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NCLEX and visa, by the record

Nursing jobs in the USA for international nurses

52,827 internationally educated nurses took the NCLEX-RN for US licensure for the first time in 2025, and 47.3% passed (US-educated: 86.7%); NCSBN's count includes 1,709 educated in US territories such as Puerto Rico. Every country below, by NCSBN's count; each of the 35 with 100 or more candidates opens its own page with the route to a US nursing job, the visa, and who sponsors nurses.

52,827
First-time candidates, 2025
58,995 in 2024
47.3%
Passed the first time
US-educated: 86.7%
153
Countries of education
184
Open US nursing jobs offering sponsorship

First-time NCLEX-RN candidates by country of education, 2025

Most candidates first. A country with a page opens the route from there to a US nursing job.

First-time internationally educated NCLEX-RN candidates for US licensure by country of education
Country of educationCandidatesPassed2024 candidates
Philippines22,79345.8%28,112
India4,86633.3%5,807
Kenya4,09658.2%3,740
South Korea2,48558.4%2,634
Nepal2,40752.4%2,659
Ghana2,23654.7%2,456
Nigeria1,98354.4%2,402
Haiti72433.7%378
Pakistan69248.6%318
Brazil57436.8%669
Jamaica50650.2%611
Mexico46435.6%379
China45147.5%432
Thailand36335.8%401
Taiwan36062.5%229
Iran35770.6%491
Zambia30748.9%249
Zimbabwe29748.1%372
Cameroon29625.7%202
Colombia28345.9%269
Canada27984.6%306
Jordan25962.9%390
Ethiopia25542.0%226
United Kingdom24046.7%175
Israel18468.5%180
Egypt17368.8%169
South Africa12527.2%127
Uganda11963.0%85
Australia11651.7%90
Bangladesh11464.9%23
Turkey11241.1%140
Cuba11127.9%138
Spain10877.8%63
Ukraine10240.2%72
Gambia10057.0%82
Sri Lanka9654.2%47
Lebanon8864.8%117
Russia8729.9%92
Venezuela8333.7%83
Chile7269.4%68
Malawi7171.8%62
Armenia6929.0%105
Trinidad and Tobago6541.5%134
Japan6366.7%87
Hong Kong6081.7%117
Guyana5541.8%62
Dominican Republic5416.7%43
Uzbekistan5418.5%81
Liberia5217.3%43
Tanzania5230.8%33
Peru4740.4%36
Honduras4531.1%35
Malaysia4351.2%29
Albania4119.5%42
Panama4139.0%83
Finland3933.3%23
Sierra Leone3920.5%21
Georgia378.1%33
Indonesia3611.1%33
Bahamas3551.4%47
Costa Rica3444.1%47
Singapore3464.7%19
Ecuador2920.7%24
Italy2642.3%23
Palestinian Territory, Occupied2560.0%38
Saudi Arabia2556.0%26
Germany2470.8%28
Argentina2347.8%26
Rwanda2250.0%10
United Arab Emirates2263.6%29
Fiji2015.0%17
Ireland2045.0%20
Barbados1850.0%27
Dominica1855.6%17
Portugal1872.2%14
Morocco1735.3%14
New Zealand1776.5%25
Poland1735.3%14
Grenada1643.8%11
France1457.1%17
Romania1435.7%12
Botswana1338.5%19
El Salvador1330.8%7
Saint Lucia1353.8%29
Sudan1163.6%14
Sweden1127.3%10
Belize1050.0%27
Eritrea1070.0%10
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1050.0%3
Antigua and Barbuda988.9%14
Greece933.3%3
Namibia911.1%6
Hungary862.5%3
Bermuda728.6%6
Netherlands757.1%7
Eswatini650.0%3
Kazakhstan633.3%5
Lesotho633.3%12
North Korea633.3%17
Norway666.7%4
Saint Kitts and Nevis650.0%2
Belgium580.0%8
Denmark560.0%5
Estonia580.0%3
Iraq540.0%1
Kuwait520.0%7
Qatar520.0%12
Bhutan475.0%3
Bolivia40.0%2
Cayman Islands475.0%2
Cyprus425.0%4
Guatemala425.0%3
Vietnam425.0%1
Austria3100.0%1
Bahrain30.0%2
Belarus366.7%5
Kosovo333.3%4
Kyrgyzstan333.3%2
Moldova30.0%7
Nicaragua333.3%3
Niger333.3%1
Syria333.3%None
Afghanistan20.0%5
Burkina Faso20.0%None
Czech Republic2100.0%6
Guinea250.0%1
Latvia2100.0%1
Mauritius250.0%1
Myanmar2100.0%8
Oman250.0%2
Senegal20.0%1
Sint Maarten (dutch Part)250.0%1
Switzerland250.0%3
Tunisia250.0%6
Algeria10.0%1
Azerbaijan10.0%None
Benin10.0%1
Bosnia and Herzegovina10.0%None
Brunei10.0%None
Cambodia1100.0%None
Gabon10.0%1
Gibraltar10.0%None
Guinea-bissau10.0%None
Mongolia10.0%None
Niue10.0%None
Republic of the Congo10.0%None
Serbia1100.0%5
Seychelles10.0%None
Somalia10.0%None
Tajikistan1100.0%3
Tonga1100.0%None
Uruguay1100.0%3
Yemen10.0%2

