₦airaland Forum

What kind of visa should someone that intends to write an international certification exam in SA apply for?

What are the steps involved in applying for the visa (including cost, documents and duration)?
Thank you

I don respond

mamajaz:
I just dey jare, Torry sour small oh, I still deynon top am though. Make I pm you please.

De mama I dey o. No be small sontin. I dey peep in from time to time. So many good things happening. How far with your own process?

mamajaz:
Auschris baba, I twale you oh. Long time no see sir. Much respect.

My recruiter, Avant, sponsored me under the EB-3 category (which is an Immigrant visa and confers on one a Legal Permanent Resident status). When you arrive in the US, your permanent residency card will be mailed to you (provided you have paid the green fee of $220.)

Babyvet:
Can you explain how you got it in 2 months?

The process of sponsoring foreign educated nurses to practice in the US is still on. I benefited from this process 2 years ago. I got my green within 2 months of my arrival. There are thousands of others like me, who have completed the process or very close to completing the process.

Babyvet:
I'm just curious, is the still US still sponsoring nurses to come here to work and are they actually getting green cards? The reason, I ask because a few years back, there was a nursing shortage and the US government were giving work visa to filipino nurses. I heard they stopped due to many of them coming and immigration issues.

Oga, congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience.
I dey wait for una.

Tunjinodaysoff:
hi all...this post is premature cos i have not yet collected my passport from the USA embassy. But i just want to put it out there.

Long story short...VISA APPROVED AND ISSUED BY USA EMBASSY
Interview was set on August 7 2018. After so much waiting the day came
see security...omo.
Well our case number ended with 004 so i presumed 3 people would be interviewed before us
My wife was ready. All documents printed and all checks and balances made via document checklist. Medical was fine. Made new police clearance and NBI fingerprint in case they said previous was expired (they did not)
After security checks we were sent to an area to sit. children were fast asleep. See tension in the air. we were only Nigerians in Abu Dhabi embassy (Other nationalities with good economies still struggling to enter Yankee)
Naso 7:30 them call us (big lady, lovely smile and attitude). Just dy go through our papers. She was courteous and assuring. Asked some questions to wife.
CGFNS, Marriage certificate, offer letter (originals and copy). Told us we will be called by another consular and that we should go for fingerprint.
Fingerprint done. next we were called by the other consular. BARRAGE OF QUESTIONS

Everything you need to know about you, your job, employer, hubby or spouse, terms of contract, where you would be working or living, where you have lived...so many questions. But if you go online and also use @auscris (my main oga for life) visa journey questions. you will be fine.

***THEN THE WHITE PAPER FINALLY CAME***

"Congratulations on being approved for USA immigrant visa, within 2-3 days you will receive email notification on where and when to collect your passport and packet 4"

Relief, we all went back to sleep. well email never enter but i just felt like boosting you guys. Employer has booked ticket for my family. Me i go dy Dubai small then join them. Employer paid for a months rent in Calico North Dakota. we have a contract for 6 months 2 bedroom apartment. when i saw the pictures i was gladdened. Hopefully next time i update will discuss SSN and other things....keep the faith all. its all hard-work, prayers and hope!!! GRACE AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW US ALL. AMEN.

Congratulations and thank you for the detailed account of your experience. I wish you the best in the stages ahead. See you on the other side.

vickyehi:
I havent been here for a while mostly because this thread isnt as fast as others. Anyways I just wanna drop this here to encourage someone.

My Timeline
*Registered for CGFNS....Oct 1 2016
*Paid for CGFNS.........Oct 21 2016
*SON transcript sent .....nov 1st 2016 (I didnt send my midwifery transcript
*Applied for NMCN validation.......nov 24 2016
*NmCN sent validation......april 13 2017(council moved from previous location to new location and plenty other stories of people moving offices and reshuffled jobs etc....it was annoying)
* additional info required by cgfns.....June 10 2017(they wanted the obs experience separated from the gynea)

Moved to canada for studies in june
* sent back to cgfns ........August 3rd 2017
*CES report received .......nov 17th 2017
*applied to Texas BON ......nov 21 2017
*applied to identgo(finger print company).......20 nov 2017
*nursing jurisprudence exam passed......dec 12 2017
( I applied for the exam on the same day and bought their 25$ lecture and listened to it. At the end of the lecture I logged into the exam and took it. I passed in that sitting with 92%. So fear not the exam is very straightforward)
*Texas bon requested for another verification from nmcn .......23rd dec 2017
* VOL sent to BON ......Jan 21 2018
*finger print card received....Feb 5th 2018( there was a delay here because the ist ond they sent didnt get to me for some reasons I cant explain)
*finger print done and sent .....Feb 22nd 2018
* criminal check completed .....12th March 2018

