How to become a nurse in the U.S.
From nurse in Brazil to Registered Nurse in the United States.
This is the most complete guide to the process. No complicated terms, no fluff. Here you will understand why the U.S. needs you, how the process works from start to finish, and what happens at each step of the journey.
Reading time: 8 minutes
First, the basics: why does the United States need nurses?
The U.S. faces one of the largest healthcare workforce crises in history. There are more than 1 million unfilled nursing positions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hospitals in all 50 states are operating with reduced staff. And the problem is not temporary: the American population is aging, the demand for health care is growing every year, and there simply aren't enough American nurses to supply it.
To resolve this, the American government created legal pathways that facilitate the hiring of international nurses. Including Brazilians. And it's no favor: Brazilian nurses have one of the most complete clinical training in the world, with a workload higher than that of many countries, including the U.S. itself.
US$ 7,800
average monthly salary of an RN
US$ 90k+
per year, with full benefits
Green Card
EB-3 visa includes spouse and children
Health insurance, retirement (401k), professional stability and permanent residence for the entire family. This is the package that awaits those who complete the process.
If you graduated as a nurse in Brazil, you already know the logic.
In Brazil, the path is simple: graduation, registration with COREN, license to practice. In the United States, the logic is the same. The difference is that, as your training was carried out outside the country, there is an additional stage of international validation.
In Brazil
- 1Nursing degree
- 2Registration with COREN
- 3License to practice
Direct process, no additional validation.
In the United States
- 1Diploma validation (TruMerit or Josef Silny)
- 2Registration with the Board of Nursing (state)
- 3NCLEX-RN exam (in English)
Same logic, with an international validation stage.
The good news: the course load of Brazilian nursing degrees is significantly higher than the American one. In the vast majority of cases, the Brazilian diploma meets (and exceeds) the equivalence requirements.
The complete path, step by step.
Each step depends on the previous one. And in each of them, Nursy is on your side, leading the technical part while you focus on your preparation.
Step 1
Diploma validation
Credential Evaluation · Duration: 3 to 6 months
A recognized evaluation agency in the U.S., TruMerit (formerly CGFNS) or Josef Silny & Associates, analyzes your Brazilian degree and verifies that it is equivalent to American training. They look at your diploma, academic record and clinical workload.
The result is an official report called the Credential Evaluation Report (CES Report). This report is the formal recognition of your diploma in the U.S. Without it, no Board of Nursing accepts your application.
What Nursy does here: we create your profile on the agency's platform, complete all the forms, contact your school and COREN to send the documents, coordinate sworn translations, and follow up until the report is issued. You follow everything in real time via dedicated email.
100% validation across +400 diplomas. Guarantee: diploma validated or money back.
Step 2
Registration with the Board of Nursing
State licensing · Duration: 2 to 4 months
With your diploma validated, the next step is to apply for a professional license in the state where you want to work. Each American state has its Board of Nursing (the equivalent of COREN), and it is this body that issues the license.
The application requires the CES Report, a criminal background check and fingerprint collection. When everything is approved, the Board issues the Authorization to Test (ATT): the document that authorizes you to take the NCLEX.
Why choosing the state is strategic: each Board has different requirements, processing times and particularities. One state may process in 6 weeks, another may take 4 months. Choosing the wrong one can cost you months. Nursy guides this decision based on real experience from +150 processes in +30 states.
What Nursy does here: we guide the choice of the best state, complete the entire application, coordinate the background check and fingerprints, and monitor the process until the issuance of the ATT.
Parallel step
NCLEX Preparation
In parallel with Stages 1 and 2 · Duration: 3 to 6 months
The NCLEX is the U.S. national nursing exam, administered by Pearson VUE. The test is in English and assesses clinical reasoning in real care situations. In Brazil, it is held in São Paulo.
Crucial point: you don't need to wait for the ATT to start studying. In fact, nurses who study in parallel with validation and the Board save months on the total process time. That's why Nursy advises on preparation from the first day.
What Nursy does here: we advise on materials (UWorld, Archer, Saunders), create a personalized schedule, share strategies from those who have already passed, and take care of registration and scheduling at Pearson VUE when the ATT is issued. We are not a preparatory course, but we know what works for Brazilian nurses.
Step 4
NCLEX-RN Exam
National nursing exam · Administered in São Paulo (in Brazil)
With the ATT in hand, you schedule the NCLEX at Pearson VUE and take the test. The exam is adaptive (the level of difficulty changes as you answer) and assesses whether you have the clinical reasoning necessary to safely practice nursing in the U.S.
Approval directly depends on your preparation. It's the only step in the process that depends exclusively on you. And that's exactly why Nursy encourages studying from day 1.
Registered Nurse (RN) License
With your diploma validated, the Board approved and the NCLEX passed, you receive your American professional license. From here, you can legally practice nursing in the United States in your chosen state.
Estimated total time: 8 to 18 months, depending on the agility of the agencies and your pace of study for the NCLEX.
License in hand. And now?
The license is the central milestone, but the journey continues. With the RN license, two paths open up:
Employment and immigration
The next step is to find an American employer (sponsor) who will sponsor your work visa. The most common visa for nurses is the EB-3, which leads to a Green Card for you, your spouse and children under 21. The typical contract is for 3 years, with salary, health insurance, retirement and relocation assistance.
Nursy Career Connect prepares you for the market and searches for the best jobs available for your profile.
Endorsement (another state)
If you need to work in a different state than the one in which you were licensed, endorsement transfers your license without retaking the NCLEX. This happens when the sponsor requires a license in another state, or when you want to move. Nursy has already processed +150 endorsements in +30 states.
About the visa queue: the EB-3 works with a priority date (date of entry into the queue). This queue only starts counting when the sponsor files the petition. The sooner you get the contract, the sooner you get in line, and the sooner you move with your family.
You don't have to do this alone. And you shouldn't.
The process is clear when you look at the roadmap. But in practice, each step has dozens of details that can go wrong: a form filled out wrong, a translation in the wrong format, a school that doesn't respond, a missing document. Every mistake costs time. And time, in this process, is literally the difference between embarking this year or next.
Nursy exists so that none of these mistakes happen. We have already led more than 900 nurses along this path. We know where things get stuck, how to unlock them, and how to make each step go as quickly as possible.
We do it
Forms, registrations, communication with entities. All done by the Nursy team.
You follow along
Dedicated email, direct WhatsApp, Meet meetings. Full transparency.
With a guarantee
100% validation. Zero rejections. Diploma validated or money back.
What everyone asks before starting.
Do I need to speak English to validate the diploma?
Can I do everything while living in Brazil?
Can any Brazilian nurse validate?
What is the difference between TruMerit and Josef Silny?
Is Nursy an advisory firm or a lawyer?
Now you know how it works. The next step is to find out if you are eligible.
Free 2-minute quiz. No commitment. You find out if you can validate your diploma and what is the best path for your profile.
Or talk directly to the team:WhatsApp[email protected]