Working in a US Clinic Before Your Vet License (PAVE)

Until a state board licenses you, you cannot practice veterinary medicine in the United States, whatever your degree or experience at home. You can usually work in a clinic as a veterinary assistant, doing tasks a licensed veterinarian delegates and supervises, and in some states you may be able to sit the VTNE and become a credentialed technician. You also need immigration status that allows you to work, which many PAVE candidates do not have.

This is general information as of October 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Practice acts differ from state to state and change; read your own state's veterinary practice act and ask the board (find it in the AAVSB board directory), and check work authorization with USCIS or an immigration attorney.

Why So Many Foreign Vets Work as Assistants and Technicians

In a January 2026 article in Today's Veterinary Practice, Dr. Mariana Pardo wrote that many foreign graduates begin their US careers as veterinary assistants or technicians, "not because they lack skills, but because they lack licensure," and that in states like Florida it is common to find foreign-trained veterinarians doing technical work while preparing for exams. PAVE takes time: the QSE, a wait for an ECE seat, a clinical year, then the NAVLE and the state application (see how long PAVE takes). Clinic work during that time pays the bills and teaches US drug names, units and record keeping.