Hi everyone- im rick and im new to this site, please bear with me. i am looking forward to nursing in the states, i know i want to live and work in manhattan. I just dont really understand the workings of the states. I'm australian and at home you can "Agency Nurse" ( ie : you pick where you go what area , what day, what shift. Does the USA have that kind of system or is it a choice of travel nurse or work for the hospital.hmmm confused. Also, i dont know whether i should go with an agency or go it all my own. I have been told that you can do either but an agency will be quicker to get you in. Also i will be living in the states fo a very long while, so to get a greencard -do you have to go with an agency to get that?
Sorry alot of questions,
Rick

Hello Rick..

A lot of questions and definitely, a lot of answers.. but let us tackle the most impt issue first. Are you licensed in NY? Have you taken the NCLEX exams already?

Regarding your work.. you can either work fulltime with hospital or facility; work fulltime but with duration (3-6 mons) as travel nurse or you can do what you are doing now.. as agency nurse. I am just not sure what they call them here but normally, you will be working for a home health care company (ie: Bayada Nurses) that provides home health care.

So the type of work you will do will depend entirely on the company/facility that you will choose to work for.

Whether or not to sign with agency or do it yourself.. this decision will depend also on your resources. If you have the connections ( hospital/sponsor, immigration lawyer but normally your employer will recommend one), do it yourself. But if you know no one and will still look for one, an agency will be a big help, since they will be the one to resource your possible sponsor. And normally, they have tie-ups with an Immigration/lawyer firm that handles their recruits .... so you just wait for them to do everything.

About greencards, as long as you fill the requirements, you can apply for one. An immigration lawyer usually takes care of all the paperwork whether hired by you or employer directly or thru agency.

If you do sign up and seek the services of an agency, just be weary of the agency you choose. Study and read well their contract/job offers before you sign up. If you handle your aces well, you win.

Hope this helps.