Pharmacist migrating from Nigeria to USA.

Overview

1. Obtain a work visa – granted by the US embassy and consulate in Nigeria located in Lagos, you will first need to make a profile on US Travel Docs, there are five types of Visa:
   • Family-Based Immigration – if you are a US orphan or you are a parent of a US citizen.
   • Fiancé(e) Visa – you will need to marry within 90 days of arrival in the US.
   • Diversity Visa – Nigerians are no longer eligible for the Diversity Visa Lottery.
   • Returning Resident Visa – if you have had a visa before.
   • Employment-Based Immigration – see below.
2. Find US employment – In most cases, a job offer from a U.S. based employer is required in order to qualify for a visa, so your first step here would be to find a pharmacy that is willing to employ you in the US. You can do this by contacting the human resources departments of the different US pharmacy employers.
3. Recognition of equivalence – apply to Education Credential Evaluators (ECE) to look over your foreign qualification and give you the green light to then go and sit the equivalency exams.
4. Take the FPGEE Exam – Apply to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to start the Foreign Pharmacy Graduates Equivalency Committee certification process.
5. Start your Internship – register as a pharmacy intern with the state board of pharmacy and start recording hours. You will then need to submit records of internship hours to the state board of pharmacy/PCS once completed. The number of hours differ from state to state, some states require 1500hrs and some others 1600hrs etc
6. Take the NAPLEX Exam – once your internship is approved, you will need to take this national clinical competency exam which will cover you for all states.
7. Take the MJP Exam – nearly 40 states require you to take the Multi-State Jurisprudence exam however some, more popular destinations, such as California require you to take a state-specific exam such as the CPJ Exam.