* registered with Pearson vue ......5th may 2018 (I decided I wasnt gonna run anymore and I would take the nclex , let what wants to happen, happen. I was just tired of stressing about it )

* ATT sent ........8th may 2018( lolzzz....didnt know it would be so fast....I almost prayed God should take it back ist.....because suddenly my liver fail me....hahhahaha)

Att was going to expire by July so I fixed my exam for June 25th at 12noon. Exam centre was 2hrs away from my city so I followed a friend to the city a day before. I cant say I slept at night sha...but I told myself that it isnt know that I will read what will come out tomorrow. But I couldnt stop glancing at my note till I slept off.

Test day experience
I woke up at 8am ans my friend had left because she tests at 8am. I took the taxi to the venue and got there 1.5hrs early (my nerves were all over the place). Receptionist asked me to wait downstairs and come back upstairs 30mis before my test time (because I was too early and there is no waiting in the exam centre lobby). I came back upstairs as directed. Used the washroom, said a short prayer and went in.

Security check and palm vein all done and I was in front of the desktop. Took a deep breath, prayed again and started.

Finished in 1hr 50mins at 75questions. I took my break at the point and went to the washroom to wash my face, pray and I came back to my sit.I got the surgery questions (15 or so)and some other pilot study questions (30quest). I was already mentally exhausted and didnt want to sit anymore but I just answered them so the system can switch off.syetem finally shut off and I left.

I got the email notification of exam taken and immediately did my PVC trick. I got the good pop up( that's you try to re register and it says you already have an existing registeration). I waited for the 48hrs and did the quick result check. it was there .....I PASSED !!!!.
Saw my name later in the day on Texas site(verification of licence RN ). I got my certificate with my license number on the 8th of August 2018(single license because I dont have a US SSN)

It was an amazing experience!

Study material:
Saunders 7th ed;
really wonderful for content. If you can finish it that would be wonderful. I stopped at chap 52 sha.....
Mark klimek audios;
Helps put things in perspective for you. It is a wonderful resource. Make sure u actually know ur cushman
Kaplan Qbank;
I finished it ....dont worry of you fail the SATA here it happens...I got 18% on the SATA. Average percentage at the end of the qbank was 54%.
CAT1 in feb ....finished at 80quest
CaT2 ......finished at 82quest (3wks to exam)
CAT 3......finished at 87quest(2wks to exam)
Uword;
This is by far the best qbank but I advice u use it only after u have arranged ur content. Uworld would also give u a lot of information on content also and the visual aids are wonderful.Average percentage at the end of qbank was 64% on the 82nd percentile( I think)
Ist and 2nd assessment......very high chance of passing.

If it helps anyone also note that;
Reading was done while attending school full time and with a full time job till april. Then just a full time job from april till exam day . Just do what you have to do to make it work for u.....above all believe in yourselves!
You are a Nigerian RN, you survived that.....you can survive anything

Sorry for the long post.....

Yes

Kimkardashain:
can you migrate with your family?

Zinny18:
I don't really know, but I'm suspecting it's because I verified both nursing and midwifery license While I filled only nursing on the Cgfns CES application.

If this is actually the problem, does it have a solution?

Contact cgfns and find out why they rejected the license validation. Everything(except death) has a solution when you have a good understanding of why it occurred in the first place.

Zinny18:
Please what do I do? Cgfns did not accept my license validation form from nursing council Nigeria.

Why?

I suggest you hold off on paying for the expedite service until you are sure that all your documents have been received by CGFNS.
If any of your documents is found to be inadequate (as is common with CGFNS lately), the fee you paid for the expedite process may turn out to be a waste since the process of rectifying any errors will definitely cause delays that defeats the purpose of the expedite process.
If you don't mind my asking, why do you want to expedite your review process?

nonitilda:
Hi everyone, please how do I apply for cgfns express service? Is it after the initial payment of CES $350? Cos I was thinking I can pay them together but I didn't see any provision made for that.

