Registered Nurses, who are Mexican nationals and who have a State/provincial license or Licenciatura Degree earned in Mexico can work in the United States of America as registered Nurses under NT2 visas. Applicant must be a citizen of Mexico. Position must be on NAFTA list. Position in US requires a NAFTA professional. Applicant is to work at a prearranged full-time or part-time job, for a US employer. Self employment not permitted. As of January 1, 2004 the procedures where simplified for Mexicans by removing the requirement for petition approval by the USCIS and for filing of the labor condition application with the US Labor Department. Mexicans are no longer subject to numerical limitations for these professions. Visa issued for 3 year periods, Mexicans still require a visa to request admission to the United States. |
Mexican Registered Nurse
714-520-1457
NAFTA TREATY NURSE
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Mexican Nurses Mexican nurses wishing to work as registered nurses in the USA, and not spend years waiting for a visa, can only do so by using the TN2 visa which is a NON IMMIGRANT VISA. The NT2 is a non-immigrant visa which allows “professional workers” to live and work in the US. It was created by the NAFTA treaty between the USA, Canada and Mexico for professional workers who are listed by profession. Any profession on the list must have the equivalent to a bachelor degree earned in the USA. For Mexican Registered nurse = State/provincial license or Licenciatura Degree. A registered nurse in the USA only needs a two-year Associate of Arts nurse degree to work as a registered nurse in the USA, and a foreign trained nurse immigrating with a green card to work as a registered nurse only needs the two-year nurse diploma or its equivalent. The Mexican or Canadian nurse who wants to work under a TN visa must have the equivalent to a bachelor degree earned in the USA. Dependents (Spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age) of TN professionals are entitled to same TN status as principle. Dependents may be students but may not be employed under the TN status. All nurses must have the VisaScreen Certificate in order to immigrate with a green card or work in the US with a non-immigrant NT2 visa. If immigrating with a green card, the nurse must first pass the nurses qualifying examination + English exams in order to get a CGFNS Certificate. A US employer cannot start the paper work for the nurse to immigrate to work for it (Petition) until the nurse has received the CGFNS Certificate or passed the NCLEX-RN licensing exam. It is only when the US employer has "petitioned" the US Immigration Service for the nurse does the nurse get a “Priority date” and start to wait for an immigrant visa to become available. As of May 2008 the waiting time for registered nurses to get their green cards to go to the US to work for the petitioning US employer is (China about 5 years), (India about 7 years), (Mexico about 6 years) and (Philippines and other countries of world about 2 years). US Department of State Visa Bulletin. Few US employers want to wait 2 years or as long as 7 years for the nurse to arrive in US to work for them once they petition for the nurse. This waiting period is referred to as the visa backlog or visa retrogression. Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) or special legislation for schedule “A” nurses should end this retrogression of visas. Even when these laws are passed the waiting period from when the US employer petitions to when the nurses arrives in the US to work is about 12 months. Some Mexican nurses do not have the equivalent to a bachelor degree earned in the USA, and thus are not qualified for an NT visa. But do have a nurse degree equal to a two-year registered nurse diploma that a registered nurse needs in the US for the green card. Many Mexican nurses want to work in the USA, as registered nurses, but don’t have the English skills necessary to pass the English tests needed to get a VisaScreen Certificate. We have developed a future program that we will start when CIR is passed and Quest Worker visas are available. Remember the US employer cannot "petition" the USCIS for the nurse until the nurse has passed the exams and received the CGFNS Certificate. The nurse still needs the VisaScreen Certificate before receiving a visa, and she is expected to apply for and receive it during the 12 months (or longer) between when the US employer petitions and the nurse goes to the US Consulate for her green card interview. Although they are two different programs, both administered by the Commission of Graduates for Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), the only difference between the two is that the VisaScreen Certificate Program requires the nurse to have passed the exams and have received a CGFNS Certificate. If you have qualified and received a CGFNS Certificate you can feel assured that you will receive the VisaScreen Certificate. The procedures for registered nurses to work in the USA are the same if the Registered Nurse wants an Immigrant Visa (green card) or a temporary Non-Immigrant TN2 visa (both visas need a Visa Screen Certificate). The immigration procedure where the nurse will get the green card first, before going to the US, requires the nurse to wait outside the US while waiting for an immigrant visa to become available (quota). The wait is presently