# UK nurse looking to emigrate to US



## Scottishnurse28 (6 mo ago)

Morning everyone!

I am a staff nurse from Scotland with 8 years experience in trauma and orthopaedics who has a BSc in Adult Nursing. I’m revisiting the option of emigrating to the USA - we would be settling in Pennsylvania - my other half already has a job lined up for there. It’s all pretty negative so far all the info I’m finding on transition for UK nurse to USA RN as our degree doesn’t appear to transfer due to not enough/no hours experience in OBGYN/Paeds ect. 

Is there anyway to make up these hours? Does anyone from the UK have experience in this - more so recently? I see they also have LVP/LVN in the US and it appears almost equivalent to Staff Nurses here in the UK - would it be worth while even looking into one of those jobs instead of an RN?

I’ve scanned various websites including the CGFNS - I’ve requested my transcripts. 

I’ve spoke to my other half about the possibility of speaking to a emigration lawyer as I’ve honestly no idea where to start.

I’m finding this all quite stressful it just seems almost impossible and when the move is depending on your situation it’s definitely a lot of pressure!

Thanks in advance!


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

An immigration lawyer will be a waste of money. NCSBN and in your case PA Board of Nursing can answer all your questions. Does your husband's visa allow you to work? Will you be able to invest funds and time into this adventure?


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## Scottishnurse28 (6 mo ago)

twostep said:


> An immigration lawyer will be a waste of money. NCSBN and in your case PA Board of Nursing can answer all your questions. Does your husband's visa allow you to work? Will you be able to invest funds and time into this adventure?


Thanks for your info and reply. Just curious as to why a lawyer would appear as a waste? We aren’t married and plan to travel on separate visas in case one of us wanted to return home. We’ve looked into all that and it’s definitely possible. It’s if my qualifications are transferable that I’m most concerned about


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

No, your qualifications are not transferrable as they are. Do you expect to get a visa a nuse?


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## Scottishnurse28 (6 mo ago)

twostep said:


> No, your qualifications are not transferrable as they are. Do you expect to get a visa a nuse?


Do you have any idea how to go about attaining further training to get to the same level as a US RN or is there an alternative? I’ve seen agencies help a lot of UK nurses in this but unfortunately that doesn’t suit since I cant be flexible in location.
I’m hoping so, tbh I haven’t looked fully into VISAs as not much point if I don’t meet the entry requirements for an RN firstly. I wouldn’t want to come over to the US not in my profession as feel that’s such a waste on my part.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

An immigration lawyer won't help much with your nursing qualifications. In the US those sorts of things are on a state-by-state basis - so the website for the state nursing association might be your best option. (At least find out which agency handles the registration of nurses in Pennsylvania.) 

Going over on separate visas adds a certain element of risk, too, as each type of visa has its own requirements and one of you could find yourself instructed to return back home on short notice (when there were layoffs in a company I worked for, foreigners who were laid off due to budget cuts had 30 days to move out of the country - though this was quite a few years back). Even if each of you are able to get work visas, you need to think in terms of a "plan B" just in case one or the other should lose their job like that. 

As far as nursing is concerned, here is the state licensing site for nurses. Home 
You might be able to find something here about transfer of qualifications or any consideration for "foreign qualifications" in the licensing process.


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## Scottishnurse28 (6 mo ago)

Bevdeforges said:


> An immigration lawyer won't help much with your nursing qualifications. In the US those sorts of things are on a state-by-state basis - so the website for the state nursing association might be your best option. (At least find out which agency handles the registration of nurses in Pennsylvania.)
> 
> Going over on separate visas adds a certain element of risk, too, as each type of visa has its own requirements and one of you could find yourself instructed to return back home on short notice (when there were layoffs in a company I worked for, foreigners who were laid off due to budget cuts had 30 days to move out of the country - though this was quite a few years back). Even if each of you are able to get work visas, you need to think in terms of a "plan B" just in case one or the other should lose their job like that.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply.
The Visa situation is definitely something we need to look into more, just thought it would be best the check if I actual meet the requirements to be an RN in the US first. 
This is all just putting out the feelers firstly really, it’s just a bit of minefield for me I feel. I’ll check out that website for some more advice/info


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## Scottishnurse28 (6 mo ago)

I contacted the PA BON direct via phone - she advised getting a CES report initially then apply to the PA BON - she stated the report can take a while and they only keep applications open for 12 months. She said until CES report is generated and analysed by them it’s hard to say what further training will be needed but advised applicants can do additional training either in the US or UK - just so long as UK training meets board requirements. Just posting this in case anyone in a similar position is reading this as appreciate it’s a bit of a minefield and it’s not all doom and gloom - all appears very negative feedback for UK nurses wanted to travel to the US - not singling out this forum. Just showing folks it’s a possibility


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Thanks for sharing that about qualifying for a nurses license in the US. We get queries, but rarely does anyone come back with what they have found out. Then again, look at the issues involved with transferring nursing credentials across Europe - which usually includes language requirements. At least you're ahead of the curve on that one. <g>


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

The other thing to consider is that it is the employer who sponsors for a work visa. 
So, does one get the qualifications first (money and time come to mind) and then apply for jobs, hoping someone will offer you a job ?
The only other nurse I remember on this forum, is one who moved over with her hubby on an L2 visa, got her qualifications, so was able to apply for nursing jobs - took about a year if I remember correctly.


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## Scottishnurse28 (6 mo ago)

Crawford said:


> The other thing to consider is that it is the employer who sponsors for a work visa.
> So, does one get the qualifications first (money and time come to mind) and then apply for jobs, hoping someone will offer you a job ?
> The only other nurse I remember on this forum, is one who moved over with her hubby on an L2 visa, got her qualifications, so was able to apply for nursing jobs - took about a year if I remember correctly.


Thanks for your input. I don’t really know what to do/where to start. Sure it will all come together eventually


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## VeeMomodu (3 mo ago)

Scottishnurse28 said:


> I contacted the PA BON direct via phone - she advised getting a CES report initially then apply to the PA BON - she stated the report can take a while and they only keep applications open for 12 months. She said until CES report is generated and analysed by them it’s hard to say what further training will be needed but advised applicants can do additional training either in the US or UK - just so long as UK training meets board requirements. Just posting this in case anyone in a similar position is reading this as appreciate it’s a bit of a minefield and it’s not all doom and gloom - all appears very negative feedback for UK nurses wanted to travel to the US - not singling out this forum. Just showing folks it’s a possibility


 Hi Scott , I’m in the same predicament. I’m a UK trained nurse trying to emigrate to the states. I know the CGFNS can evaluate transcripts but like yourself I lack some of the Peads/Pysch/Obs clinical hours so trying to find out where I can obtain those hours or If I have to start again from scratch. Very confusing


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## Scottishnurse28 (6 mo ago)

VeeMomodu said:


> Hi Scott , I’m in the same predicament. I’m a UK trained nurse trying to emigrate to the states. I know the CGFNS can evaluate transcripts but like yourself I lack some of the Peads/Pysch/Obs clinical hours so trying to find out where I can obtain those hours or If I have to start again from scratch. Very confusing


Hi there

I have applied to the CGFNS for a CES report as stipulated by PA BON. It’s a long process so far, they are still awaiting my university transcripts. So I’m sorry I can’t help as I’m not really any further forward. I will be sure to let you know when I am. I heard through a few people if you apply to NY their evaluation is slightly different I know personally of a few UK trained nurses who didn’t have any deficiencies then just applied through endorsement to their desired state (wishing I did this but just want to see what PA say first as it’s a lot of money). Don’t know if that’s an option for you? If you go on the allnurse.com forum my username is ScottishNurse22 you will see correspondence from fellow UK trained nurses in related forum/posts.
Hope this is helpful


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## RAKCity (1 mo ago)

So I thought I would add our journey to give hope to those who are going through or are about to go through this process. My wife is a UK trained Adult nurse, but her credentials were accepted by the NCBON. At the end of the day it comes down to how your transcript is compiled by your university and presented to the evaluation service as well as what placements you did. The BoN will dictacte if there is a hours requirement for each speciality, for the NCBON when we spoke to them prior to getting evaluated they stated there was no minimum only that hours were present in each speciality. However every BoN is different so email and probe get as much details as possible. This is the most important step. When it comes to getting your transcript evaluated every hour counts. We spent 2 days back and forth emailing the university nursing cohort admin assistant about how to fill in the hours, stipulate that if you did placements in any of the specialities even for a day/ half a day you want those hours included. If your placement covered those speciality patients you want hours included. If you had lectures and those specialities were partially covered you want the hours, that sort of detail will make the difference. Your university needs to do a bit digging to find all this but its worth it. The biggest challenges will be OBS/GYN and PEDs but depending on your uni you covered more than you think. At the end of the day the uni isn't gonna lie for you so just work on getting as much as you can then apply to the BoN and go from there. You also still need to pass the NCLEX For credential evaluators we did not use the CGFNS reviews are bad and they take a LONGGGG time. NCBON offers another evaluator who was cheaper and only took 5 days to evaluate. However again I was detailed in asking what is allowed to be included by the university to help direct the evaluation.


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