My girlfriend and I are thinking of moving over to the US, but registration for physios and nurses is not an easy process. Are there any physios and/or nurses who have been through the registration process on here with any tips?

There are no visa available for you at the moment

but maybe soon ..a new bill has gone in
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.5924:

Registration is not that difficult for nurses. Getting a visa is the issue. You probably want to try either the nursing forum here on BE, or the international forum at allnurses.com.

Which state at you interested in working, as each one has different registration requirements. In addition, registration for nurses and physios is quite different.

Thanks for that, i will look into those. I know for physio Michigan and New York tend to be the "easiest" states to get registration, but Illinois and Florida are the other main states we are looking at.

Do the visa difficulties apply to both proffessions? Is it any easier if you have an emplyer willing to take you on before applying for a visa?

I don't know anything about physio, I'm a nurse so have experience with that. It's not a matter of being easier if you have an employer, you have to have an employer to get a visa. If you're a garden variety bedside nurse without a masters degree, there's no way to get to the US until retrogression lifts - there are no green cards available and there are no working visas available.

Yes they were both Schedule A if my memory serves..

They will be the ones applying for the visa ..not you ...

you can take the NCLEX exam in the UK now I believe

Yeh......don't bother. Not sure about physios, but nurses are treated like crap

I think it depends who and where you are. My best friend is a nurse, and is treated quite well. She does have seniority though.

Also depends on nurse training to whether general or specialised. If more recent training you may not meet US BON requirements. Plus you may find your applications go through at different times and you may not go together.

I agree that that really depends on where you and what hospital you work for. My father has been an RN for 25 years now and has become the senior charge nurse on his floor. He's always seemed very content with the job and always pushed me to go into what he called "a rewarding and lucrative career". God knows it pays well too and most hospitals are crying for nurses right now.

You may need to do a lot of research from every state and see how it works regarding immigration. Each state will be different. There are some careers that don't translate for some reason and people have to re-train when moving across the pond. Like I said before, a lot of hospitals are very short on trained nurses right now, so might be able to offer you a deal or get you into the country more easily than the average joe.

Even with supposed shortage there is no way at the moment for nurses to get into the US any easier. Visas have been retrogressed since Oct 06 and I am now in Canada as hubby got a job and we was fed up with waiting and my PD is Aug 06

be easier if you were married and one of you got a job, doesn't mean it's that easy, nor quick, because it isn't...

Hey ,Coopa Troopa change 'States',we're settling in fine !! I got bloody furniture coming out of my ears though LOL !!

And to the OP it takes a lot of dammed hard work not only to get here and even when you arrive, it still goes on.Took us 4 years and we had everything in order but worth the wait. Do PLENTY of research and above all, save your money like mad,if you get here, you'll need it for a good quality of lifestyle.
As a post note and with no disrespect to anyone in Florida,great place lovely people "see Ray" but dont work there,wages crap.

Hello you

Glad to hear you're enjoying NC. It's on our list of places to visit sometime, heard it's a beautiful State......so you never know