Where do you start?
An overview of where to begin once you have decided that travel nursing to the United States is for you!
Before You Begin
The very first thing you should do is join the community of other Canadian to U.S. nurses. We have a Facebook group, Instagram, and this website for tons of resources and support.
Congrats
You’ve made the first big step in deciding to become a Canadian to U.S. travel nurse. This is a great career choice if you love traveling aren’t looking to settle down in one place just yet, and want an exciting and rewarding boost to your nursing practice.
A Few Reminders...
We talked about what to expect (e.g. length of contracts, locations available for first-time Canadian nurses without an American social security number, etc.) in this comprehensive Travel Nursing FAQ. And if you’re cool with everything, and maybe even excited and pumped about everything, let’s move onto the next thing!
This next article, we looked into if you had the necessary prerequisites (e.g. having two years of experience in your specialty, being a Registered Nurse, etc.) in the article, Are You Ready? Do You Have What It Takes to Be a U.S. Travel Nurse? If you tick every box in here, you are well on your way to what this article is about!
What You Will Need...
Patience - The process easily takes 6-8+ months
Roughly, $3,000-4,000+ CAD to pay for your preliminary visa document, all the documents that will need to be sent, your state license fee, cost to send documents to the state BON, TN visa fee at the border, gas, etc. - A lot of this will be reimbursed depending on your agency, but not until after you have started working.
At least 1-3 months living costs saved as an emergency/delay/cancellation fund - There can often be delays and cancellations with little to no notice.
Now that you have decided you want to do this and you know you met the qualifications, let’s go over where the heck to start! These next 3 things can all be done at the SAME time...
NCLEX
If you have the NCLEX already (graduates after 2015), go ahead and skip to the next step
If you don’t have the NCLEX, don’t fret, but start studying ASAP
The NCLEX test is a computer-assisted test that allows registered nurses, practical nurses, and vocational nurses to check their knowledge and readiness to become licensed. There is the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN (for LPNs/RPNs).
Soon, there will be an article all about the NCLEX so I won’t get into it too much here. A few points to note -- You WILL need the NCLEX in nearly every state. There might be one or two states that accept the old CRNE (e.g. Michigan); but if you want to work in any other states, you will need to take and pass the NCLEX.
Preliminary Visa Document
Apply and send in all the required documents to either...
> CGFNS (whose preliminary visa document is called a VisaScreen) or to
> Josef Silney (whose preliminary visa document is called VISA4NURSES)
There will be more details on this in a separate article, but for now, know that unless you already have a greencard or U.S. citizenship, you will be required to get one of these documents.
I get a lot of nurses who ask “What is this?” or “Why do I need this?” or “I didn’t know I needed a VisaScreen/VISA4NURSES!” and many are upset when I tell them they’ll need it due to the cost, time, and legwork that goes into sending in all the documents to CGFNS or Silny. Yes, 100%, it is a HUGE pain.
But here is my point... I understand many nurses are new to this and it is overwhelming without the resources to help you (ergo, why I am here doing this). However, common sense would tell you that you cannot just waltz into a country where you are not a citizen and just start practicing as a nurse. And we nurses should know either from personal experience (if we aren’t from Canada) or from coworkers’ experiences who came from somewhere abroad -- It isn’t like Canada lays out the welcome mat for international nurses. And I wouldn’t expect any country to make it all that easy to come in and practice nursing.
For a lot of nurses, it is super nice that Canada introduced the NCLEX because (for those who graduated after 2015), it is one less thing to do (and a pretty big thing - no one likes tests, right?).
Just know, in order for anyone -- be it a social worker, IT professional, nurse, etc. to work LEGALLY in the United States, they will need a preliminary visa document (and the only accepted ones are the VisaScreen or VISA4NURSES).
***This can take 2-6 months depending on how fast your university and college(s) of nursing send over their verifications. So, you will want to get a move on this right away.
***Note: If you took your education outside of Canada or the United States, you will need a educational evaluation (both CGFNS CES, Toronto CES, and possibly Silny should provide this but it will require an additional fee and time).
State License
Apply for a state license in a state that is first-time Canadian friendly (will allow you to apply without an American social security number/SSN). For the list of states possible, head to the Travel Nursing FAQ.
You can apply for your preliminary visa document AND state license at the same time. No need to wait until one comes back to then apply for the other!
State licenses vary in time. Some states can take 2-3 months and others might take much longer. It really depends on how long it takes to get your documents in to them, if they require a jurisprudence exam (e.g. Texas) that might slow things down a touch, or if you will need to take an English test or get your documents translated, etc. These things can all result in a few delays.
Again, there will be a lot more to come on state licenses in future articles, but just know you should apply sooner rather than later as it can easily take some time (especially if you need an educational evaluation, often called a CES which is available from both CGFNS and Silny).
Wait! But What about getting a Recruiter/Agencies?
Good question. For some reason, a lot of nurses think that you need to start with a recruiter or agency or that they are the first step. Not only are they definitely not the first step, some agencies/recruiters said they wouldn’t even talk to me, a Canadian nurse, unless I had my preliminary visa document and state license in hand. I think a lot of nurses have the expectation that a recruiter/agencies will help them more then they actually can. For travel nursing, a recruiter can’t really do anything practical for you.
For your NCLEX, you need to study, book it (once you have applied for a state license and have been given the Authorization to test), and you need to pass it.
For your CGFNS VisaScreen or Josef Silny VISA4NURSES, you can add authorized persons who can view your account, but only you can request verifications from your university and college(s) of nursing/any jurisdictions you have been licensed as a nurse. Most colleges or boards of nursing would never allow an individual who isn’t you to access or request your documents.
And again, for your state license, only YOU can request the necessary documents.
So, you see, until you have the above three things, a recruiter and agency really won’t be something you need for months.
When do you need a recruiter? You can touch base with them anytime to form a relationship, build rapport, etc. but you only really need to onboard with agencies approx. 2-6 weeks before you think you will have all your documents ready to go.
What Can you Do in the Meantime While You Wait?
Prepare your resume/CV & references
The first thing you can do in the meantime while you wait for all your documents is polish off your resume/CV. Get typically 2-3 up-to-date management/supervisory references, and let them know you will be job hunting soon.
Compile a list of recruiters & their contact info
The next thing is to prepare a list with contact info of recruiters you plan to go with. I have compiled a list of recommended recruiters based on the most frequently mentioned by Canadian nurses (so you KNOW they have worked with Canadians) and I have ordered them based on the best reviewed/rated (via a poll in the Facebook group). For that information, here is the Recommended Recruiter List.
Prepare, prepare, prepare...
Once you have submitted everything for your preliminary visa document and your state license and the NCLEX is taken care of, then you will want to prepare for the times ahead.
The entire process is a carefully choreographed sequence of events. It may be nerve-wracking the first time you need to do everything, but it gets easier each time.
While waiting and after you have polished off your resume (including references), you can research ahead things you will need to know soon.
These include learning about things like:
If you are bringing family and/or pets, what documents do you need?
What locations you prefer?
What shifts you prefer (days, evenings, nights)?
What questions should you ask your recruiter?
What questions should you be ready for in an interview?
And what should you ask in interviews?
What should you require in your contracts?
How do you negotiate?
What documents should you get ready for the border?
Where can you get your BLS/ACLS/PALS ahead of time?
Should I get my own travel medical insurance?
Will I need a U.S. bank account?
And way more...!
And the best place to learn these things is here in articles on our website, the Canuck to Yankee Guide, in our Facebook Community, and on our Instagram!
Final Note
Here is a infographic of the entire process to provide a handy visual and give an idea of timeline and when to do certain parts of the process.