He's not an RN. He's a physiotherapist. However, the immigration process follows the same pattern. Some people were fortunate to go through uscis without delays. Having a BSN or Diploma had no impact on approvals. For instance, I have a friend with an MSc who passed nclex in Dec 2016 and they filed for her at the end of January 2017. She got denied and they are refiling for her. Another person with diploma passed nclex at the end of March 2017 and they filed in May 2017. She's going for her visa interview next week. I have seen someone with a diploma that passed nclex in May 2017 who got his visa last month.
These persons started with Avant from the scratch. Avant started massive filing in February and there have been very good feedbacks. This morning, a friend informed me that she has been approved after 3 weeks of filing. Let's hope the momentum continues.
Avant does not typically use NC. The commonly use CT, TX, CO, NM

success2k7:
@kfash, pls I have these few questions 4 u in order to clear some grey areas in my mind:

1.) When was your I140 filed? I noticed it was approved at once.

2.) Did u apply with a BNSc or Nursing Diploma?

3.) At what stage did u sign up with avant? Was it before u wrote n passed ur nclex or after? Perhaps u did all the nclex/bon/ielts palaver yourself b4 signing up with avant.

4.) What BON did u use? NC?

Thank you as u provide answers to the above.

Guy, how far? How's NC?

deoludabest:
Wow! This forum is informative and kudos to the initiator and contributors of this forum. I came across this topic yesterday and I read it from the beginning to the present page. I'm a nurse in the UK and I'm processing my application with Texas BON.

You are welcome

Zinny18:
Hi friends please I need your candid advice on which agency to sign up with between Shearwater and Westway. I've already passed their interview.
Please advise wisely and ASAP.
Thanks

Go with Shearwater

Vaughan27:
please if you want to register for CGFNS to send your certificate to BON. Do you think it's better to register in Nigeria here before traveling or register after traveling to the US?

Do it before travelling. That way, you can follow up yourself.

Credential Evaluation Service is a service by CGFNS for the purpose of evaluating your transcripts and license to ensure that it meets the requirements of the board of nursing to which you are applying. If you intend to register with the Colorado Board of Nursing, I suggest you go through their website to know what their requirements are.

yemkenny:
I have immigrant visa and am in colorado presently.And please what is CES.

I am an Avant RN. I can relate to your concerns and know many people that are facing the same challenges that you are going through now.
This is not specific to Nigerians or Avant. There are still a few persons whose petitions were approved. I guess USCIS do what they like.
Like others have told you, do not give up. Keep your dreams alive. I also want to add that you have to be very patient (I know how hard it is). Trust the process and trust Avant. They have your interest at heart and would not want to lose their investments. From what I have heard, they will resume filing from January.
The process may take a little longer but it will surely come through. It took 9 years from when I passed CGFNS to get here.
My favorite quote to all facing this situation is "in this process, patience is a virtue". Relax, my friend ��. Your time will come.

nervorum:
Colleagues,

I'm an NCLEX holder with a Colorado board license sponsored by AVANTS..Just received news my I-140 was denied and i really feel frustrated and unsure of my next steps. I'm thinking of putting in for CBT and forgetting the US thingy altogether (put in 18months to get here with avants). You guys think its a good idea.

Honestly im an emotional reck these days after hearing the news of my denial. I can't say im in the best mind frame to make a sound decision. PLEASE SOMEONE TALK TO ME!

It's a good thing that you have left the USCIS stage. DS260 becomes available after your agency pays the fee. DS260 is to be filled by you but they may want to cross check it before it is submitted.
Avant usually sends you a demo that serves as a guide while filling yours.

Tunjinodaysoff:
House good morning. My wife has been issued license by Michigan board of nursing. But the company assisting us said because of our new born. It would take another 3-4 months before we hear anything from NVC. the last time we talked to them they said we were at the DS260 form stage. I would like to ask if the DS260 form is filled by us or if it's by attorney. And also how soon do you think we will be invited for interview please @auscris @iyman please help out

Congratulations. I rejoice with you and wish you success in the stages ahead

ogwashiukwu:
Yes, I've come with good news. It has been officially confirmed that my beloved wife passed her NCLEX exam. I'm overwhelmed with joy. It can only be God. A lot of sacrifices were made, but it all paid off at last.

Tunjinodaysoff:
good pop-up

Congratulations

omalyn:
New member alert!!!. please i need guidance on how to go about becoming an RN in US. Couldnt read all the threads. please what should i do first?

