Can Foreign Educated Nurses Work in USA After Clearing the OET Exam?

According to a press release issued by OET on July 9^th, 2020, OET is now recognized in the United States of America for healthcare professionals. Nurses applying for licensure in Oregon must achieve a minimum of 4 Grade Bs (minimum score of 350) and nurses applying for licensure in Florida must achieve a minimum of 4 Grade C+s (minimum score of 300).

Above mentioned OET results will be accepted by Florida Board of Nursing and Oregon State Board of Nursing towards the end of 2020. The Florida and Oregon Nursing Boards have not advised whether they will accept scores from earlier OET exams.

Currently, most foreign educated nurses work in America on permanent residency visas (green cards).

One of the requirements for a green card is a Visa Screen Credentials Assessment.

The Visa Screen Credentials Assessment ensures that foreign educated nurses have the necessary qualifications to work in America.

During the visa screening process, foreign-educated nurses must show that they have received education that is substantially equivalent to their US-educated peers, have demonstrated English proficiency through a rigorous English proficiency exam and have passed the same US licensure examination (NCLEX-RN) that is required of US-educated colleagues in their profession.

Currently, the only English language exams that are accepted for the Visa Screen Assessment are IELTS and TOEFL iBT.

The IELTS requirement is Academic IELTS with 7 in speaking and 6.5 overall. The TOEFL requirement is TOEFL iBT with 26 on the speaking section and a total score of 86. The OET exam is not yet accepted for the Visa Screen Credentials Assessment.

At Global Nurse Force we continue to encourage nurses interested in working in the U.S. to take the IELTS exam since it is recognized by every single U.S. State Board of Nursing and is accepted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for immigration purposes.

We will keep you posted as soon as the OET exam is accepted by U.S. State Boards of Nursing and U.S. Department of Homeland Security for immigration to the U.S.

Please reach out to our team on 91 811845500 or info@globalnurseforce.com if you have additional questions about living and working as a Registered Nurse in America.