If you Failed the Board Exam

  Philippine License for Nurses is not a requirement to get registered in all states.  and New Mexico are the two states who do not require local registration.  Regardless if you did not pass the board exam or you did not take the board exam, you can still become a nurse in the US.  The only requirement in registering as a nurse in the US is having a BSN degree from a recognized institution in the Philippines and taking the NCLEX exam. 

The CGFNS exam is only for visa screening if you are applying to become a nurse in the US from the Philippines.  This is a requirement only by the US embassy and not by the State Board of Nursing. You can either take the NCLEX exam at any international testing centers with Pearson Vue or testing centers in the US, if you have a US visa already. 

If you are registering in the state where you are not going to work, you can always ask to be endorsed to the state where you will be working at.  First, you have to apply for registration by examination in the state that doesn't require local registration.  Second, you will apply for registration by endorsement to the state where you wish to work at. 

Being unlicensed in the Philippines does not limit your chances to become a nurse in the US.  This is a very good option for those who have a US visa already, and do not want to wait in a long immigration process.  Once you are in the US many employers will be willing to sponsor your work permit as soon as you passed the NCLEX exam.  Instead of waiting in the Philippines for 2 years to get an immigrant visa, you can be working in the US already as a nurse.  And later on, you can apply to become an immigrant with your work permit as well. 

Comments

Sorry, some info. aren't accurate. Either the CGFNS exam or the NCLEX exam can be used to complete the Visa Screening process and it doesn't take 2 years for consular processing if all documents and corresponding immigration fees are paid and received on time.

Also, foreign nurses wanting to work and live and choose to apply directly (not via endorsement) to a State BON/BRN must apply for the CGFNS Certification (CGFNS Exam included) if that particular State requires it for initial licensure. They will then give teh applicant eligibility to sit for the NCLEX RN Exam.

[DMO]

Thanks for your comment, but please allow me to correct you.

1. If you are applying from the Philippines, only CGFNS is needed for the visa screening. That is a requirement of the embassy. Without the CGFNS, your application will not be processed. You can be granted a visa with or without the NCLEX. Once you are in the US, you have 1 year to pass the NCLEX for you to be eligible to keep your job. That means your US employer will allow you to work just with your local licensure, but only for one year.
2. The State Board of Nursing only requires NCLEX for registration. In some Boards of Nursing, you will find CGFNS is required, but it's not the the CGFNS exam that they are requiring, but the credentialing and evaluation from CGFNS. However, they also acknowledge credentialing and evaluation from IERF and ERES, not just from CGFNS. Please don't be confused with that, because CGFNS offers both the exam and credentialing and evaluation, which are two different things.
3. The application for registration by endorsement is applicable to those Nursing graduates (educated outsite US), who do not have local licensure yet. This is "if" they want to work to the state that requires local licensure. You can first apply to the state that does not require local licensure, then once you are registered to that state already, you can request to be endorsed to the state that requires local licensure after.
4. It does take a minimum of 1 year for your immigrant visa to be processed if all your documents are complete and filed on time. However, with the trend right now, it is taking 1.5 to 2 years for an immigrant visa to be processed. And with the retrogression on visa priority dates, it now takes longer.

I hope I was able to clarify your confusion. I don't want our readers to be mislead because of your comment. However, once again we appreciate and welcome comments from our readers. It's good to clarify things if our blog doesn't seem to be clear to our readers.

[Kei Horihata]

Thank you for clearing this especially in my case. My mo is a Filipina and My dad is a Japanese and i was born in Japan. Unfortunately, Japanese Embassy only give people like us a RECOGNITION I.D. and that is a proof that We are also recognize as a Filipino although it is limited. At the age of 21, i have to choose and i will be choosing Japanese. And i will be 20 years old now and Im in 2nd year college in Our Lady of Fatima Univ. and Im taking up nursing. I checked the PRC's site and its says that the only one who can take the Local Board exams are those like the American citizen who's studying here and other countries that is open to Filipino nurses and Japan is not one of them so I can't take the Local Board and My parents are planning to move to the States right after my college but we will be coming from Japan. I was worried that I might not get a Job as a nurse because i wasnt able to take the local board. NOW I KNOW I CAN STILL BE A NURSE IN THE STATES AND THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION.

[Mitch]

im a us immigrant holder, what is the first thing i will do when I get to US to be a registered nurse. i dont have local board exam yet but im not planning to take it anyway. im gonna stay at Virginia, should i ask the BON in Virginia? Thanks....

[janette cruz]

Im a permanent resident here in virginia.i finished my nursing at Philipppines but i did not take the local board. Now my problem is, I already filed my NCLEX at BON Virginia but they are requesting me to give them a copy of mg CGFNS, but i dont have coz did not take CGFNS...my friends says that permanent resident dont need to take CGFNS is it true?i gain my permanent resident by petition of my parents..ples help thanks so much...