NCLEX and visa, by the record
Nursing jobs in the USA for nurses from Australia
116 nurses educated in Australia took the NCLEX-RN for US licensure for the first time in 2025, and 51.7% passed (US-educated: 86.7%). Here is the route from Australia to a US nursing job, the visa, who sponsors nurses, and the recruiters and open jobs that take nurses trained abroad.
From Australia to a US nursing job
The steps every nurse educated abroad takes, with the rules that apply to this country.
- A US state license. Apply to a state board of nursing, which checks your nursing education (many through a CGFNS credentials evaluation), then pass the NCLEX-RN. 51.7% of first-time candidates educated in Australia passed in 2025. How each state licenses nurses from elsewhere.
- A VisaScreen certificate. US immigration law requires it of every nurse educated abroad: CGFNS International checks the education, the license and English. Nurses educated in Australia are exempt from its English test (8 CFR 212.15(g)), since Australia is one of the countries the rule names.
- A US employer and the visa. Most nurses come on a green card: registered nurses are on the Labor Department's Schedule A, so a US employer files the immigrant petition (EB-3) with USCIS directly, without the usual labor certification, and the nurse waits for a visa number. People born in Australia wait under the Visa Bulletin's "All Chargeability Areas" column, set by country of birth, not of education. An H-1B fits only a nursing job that requires a bachelor's degree, so fewer nurses use it.
Who sponsors registered nurses
The employers with the most certified H-1B applications for registered nurses, 1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026 (US Labor Department). Green cards for nurses are filed with USCIS directly, so they are not in this record.
| Employer | Applications | Median offered | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Children's Medical Center | 93 | $32.90/hr | Louisiana |
| Avant Healthcare Professionals, LLC. | 34 | $36.65/hr | Virginia, Maine, Tennessee |
| Humboldt Park Health | 32 | $40/hr | Illinois |
| Conexus MedStaff LLC | 27 | $41.21/hr | New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia |
| Dubois Regional Medical Center | 25 | $32.84/hr | Pennsylvania |
| Insight Global, LLC | 22 | $41.49/hr | Washington, Kentucky, Texas |
| Kettering Network Services | 22 | $38.10/hr | Ohio |
| Lifeline Nursing Solutions, LLC | 18 | $40.64/hr | Georgia, Kansas |
| Management Health Systems, LLC | 18 | $35.93/hr | Maryland, Arkansas, Tennessee |
| Carnegie Health and Life Sciences Inc. | 17 | $40/hr | South Carolina |
Recruiters and open jobs for nurses trained abroad
Recruiters of internationally educated nurses arrange the exam, the license, the green card and the move, and the employer usually pays for it. 184 open US nursing jobs say in their own posting that they sponsor a visa.
Recruiters who place nurses trained abroad
All agencies and apps →
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
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.
Nurses from Australia: common questions
How many nurses from Australia take the NCLEX?
116 nurses educated in Australia took the NCLEX-RN for US licensure for the first time in 2025, up from 90 in 2024: the 29th most of any country, of 52,827 internationally educated first-time candidates (NCSBN).
What is the NCLEX pass rate for nurses from Australia?
51.7% of first-time candidates educated in Australia passed the NCLEX-RN in 2025 (60 of 116), against 74.4% in 2024. Every internationally educated first-time candidate together: 47.3%; US-educated first-time candidates: 86.7%.
Can a nurse from Australia get a US green card?
Yes, with a US employer's offer. Most nurses come on a green card: registered nurses are on the Labor Department's Schedule A, so a US employer files the immigrant petition (EB-3) with USCIS directly, without the usual labor certification, and the nurse waits for a visa number. People born in Australia wait under the Visa Bulletin's "All Chargeability Areas" column, set by country of birth, not of education. An H-1B fits only a nursing job that requires a bachelor's degree, so fewer nurses use it.
Does a nurse from Australia need an English test?
US immigration law requires a VisaScreen certificate from CGFNS International of every nurse educated abroad, which checks the nursing education, the license and English. Nurses educated in Australia are exempt from its English test (8 CFR 212.15(g)), since Australia is one of the countries the rule names.
Which US employers sponsor nurses from Australia?
The same employers that sponsor nurses from any country: the Labor Department certified 857 H-1B applications for registered nurses from 196 employers (1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026), the most from Louisiana Children's Medical Center (93), Avant Healthcare Professionals, LLC. (34), Humboldt Park Health (32). Green cards for nurses go to USCIS directly, so the recruiters that place nurses trained abroad (below) are the usual route.
Nurses from other countries
First-time NCLEX-RN candidates for US licensure in 2025, by country of education.
Sources and method
Candidates are NCSBN's count of first-time, internationally educated candidates who took the NCLEX-RN for US licensure in the year, by the country where they were educated; passed is how many passed on that first try. The employers are the Labor Department's certified H-1B applications for jobs read as registered nurse jobs by their title. Visa rules are as the regulations cited state them.
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), NCLEX Examination Statistics, 2025: Table 9
- 8 CFR 212.15: certificates for foreign health care workers (VisaScreen)
- 20 CFR 656.5: Schedule A occupations
- USCIS: EB-3 employment-based immigration
Cite this page
CareJobs.Now. (2025). Nursing jobs in the USA for nurses from Australia. Data as of 31 Dec 2025. https://carejobs.now/nursing-jobs-in-usa-for-international-nurses/australia