First-time candidates only; passed is the share who passed on that try. NCSBN also counts the 1,709 nurses educated in US territories such as Puerto Rico as internationally educated; they need no visa and are left out of this table.

Recruiters who place nurses trained abroad

They arrange the exam, the license, the green card and the move, and the employer usually pays for it.

Selected agencies hiring now

All agencies and apps →
  • Avant Healthcare Professionals logo

    Avant Healthcare ProfessionalsHealthcare staffing agency

    Recruits internationally educated nurses and lab scientists for US hospital jobs, handling the visa, licensing and relocation.

    Places: Nurses, Lab

  • Wayne Staffing USA logo

    Wayne Staffing USAHealthcare staffing agency

    A New York nurse staffing group that sponsors internationally educated registered nurses for US jobs through EB-3 green card petitions.

    Places: Nurses

  • Interstaff logo

    InterstaffHealthcare staffing agency

    Austin agency bringing NCLEX-passed nurses from abroad to full-time hospital jobs in the US through its EB-3 and TN visa programs.

    Places: Nurses

These agencies and apps pay CareJobs.Now a referral fee when someone we introduce is placed or signs up. It costs you nothing and never changes your pay. Hospital and clinic jobs below keep their own order.

International nurses: common questions

How many nurses educated abroad take the NCLEX?

52,827 internationally educated nurses (NCSBN's count, 1,709 of them educated in US territories such as Puerto Rico) took the NCLEX-RN for US licensure for the first time in 2025, against 58,995 in 2024. The most were educated in Philippines (22,793), India (4,866), Kenya (4,096), South Korea (2,485) and Nepal (2,407).

What is the NCLEX pass rate for internationally educated nurses?

47.3% passed on their first try in 2025 (53.8% in 2024), against 86.7% of US-educated first-time candidates. Among countries with 100 or more candidates, the highest first-time pass rates were Canada (84.6%), Spain (77.8%), Iran (70.6%), Egypt (68.8%) and Israel (68.5%).

How does a nurse from another country get a US nursing job?

A US state license (the NCLEX-RN after the board checks the education), a VisaScreen certificate from CGFNS International, which US immigration law requires and which includes an English test unless the nurse was educated in Australia, Canada outside Quebec, Ireland, New Zealand or the UK, and a US employer's offer. Registered nurses are on Schedule A, so the employer files the green card petition with USCIS directly. Each country's page says which rules apply to it.

Which US employers sponsor nurses from abroad?

The Labor Department's record names the employers that filed H-1B applications for registered nurses; green cards for nurses go to USCIS directly, so most nurses come through recruiters of internationally educated nurses, who arrange the exam, license, green card and move. Open US nursing jobs that offer sponsorship are listed every night.

Sources and method

NCSBN's count of first-time, internationally educated candidates who took the NCLEX-RN for US licensure in each year, by country of education, and how many passed on that try. CareJobs.Now reads each year's statistics when NCSBN publishes them.

  1. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), NCLEX Examination Statistics, 2025: Tables 1 and 9
  2. 8 CFR 212.15: certificates for foreign health care workers (VisaScreen)
  3. 20 CFR 656.5: Schedule A occupations

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2025). Nursing jobs in the USA for international nurses: NCLEX results by country. Data as of 31 Dec 2025. https://carejobs.now/nursing-jobs-in-usa-for-international-nurses

How the board counts