How to work as a nurse in the U.S.

You’re eligible to work in the U.S. if you’re a Registered Nurse in your home country. Contact the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) to see if you’re qualified. Contact CGFNS here.

When you know where in the U.S. you’d like to work, you can apply to that state’s Board of Nursing and take the NCLEX-RN. This is a standardized test that’ll earn you a Registered Nurse license. It may include an English language proficiency test.

Once you have your Registered Nurse license, you can look for a job through a nursing recruitment agency or U.S.-based employer. When you have received a job offer, you can apply for a U.S. visa.

The last step is to apply for a non-immigrant visa that will allow you to work in the U.S. Citizens of Canada or Mexico can apply for a Trade National Visa (TN), which is a special arrangement that each of these countries have with the U.S.