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2005 News

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20 JANUARY 2005

Special notice for Canadian health care workers in the United States

Jointly prepared by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)

The final rule implementing Section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 became effective on 23 September 2003. This rule requires that Canadian nurses entering the United States to work under Trade NAFTA or applying for a temporary or permanent occupational visa must obtain an ICHP VisaScreen^® certificate. To date, CGFNS is the only recognized entity to provide such services by the U.S. federal government. The final rule allowed for a transition period during which the Canadian nurse must obtain the VisaScreen^®. That transition period ended on 25 July 2004. However, the Department of Homeland Security has provided an extension of that deadline for health professionals working under Trade NAFTA who were employed and licensed in the United States prior to 23 September 2003. The new deadline for health care professionals who qualify is 26 July 2005.

Here are the VisaScreen^® requirements applicable to foreign nurses:

• If licensed by examination in a U.S. state or territory then general nursing school transcripts and valid and unencumbered foreign and U.S. licenses must be submitted by the foreign institution to CGFNS. Passing scores in oral and written English exams (administered by ETS or IELTS) must also be submitted, unless the general nursing education was obtained in a professional school located in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, Trinidad, Tobago (in limited circumstances), the United Kingdom or the United States.
• If licensed by endorsement in a U.S. state or territory without passage of the NCLEX^®, examination, then the temporary foreign nurse must also (in addition to the above requirements) pass either the NCLEX^® or the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM.

Canadian nurses interested in applying for the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM may Apply online with CGFNS Connect.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) will grant qualified candidates eligibility to take the NCLEX^® examination to help satisfy the VisaScreen^® requirements, through 30 September 2005. If currently licensed by a state or territorial board of nursing, candidates may choose to apply to either NCSBN at www.ncsbn.org/testing/nclexforvisascreen.asp or to one of the following boards of nursing: Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire or the Virgin Islands. For more information on registering with a state board of nursing to take the NCLEX^® examination, contact any of the above states through the link: www.ncsbn.org/regulation/boardsofnursing_boards_of_nursing_board.asp. It should be noted that this is for immigration purposes only, and applicants seeking a state or territorial license should contact the board of nursing in the state they intend to work in for the specifics of what they need to obtain a state or territorial license.

An ICHP VisaScreen^® certificate is issued after a complete evaluation of the nurse’s credentials to verify that he or she meets the minimum federal requirements. The International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP), a division of CGFNS, administers this screening process. The VisaScreen^®: Visa Credentials Assessment consists of the following parts:

• A credentials review of the nurse’s entire professional education. Federal law requires that educational documents be sent to CGFNS directly from the nursing school.
• A validation of all registration/licensure that the nurse held and currently holds. Federal law requires that license verification be sent to CGFNS directly from the licensing agency.
• Successful completion of either the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM or the NCLEX-RN^®.
• Successful completion of a group of English language proficiency examinations. Nurses educated in Canada (except Quebec) are exempt from the English language proficiency examinations if their instruction and textbooks were in English. If the nurse is not exempt from the English language proficiency examinations she or he will need to successfully pass one of the following English exams: TOEFL plus TWE and TSE, or TOEIC plus TWE and TSE, or the Academic module of the IELTS. Contact the following organizations for further information on the English proficiency examinations: TOEFL, TWE and TSE.

TOEFL®, TWE and TOEFL® iBT ETS (Educational Testing Service) PO Box 6151 Princeton, NJ 08541-6151 USA Telephone: +1 (609) 771 7100 or +1 (877) 863 3546 Monday through Friday, 8am to 8pm, U.S. Eastern Time Fax: +1 (610) 290 8972 Email: www.ets.org/toefl/contact/contact_form Website: www.toeflgoanywhere.org

TOEIC ETS (Educational Testing Service) Rosedale Road Princeton, NJ 08540 USA Telephone: +1 (609) 771 7170 Fax: +1 (609) 771 7111 Email: toeic@ets.org Website: www.ets.org

IELTS IELTS International Please use IELTS contact us page to direct you to your nearest test center: www.ielts.org/candidates.aspx Website: www.ielts.org

NOTE: All English language proficiency scores are valid for up to two years from the date of administration.

Licensed practical or vocational nurses should take the NCLEX-PN^® (www.ncsbn.org) and contact the U.S. Federal Government about visa screening requirements.