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2003 News and Alerts

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MAY 12, 2003

CGFNS opens new exam center in Delhi

The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) is establishing a test center to conduct the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM for nurses in Delhi, India. This center will be in addition to the organization’s current test centers in India, located in Bangalore and Cochin. The first exam to be administered in Delhi will be the November 12, 2003, exam.

CGFNS also announced that it is currently accepting applications for a special offering of the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM to be held on September 10, 2003, in Bangalore (center number 850) and Cochin (center number 851), but not in Delhi. This special offering is being made in response to numerous requests for an additional opportunity to sit for the exam. The deadline for submission for the September 10th exam is June 11, 2003.

CGFNS administers its exam three times each year for nurses educated outside the United States who wish to practice nursing in the United States. The exams are offered at over 40 locations worldwide in March, July and November. CGFNS received approval from the Indian Government to administer its exam in India in 2001. The first exam in India was given at Bangalore on March 13, 2002.

Applicants wishing to sit for the November 12, 2003, exam in Delhi should designate the Delhi center number 852 on their Certification Program application.

The dates and deadlines for the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM in 2003 and 2004 are as follows:

The CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM is designed for first-level, general nurses educated outside the United States, who wish to become licensed in the United States. Forty U.S. states require that nurses educated outside the United States pass the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM before they will be authorized to sit for the NCLEX-RN^® examination, the U.S. national licensure exam for registered nurses.

In addition, United States law provides that nurses seeking to obtain permanent work visas to the United States to work in their profession must obtain a VisaScreen^® certificate from CGFNS. This certificate attests to: 1) the comparability of the nurse’s education and training to that offered in the United States, (2) ability to speak and write English at an appropriate level, and (3) possession of a currently valid and unencumbered nursing license in the home country. CGFNS is an immigration-neutral, private, non-profit organization. It is independent of, and has no relationship with, any recruiting or referring organization.

CGFNS is an immigration-neutral, nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, and is an internationally recognized authority on the education, registration and licensure of nurses worldwide. CGFNS’s mission is to provide responsible leadership in the delivery of relevant services to the global nursing and health care community. The organization was founded in 1977 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor; Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services); the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and representatives from nursing organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing.

For additional information about CGFNS and its services, contact: CGFNS International, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2651 USA; telephone: +1 (215) 349 8767; fax: +1 (215) 349 0026.