I recommend that you take the time to go through this thread. You will find it helpful. Then, you can ask specific questions.

kessel:
Mr man we are not here for jokes, be careful

Is there something you know that we don't know? Please share

Ckfgee:
Do you know anyone that has written in the Philippines? Or just assumptions. What's the guarantee the Philippine embassy in Abuja will give tourist visa for nclex purpose?

There are many people that have gone to Philippines to sit for the exam. As I dey type now, people dey air to Manilla.
Opportunity favors the brave. Just believe

barbiee:
Great Nurses, As earlier suggested by @princelynx. The whatsapp group for Nigerian nurses with the dream of working abroad will be created tomorrow. Please quote this message and reply with your number to be added to the group.

@Barbiee, I don't think creating a whatsapp group is good at this point. There are hundreds of people that visit this thread for information. A whatsapp group will deprive them of that info.
Secondly, I don't think that the original intent of the creator of Nairaland is to have people create micro - groups from existing threads.
If there was a whatsapp group before I joined this thread, I probably would not know useful it is because all the relevant information would be shared only on the whatsapp group.
While a whatsapp group may serve the purpose of it's members like getting instant responses to questions, it will deprive others from getting the information they need.
Believe me, I get many requests daily from persons who are keen followers of this thread.
Let's not abandon where I met barbiee, IYIMAN, P406, AjaoSandra and other wonderful people.
Thanks to everyone for keeping this thread alive and keeping it sane (unlike many threads on this forum).



On a lighter note :
What will be my band score if this write up was a test in IELTS

Gozi2017:
@Auschris,thank you for your responses so far.am also with avant,passed the Nclex exam in may,they filled the I 140 application same month,since then I have not got any response from them,although I was told they did premium processing,I have also sent mails to avant to know my current status but no reply from them.
Please how long does the I 140 application usually take?
What do you advice I do at this time.

Congratulations. Premium processing usually takes about 15 working days and if you have not heard anything so far it could be that you got an RFE (request for further evidence) letter from USCIS. The immigration attorney will take care of it.
Does the name of your immigration specialist begin with 'M'? She's very slow in responding to mails. It may be due to the workload.

TheArchangel:
Thanks for this. It was really helpful.

You are welcome. Sorry we lost connection. It was due to an incoming call.

TheArchangel:
Sir, do they pay for the ielts, visascreen, EB3 visas for the family, nclex exams and all the nclex protocols involved, BON registration.etc? I am asking especially for avant and Shearwater.

How much do i need to process other things like cert verification, licence verification and submission of documents?. I.e., a rough estimate of the cost and time.

Avant pays for the NCLEX-RN registration process, EB-3 visas for you and your family (however, you pay the application fee of $345 per member of your family while they pay attorney fees), visascreen (only if you sign a contract during the promo period).
From the Shearwater contract I saw, they pay for everything (I'm not sure if they pay for family). Shearwater just started making inroads into the Nigerian market. I assume they will come with incentives to attract clients. Time will tell how consistent they will be.
I can't give an estimate on how how much it costs for the verification process because it depends on factors like how many schools you attended, the number of licenses you are validating, the nature of your school (some like money pass others and the speed of response varies).
For example, my wife's verification was done in less than 4 months (from the date I applied to CGFNS to the day the CES report was issued) and it did not cost more than 60k to get the whole process done, excluding the the fee for CES. I also know people that have been on the process for over a year and have sent just 1 transcript more than 5 times (may it not be your portion). You cannot quantify the material and emotional cost involved in the latter example.
I hope with this few points of mine, I have not left you more confused. I wish you success in your pursuits.

spicyritie:
please I need your advice on a decision. Can I send you a facebook request? I have your facebook ID from a previous post

No wahala

TheArchangel:
sir, I will like to ask you questions concerning all this recruitment agencies.

Go ahead

In the country section, select Nigeria then hit search. A code should appear. Do not input anything again. Go down to the section that deals with the board of nursing you want to register with. That's all for this page.
Meanwhile, when are hoping to test? I suggest you hold off registering with Pearson Vue if you are not ready to take the exam within the next 3 months. Wait for the BON to give you the go-ahead. Once you are done with the BON and pay to Pearson Vue, you will get the ATT within 2 weeks or less. ATT is usually valid for 90 days.

JustHere2Observ:
Please who has registered with Pearson VUE for nclex and how did you get pat the section that asked for nursing program graduated. Please I need answers asap