taking about 6 months to get my ATT & pass N-CLEX (had enough hours because I trained the old way) I got a job & all was looking good then before my I-140 got filed BANG retrogression.

Now I am sitting here with an approved I-140 but not able to go. With the ages of my children firmly in mind (15, 10 & 8) we decided to go to Canada instead. Just waiting for my work permit to drop thorugh my door & we're off! It's taken 8 months from starting to get to this point!

No regrets (appart from financial ones) about changing our minds - it's fantastic to not be living in limbo any more! I have a provisional start date of Sept 15th & I know we'll be there by then - we're even taking a holiday in Florida first!!

Our house is sold, the grand pack up is under way & it's a wonderful feeling. Plus everyone on the Canadian side has been pleasant, helpful & friendly throughout. Now if only their Embassy to work a little quicker it would be almost perfect!!!

NOT that people in the USA haven't been helpful & friendly (my best friend in the entire world was born, bred & lives in the USA) but there have been a lot more hassles & hurdles to go through just to get to where I am in my USA application than to get through the entirity of my Canadian one. Plus you don't even need a lawyer for immigration purposes to Canada - not something I'd recommend for the USA.

I'm not stopping my USA paperwork yet - got to survive my first winter! :-) but there's a growing feeling inside me that we may never cross the border to live. I certainly think the kids will get a better education in Calgary then they would have in Florida.

Again I'm not casting aspersions on a US education system I have no experience of - it's something my US friend said to me just yersterday.

If you have a dream follow it but only with eyes wide open.

suehp · Jul 20, 2008

I got through all the USA hoops really quickly - taking about 6 months to get my ATT & pass N-CLEX (had enough hours because I trained the old way) I got a job & all was looking good then before my I-140 got filed BANG retrogression.
Now I am sitting here with an approved I-140 but not able to go. With the ages of my children firmly in mind (15, 10 & 8) we decided to go to Canada instead. Just waiting for my work permit to drop thorugh my door & we're off! It's taken 8 months from starting to get to this point!
No regrets (appart from financial ones) about changing our minds - it's fantastic to not be living in limbo any more! I have a provisional start date of Sept 15th & I know we'll be there by then - we're even taking a holiday in Florida first!!
Our house is sold, the grand pack up is under way & it's a wonderful feeling. Plus everyone on the Canadian side has been pleasant, helpful & friendly throughout. Now if only their Embassy to work a little quicker it would be almost perfect!!!
NOT that people in the USA haven't been helpful & friendly (my best friend in the entire world was born, bred & lives in the USA) but there have been a lot more hassles & hurdles to go through just to get to where I am in my USA application than to get through the entirity of my Canadian one. Plus you don't even need a lawyer for immigration purposes to Canada - not something I'd recommend for the USA.
I'm not stopping my USA paperwork yet - got to survive my first winter! :-) but there's a growing feeling inside me that we may never cross the border to live. I certainly think the kids will get a better education in Calgary then they would have in Florida.
Again I'm not casting aspersions on a US education system I have no experience of - it's something my US friend said to me just yersterday.
If you have a dream follow it but only with eyes wide open.

Good luck!!! I dont blame you for going to Canada.....living in Limbo is awful and so stressful on many levels.

Have a great holidya in Florida - weather here is great right now hehe!!! :lol2: