CGFNS the Good, the Bad......the Annoying

CGFNS stands for "The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools", and is, according to the website, the world's largest credentials evaluation organization for the nursing and allied professionals since 1977".

What a mouthful. 

CGFNS = Visa Screen and Credential Eval

I prefer mine but who's keeping score? 

This is where you need to go after you have your NCLEX, 1 year experience, and you have decided which launchpad state you want to start in. 

Once you create your profile, you will be directed to select which service you want to buy. Even if you have already researched the specific requirements from the BON where you want to apply, which you definitely should have by this point, I reccomend plugging in the specific state and making sure what comes up, matches what you were planning to purchase. 

If you are planning to go to NY first, which I highly recommend against for reasons I will discuss in my next post, there is a CVS for NY specifically. Many other states require a CES. Some states require this even after we have been working in the states. I really find it to be overkill considering the proximity, and similarity of our Countries', and the fact that many RN's in Canada have bachelor degrees, and we all also write the NCLEX...... it boggles my mind the extent to which they need to "evaluate" our education.

But, let's just jump through these hoops and continue right along. 

So you know the services you need, Visa Screen plus some kind of credential eval.

Time to part with close to 1000.00 CAD in order to buy these services. Make sure you have a puke bucket close by for this part 

Congratulations!!!! You have officially started the process of obtaining your TN Visa.....the Golden ticket that allows you to work in the USA 

Let the waiting begin!!! 

No but seriously..... I have heard stories of the visa screening process taking 8 months to a year. Not All of that is the fault of the company though. And mine only took 13 weeks, but I was WAY on top of the process. I made several phone calls and emails, and was checking my status daily.

Once you purchase the visa screen, a link opens on your dashboard that you can click on. This takes you to another page where you can see what is required for CGFNS to proceed with the visa screen. For me that page looked like this. It will likely be very similar for you. As you can see, beside each requirement is a link.......well, before these read " meets all program requirements", there were links. These links take you to the specific forms you need to send to your nursing school, your licensing bodies, your high school..... 

So as you can see, you are now creating work for several different people, in several different places, and will be at the whim of their efficiency. Talk to these places BEFORE you send them these forms. I did not need to mail any of these as each place submitted online. I won't get into too much detail because your specific nursing body, your school, may have different processes than mine, so just check with them. As soon as I called BCCNM and mentioned CGFNS, the employee knew exactly what I needed, and told me exactly how to do it. It was awesome. Alberta was just as easy. 

Something I learned that came up, and actually caused a little confusion, is that because your transcript comes from student records, and your education breakdown comes from the nursing department, these might take different lengths of time to arrive at cgfns, and different lengths to process. But they both fall under one section, so when cgfns recieves one before the other, it makes that requirement appear incomplete. At least in my circumstance, that was the case.

Error 1 

I had submitted all my document requests to to my school, nursing department, and licensing bodies, and even reached out to the nursing department to get an ETA so I could follow up appropriately. On Aug 16 I got a notification that my transcript was rejected stating the reason "date of birth missing". 

What the.......??? I called CGFNS 

The employee I spoke with looked up my file and told me that yes, my birthday was missing..... this made no sense to me since my transcript is an official document, one that I can easily pull up and see for myself, she was insisting..... 

I emailed the nursing department and they confirmed that my detailed education document was uploaded, via online portal, and sent me a picture that it was complete with my full name and date of birth. 

I called CGFNS back, keep in mind my average wait time on hold with these guys was 45 minutes......long distance. Ugh. Again I was told it was my birthday. 

This time I mentioned that I had a screenshot of the documents uploaded onto the digital credential exchange recieved July 27, 2021, and the employee who was very short, and borderline rude changed her tone and told me to hold. 

She came back to say that it wasn't my birthday, but that the 2 forms that were supposed to accompany my transcript were never sent.  I reminded her of the aforementioned screenshot, and then she informed me that they have a 25 working day processing window once a document has been recieved in the system. This is not posted anywhere....... so July 27 to Aug 15.....that's.....well not 25 working days. 

So because my transcript and breakdown were sent and recieved at different times, an error message was triggered. Why it had literally nothing to do with what was going on, I will never know. But had I not called, and stayed on top of things, who knows how long that error would have sat there. 

My visa screen status changed to ready for review one week later.....19 working days after everything being uploaded to the system. Within the same couple of days, my CVS for NY read "report submitted", and then "report sent". 

So, the next day I applied, and paid for my NY license. I was excited that things seemed to be going quick! One little hiccup, but we were still on track. 

A month later on Sept 14, my visa screen status changed to final license review. And on the 16th it changed to visa screen complete. 4 days later it was in my hand. 

13 weeks from the time I purchased it, and only 4 weeks from the time everything was uploaded. 

I was very satisfied at this point, assuming everything was done and my next step would be my license. Remember I applied for my NY  license back in Aug, when cgfns changed the status of my CVS to "report sent". 

*NY is very clear that you are not to contact them prior to 6 weeks after applying and only at that point, you can send an email via a contact us form.

On Sept 7 I recieved an email from NY stating that " because you stated you were educated outside of the USA, you are required to have your educated evaluated...." going on to list the ways I could do that. I replied to this email asking if I needed to send anything beyond the CVS from CGFNS, and for someone to please reply if something was missing. I got no response from NY. I assumed that they just had not processed that part of my application, and it was still 4 weeks out from when I was allowed to contact them. 

Error 2 

Finally that 6 week mark came, and after still hearing nothing back, I sent the contact us form. 

Crickets....

a week later I decided to track down a phone number for customer service. I found it, and waited on hold for an hour, only to be told there was no CVS on my file, and that I could only talk to the nursing department on Tuesday or Thursday, it was Wednesday. 

🤬

I emailed cgfns right away, then called them the next morning. It was confirmed, my CVS was never sent to NY, even though somehow my status said report sent. I am still fuming about this. The employee at cgfns told me it was some computer glitch that they became aware of yesterday..(ya, when I emailed them), but assured me that it had now been sent.

2 months later...... 

I messaged them again stating that I didn't feel like this issue was resolved because no one had reached out to me. Considering the service I paid for was not provided, I expected at least an apology,  but nothing. They did reply to my message over a week later stating that an employee had told me on Oct 12 that my report was sent, and they hoped that resolved my issue. It doesn't. 

So in reality my CGFNS process was not completed until Oct 18, 4 months from the date of purchase, which is on par for what I had heard as far as timelines go. 

All in all, I'm only somewhat satisfied with this company, but because they are so widely recognized and easy to access, I felt I made the right choice. I feel the costs could definitely go down, the customer service needs work, and the website has some kinks.....like spam auto emails, and strange error messages that even the staff don't understand. I feel the CVS was a waste of money and still don't see why I even needed it since it didn't satisfy any requirements as far as NY is concerned. But we will get more into that in the next one. 

The good 

- easy to navigate platform, very user friendly 

- good reputation and widely recognized 

- timely in my experience 

- document storage included in fee 

The bad 

- cost 

- often rude customer service 

- more than one error that cost me time, and money 

-  unexpected delays, and difficult to communicate with online

- no accountability when errors are made

The annoying 

- I recieved an email every single night from when my report said ready for review to visa screen complete....  23 days......telling me I qualified for a 500 dollar expedited review service, and when I emailed them asking them to stop, that I wasn't interested, it continued and I got no response...

- I could only open messages from them on my laptop, not on my phone or work computer. 

- getting automated survey invites after every interaction 

- just trying to say "cgfns" outloud sometimes is hard

There you have it guys. Hopefully your visa screen process goes even smoother than mine

Xo 

Alana 

Just Start....

Where to begin......

As an RN educated in Canada, one would think that the USA and Canada would have some agreement that a BSN is equivalent to a BSN..... especially with the current state of the world amidst this pandemic....but that is really, so very far from the truth......or so has been my experience thus far. Working as an RN in the USA as a Canadian is not as easy as it should be, but it's not so hard that you can't figure it out, I promise.

So as I like to do with all impossible looking things........let's start at the beginning. 

All across the board, there is a general consensus of the very basic requirements you will need to meet, in order to work as an RN in any of the 50 states in the USA. 

First step------ you should clock in a minimum of 1 year experience in your specialty. This part has nothing to do with your immigration, and everything to do with your marketability, and utility as a travel nurse. If you want to get hired, and you want to feel confident out there, put in the time. 

Most nursing agencies require travellers have 2+ years experience in order to be considered for travel positions, and many hospitals echo this. I have seen some agencies/hospitals  requiring only one year, but they are limited. I highly suggest dedicating at least one year to the consolidation of your nursing skills, mastering time management, and getting to know your strengths and weaknesses as a nurse. After one year, re assess if you ready, willing, and able to pursue a career in travel nursing. If you have already been working for a year or more, you probably understand why this is a requirement. 

WAIT! Why wait only one year, when most places require 2??? 

It can take up to a year to get things lined up. Plain and simple. This process takes time. I knew that going in, and STILL one of my biggest regrets so far, is waiting until I felt ready to go, before I started the process. Pay the fee, get the ball rolling. I know it is a pretty hefty investment up front, but you will be happy you did it. The time will pass anyways, might as well have your future plans underway. You don't have to have your bags packed in order to apply for your visa screen, and considering it is valid for 5 years, it is a solid idea to start this process 6-12 months before you plan to travel. 

OK 

So you graduated nursing school, passed the NCLEX, got hired locally, and now have at least one year of experience. Now what? Should you contact a recruiter? 

NO

Even the ones that claim to support Canadians, or have special departments for Canadian nurses, can't/don't do anything for you beyond what I will tell you here, and after filling out profiles for probably 10+ agencies, I can confidently say that this is a GIGANTIC waste of time. At least for now, you will still have to do all this stuff on your own. But I am here to help!

Believe it or not, the next step is to choose your first location. 

Seems crazy to choose that first, really narrows down our job prospects....  HOWEVER, as a Canadian RN going to the USA on a TN Visa

⏭you need a job contract in order be approved for said visa. 

⏭In order to get a job offer, you need a nursing license in the state you want to work

⏭and in order to get a license, in an overwhelming majority of the USA, you will need a SSN. 

⏭⏭⏭In order to get a SSN in the USA, you need to get a job and to get across the border.....and around we go

SO how the hell do we navigate this???

Luckily for us, there are a few states that will issue you an RN license WITHOUT you providing a ssn and so one of these states will have to be your launch pad. Once you cross the border and get your SSN, that is yours for life, and opens the door to all the other states. Even if you qualify for a license without a ssn, you WILL still need a ssn in order to work in the USA..... this application is done after you arrive. 

I had heard rumors regarding which states these Canadian applicant friendly states were through nursing forums, and friends I knew who went through it, and they seemed to match with what I found for myself online.These are the mainstream ones, the ones that openly state you can apply for and receive a license, or sit for the NCLEX  without a ssn......so seemingly the easiest/only options for a first time Canadian RN going to the USA as a travel nurse. I insist that you look into each state for yourself, as requirements and processes change fast. 

WA

NY

MN

TX

I think maybe Idaho..... 

Out of the lists I was seeing, I felt that NY was the only real bucket list place on there for me, and if it was a viable starting point, I would love to go to NY.

So that is the state I chose first. 

I researched.

 All the info I could find stated 6-8 weeks for a license.... a bit longer than some other places, but worth the wait of a couple months.....

6 to 8 weeks for NY is a giant lie, at least for us foreign educated Canadians..... I will be writing in depth as to why I absolutely do not recommend NY as first stop if you graduated before Jan 2015. ......it is not ideal, I would choose differently if I could go back. Not just the length of time, but some other factors contribute to my reccomendation against NY as a first stop. 

The reason you want to select your state first is because a) you need to select a state that does not require a ssn for licensing, and b) every state has different requirements and the services you buy from CGFNS will be linked to the state you apply in. 

Choose the state that best suits you. DO NOT APPLY for your license in this state or pay for any services just yet.....Just follow the links to the BON site, review the requirements, and make a note. 

The next step is buying your services from CGFNS. 

When you first go the CGFNS website, it asks you to create an applicant profile. It is important that this information is up to date and matches your ID. Once your profile is complete, you can purchase services. So everyone needs the visa screen, which is what qualifies you for a TN Visa and costs 590.00 USD at the time of writing this. At the same time you can purchase whichever credential eval is required for your state. This will vary based on location but you can check what you need right on the website, or by clicking here SERVICE HELPER

It is ideal to buy these services at the same time as they have alot of overlapping requirements, so CGFNS can apply them to your file, to both services, as they come in. This is not a requirement either, if you want to get the visa screen squared away, then decide later which state to apply to, that's ok too. I did the visa screen and CVS for NY together, and the timing worked great.....or so, it should have....

So to recap, to get started......

Graduate nursing school, get a minimum of 1 year experience, then 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Passing score on the NCLEX- you can apply for your RN license via exam, which allows you to register and write the NCLEX in the same state you are seeking licensure, if you have not already passed it. I will focus more so on the process for those of us that have passed, simply because that is what my experience is based on, and as of 2015, that includes all RN graduates. 

CGFNS or equivalent... 2 parts - You can purchase your visa screen anytime and you get 1 year to submit the required documents. Everyone needs this document. Processing can be 4-12 months depending on how complex your file is. Mine took just over 3 months. 

In many states, even after you have your SSN, and have a working history in the USA, they will still require some type of education evaluation in order to give you a license. Certainly for your first position, in order to get a license in any of the Canadian applicant friendly states, you will need a visa screen as well as a credential eval (CES or CVS). 

I used CGFNS and I will be providing the whole lowdown on this agency in the near future as it seems to be the one most widely recognized for credential evaluations, however each BON specifies if other providers are recognized.

Background check- many/most states will require a background check, which sometimes requires fingerprinting.

English Language requirements

License verifications for original licensing province, and current province.

As of today, I have applications pending in NY, and AZ. I have a partial application done for MN as well. I started this process in June of 2021. On Sept 20, my visa screen document arrived at my door (13 weeks from the time of purchase...which is actually very fast). Everything was happening way quicker than I expected, so I was excited to get started!! 

I discovered on Oct 12, almost 2 months after first applying for my license in NY, that the CVS, (a very specific credential verification for NY that I was required to purchase for for my NY application to the tune of 360 USD) was not sent by CGFNS even though they marked it sent on Aug 23, it never arrived in NY until Oct 18....... considering this is an online process, that is obviously totally unacceptable. A 2 month delay that they blamed on a computer glitch......an error that was only discovered because I was on top of the process, following the timelines, and following up as needed.

I have included some more info below on the 4 mainstream BONs with no ssn required for RN applications. I have included AZ as well, since it is my current experiment, while NY takes its sweet time to process my very foreign education 😒

Once you pick your state, go ahead and create your profile on CGFNS. Be prepared to provide a passport style photo, personal information, and to spend 590.00 USD for the visa screen and up to 360.00 USD for state specific credential evals. You don't have to have everything ready to submit in order to do this step either, it just opens up the portal for you so you can see what exactly you need to send in, and get updates on the process. 

AZ- international application- apply by exam, there is a place to select already passed, no ssn required, must sign affidavit, fingerprints required, specific requirements/ accommodations for Canadian/Puerto Rico educated RN's- * must have a US bank account with US funds in order to apply. See my post on AZ for more info and how to go about this. 

NY specific CVS from CGFNS, extra coursework on child abuse and infection control. I don't recommend starting here unless you are prepared to wait 6 months on top of the 4-12 months it takes for CGFNS, fingerprints not required. See my detailed post on the NY application process for more info.

MN - Canadian educated RN/ LPN pathway bypasses CGFNS credential eval. Must pass NCLEX, have license from original province forwarded, fingerprints and current employer letter required.

WA-specific CES from CGFNS, fingerprint/background check, English language requirement, license verification.

TX- CES from CGFNS dated within 1 year of application, English language requirement, license verification.

In the next one,  we will get more in depth into the actual requirements for the visa screen, as well as the CVS for NY, my experience with CGFNS, and things I discovered that were not posted online anywhere. I will give you an idea what my dashboard looks like and what to watch for once you have started that process. 

My Current license status 

🇨🇦Alberta - active 

🇨🇦British Columbia-Emergency temp active 

🇺🇲NEW YORK - processing 

Aug 23 - applied for license, paid fee, CGFNS dashboard stated "report sent" to NY

Oct 12- 7 weeks post app , contacted nysed, was informed no CVS on file. Contacted CGFNS, was given a lame excuse for error. 

Oct 18 -CVS finally recieved by nysed. CVS, education, and application sent for comparative evaluation- was told up to 3 months for review. ☠

🇺🇲ARIZONA - pending review 

Oct 15- application submitted 

Oct 18- mailed fingerprint card priority shipping 

Oct 21- tracking shows prints delivered Oct 20

🇺🇲MINNESOTA - pending review 

Oct 12- Application submitted 

Oct 22 - background check and work verification letter still outstanding. Will submit next week. 

New Adventures

On June 19, 2021 I applied to CGFNS to have my education and credentials evaluated in order to pursue a TN Visa so I can work as a travel nurse in the USA. 

7 years into my career as a NICU RN, aka: baby whisperer, I am finally ready to spread my own baby wings, and explore new heights, and new places as a " travelling NICU nurse". This basically means that I am crazy enough to give up my job security, my pension contributions/benefits, my routine, in exchange for adventure, for freedom and flexibility......in exchange for expansion. It means I am choosing a little chaos over complacency, challenge over ease, and freedom over security. I don't mean physical security here, I am talking about the kind of security that comes with routine, that comes with structure, that comes with knowing your schedule for really all of eternity because you are not much more than a round peg filling a round hole..... It's not enough for me anymore. I want to eventually pay off my crazy student loans, pay off my debt, and see/experience more of the world while I do that.

I want to see more, experience more, help more. My son decided last year at the ripe age of 15 that he wanted to go stay with his Dad for a while so my excuse of waiting for him to move out is no longer valid. I do have a loving boyfriend that is just getting used to the idea of me being away for months at a time, and at this rate, by the time my license applications actually go through, he will be pushing me out the door...... I had no idea THIS would be the longest wait, but more on that to come. 

I, like many of you, have struggled hard this past couple of years. From the very onset of the covid -19 pandemic, my job, my career, the place I go to try to make a real, meaningful, positive impact, has been gifted a front seat into the extreme complexity of the human condition. The effects of the pandemic response, equally as destructive as the virus itself. One day we are celebrated, cheered for, and thanked, and the next we are spit on, blocked from our work sites, and blasted on social media for being part of some conspiracy. I would be lying if I said this didn't effect me..... it does

It effects all of us....those inside the hospital walls actively fighting against this virus, as well as those so far removed from the front lines, that they have no idea what any of the statistics or science really mean, save for what they see online......The fighting, the separation, the pain and suffering that is a direct result of covid-19, effects all of us.  

In the NICU, we have been pretty fortunate, with a majority of the impact being from having to isolate babes born to covid + moms. Even that was manageable at first, though tricky at times given our lack of isolation space, but this 4th wave hit different. It hit pregnant moms different, landing otherwise healthy, young pregnant moms in the ICU on life support. This is still happening.

For us that means an emergency c-section for, quite often, a premature baby....... and all the consequences of that. It means that baby is isolated for 2 weeks. Mom being on life support, is unable to visit. Often mom and dad are both covid positive, so dad can't visit either. These tiny little humans spending their first 2 weeks, often more, surrounded by big, unfamiliar people in yellow gowns, masks, eye shields, gloves. No facial expressions. No skin contact. Sometimes no family for days, or weeks. These cases make me especially sad. 

I had one shift where I held this little girl in our dimly lit isolation room, surrounded by the hum of the hiflow machine, the occasional ringing of respiratory alarms, and quietly cried as I thought of her mom fighting for her life in the ICU. I felt so sad for the whole family. This was definitely not part of the birth plan......Some of these babies will grow up without a momma. The long term effects of covid-19 far out reach the very labile, and unpredictable physical side effects of the virus on its' host. 

I  do really appreciate the perceived security and predictability that comes with being an RN in Canada. My pay is pretty good, I have good benefits that I rarely use, ok PTO, I absolutely love my patients..... but I am just a number... if I call in sick, I will be replaced, if I leave my position, my job continues, my spot is filled, and when the need is not there, nurses get cancelled. Just this year, amidst a global pandemic, we are facing cuts. NOTHING is guaranteed, and my perceived job security is just that..... perceived..... it appears that I am a person who values freedom and flexibility, the ability to steer my own ship, over security.

As a Canadian RN the process is a little bit trickier, actually a lot trickier, but that's where I come in. Until I get to my first travel assignment, I will be filling this blog with tips, tricks, processes I used, where I went wrong, and how I accomplished actually GETTING that first travel job. So if you are a current travel nurse, want to be a travel nurse, like travel, or nursing, you will want to subscribe! Leave a comment below and tell me where you are and where you are wanting to go. 

Let the adventures begin 🌍👶🏻✈