between 2 and 7 years depending on what country you are from. The Green Card procedure requires that the US Employer petition (I-140) the U S Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for the nurse with the necessary documentation. By contrast the TN2 procedures do not require the US employer for whom the nurse will work to petition or apply to any US Government agency. All the US Employer must do is give the nurse an employment letter which states the position and terms of employment. With this letter, the nurse can apply to any U.S. Consulate around the world for a NT2 visa. We arrange the job for the nurse and this employment letter. What all nurses and other health care workers wishing to work in the USA must have is a Visa Screen certificate issued by the Commission for Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools CGFNS. VisaScreen certificate To be issued the VisaScreen certificate, in addition to paying for the VisaScreen Assessment cost of $448, a REGISTERED NURSE must have the CGFNS Certificate which is earned by taking a test given in many countries around the world. For Mexican nurses the CGFNS qualifying exam can be taken in Mexico City or Monterrey, Mexico, or in Los Angeles or Houston if the nurse has a visitor visa to the US. The cost of the VisaScreen Certification Program $448.00 The cost of the CGFNS Certification Program is $418.00. The CGFNS Certificate Program is different and a separate cost than the VisaScreen Certificate Program. You must register, pay the $418.00, meet all qualifications, pass the CGFNS Qualifying examination and the English exams to earn the CGFNS Certificate. You must register, pay the $448.00, meet all qualifications, PLUS have a CGFNS Certificate in order to receive a VisaScreen Certificate. This rule that you must have the CGFNS Certificate in order to get a VisaScreen Certificate only applies to nurses. Other health care workers who also need the VisaScreen Certificate do not have to have the CGFNS Certificate, like physical therapists. Because of the one year requirement to meet the conditions of the VisaScreen program, nurses are advised to register, pass the CGFNS and English exams, and receive the CGFNS Certificate before applying for the VisaScreen Certificate program. Many of the conditions and procedures for the VisaScreen Certificate Program are identical to the requirements of the CGFNS Certificate Program. Fortunately you don't have to duplicate the requirements twice when applying for the VisaScreen Program. Keep in mind that for immigrant visas (green cards) and non-immigrant visas (NAFTA NT2 visas) it is sufficient to have passed the CGFNS Certificate Program and to have been issued a VisaScreen Certificate to be issued your green card or NT visa. Once you receive these two Certificates you qualify for your immigrant or non-immigrant visas, you do not have to pass the NCLEX-RN to receive these visas. But you cannot start working in the USA in the State of California until you have registered for the NCLEX-RN and obtained an Interim License or passed the NCLEX-RN and obtained a full license. English test recommended IELTS because Spoken English test easier. Authorization period is three-years for NT Visa. Can be extended indefinitely every year thereafter so long as working as nurse. Quota of 5,500 annual TN visas removed in 2005. Presently there are no quotas on TN visas. Must be MEXICAN CITIZEN and have Mexican passport to get NT2 visa. Average nurse's Salary With the VisaScreen certificate and the letter from the US employer for whom the nurse will work, the nurse will apply directly at a US Consulate or Embassy for the TN Visa. So rather than waiting for years to go to US to work as a registered nurse, the Mexican nurse can be working in the US within weeks of receiving the VisaScreen Certificate. So what is needed for a Mexican Nurse to work in US as a registered nurse and earn about $31.00 per hour and about $45.00 overtime per hour in California? Here is the U.S. Department of State’s web page on NAFTA Professional Workers. As part of the visa application process, an interview at the embassy consular section is required for most applicants. Interviews are generally by appointment only. As part of the visa interview, an ink-free, digital fingerprint scan can generally be expected. The waiting time for an interview appointment for most applicants is a few weeks or less, but for some embassy consular sections it can be considerably longer. Visa wait times for interview appointments and visa processing times are now available on most embassy websites. Visit the Embassy Consular Section where you will apply for your visa to find out how to schedule an appointment. Each Mexican applicant must submit these forms, documentation and fees:
We’ll arrange for the letter of employment for you, subject to your approval. We’ll arrange for a room in a residence close to your place of work so you can go and come from work quickly and safely. We’ll reimburse your cost of the CGFNS Certification Program ($418) and your cost of the VisaScreen Certification Program ($448) once you pass these tests and receive the certificates. This should be read to mean that the nurse must first register and pay for the CGFNS Certificate Program and then the VisaScreen Certificate Program. Once you have earned the Certificate we will reimburse you the cost you paid for the program. |