Visa Screen Certificate / CGFNS

World Registration

Published

Visa Screen Certificate is required by all foreign nurses wishing to obtain a green card to work in the US, as well as any type of temporary work permit, such as the Nafta TN Visa for those from Canada and Mexico.

It requires that you pass either the NCLEX-RN or the CGFNS exam, as well as the series of English exams if you are not exempt from them.

The CGFNS exam is only required now in about five states, and rumor is that one or two will be removed from that remaining list as well. Do not bother with that exam if you are not going to work in a state that does not require it, or you have no way to be able to take the NCLEX exam from where you are currently located.

The application for the VSC is now only good for one year.........please do not apply for it until you have passed at least one of the required exams, or you may need to pay an additional fee.

(This thread is replacing the original thread that was from more than 2 and 1/2 years ago, and has updated information.)

Specializes in medical surgical nursing, MAN-MSN.
i am a nurse from the philippines. i am done with my nclex and ielts. i passed my nclex for california but i cannot get my license yet because i do not have an SS number. what happens now? California board of nursing will give me until april of 2011 to submit an SS number and after that they will declare my exam void.what can i do to avoid this? will applying for the visa screen lengthen the validity of my nclex and ielts? please help!i'm really confused:bugeyes:

well there is nothing you can do since it is the state you chose among the rest without thinking of the consequences after passing the exam. now that you passed the nclex-rn exam, the only thing you can do is to look for employer willing to petition you either on eb3 or h1b visa , though now a days finding one is really hard with recession and retrgoression going on. since you passed the ielts too, you are now qualified to apply for the visa screen as part of the requirement in the immigration. applying for the visa screen will not lengthen your nclex-rn result validity, if the 3 years span of time you still cant provide the ssn, then its either you retook the exam or apply for an another extension of nclex-rn result validity.

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carrie08, i suggest you apply for reciprocity to other states before your nclex expires. my friend did that to prevent retaking the nclex again.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

There are many threads discussing California and would suggest a search for them. Because you do not have a license issued you can't endorse but you can apply to another state before your expiry date is due and meet the new state's requirements for foreign trained nurse and arrange with Ca to forward your results to new state. There is a fee involved.

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Specializes in CTICU.

1. Pick another state that does not require the CGFNS exam, and does offer licenses without SSN (or with SSN waiver).

2. Apply for licensure in the state, sending whatever they need

3. Send a validation form to CA BRN, I think it's $60 for them to give your NCLEX result to the new state.

4. If you meet requirements, new state should issue license.

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PLEASE HELP!!! i dont know what to do!!

im soo confused,, i did passed my nclex last december 2008! i chose california coz there where my relatives reside. i still dont have employer, and im afraid if ever i still dont have employer to provide me the SSN, my nclex will be voided,, i asked my lecturer from a review center, he is also a nurse in the US.. he told me that the NCLEX dont expire,, its just that i have to renew it whenever it reached the 3 years limit without showing them SSN.. but as i have read here it expires and theyre giving advice to look for another state without requiring SSN. please tell me if i should look for aother state or just do the renewal whenever it gets expired.

please tell me what to do!!

and also,, i dont know if i should take the ielts now,, because i also fear that it might get expired after 2 years, Im actually doing it step by step and decide to take the ielts to have my visa screen certificate done,, but I back out to take the ielts exam,,when i was told that if i apply for the VISA SCREENING, still it doesnt extend the validity of nclex and ielts.. im just scared i might just waste money..

and one more thing, does the visa screen certificate expires also? how many years is the validity??

im just sooo confused on what to do!! actually i didnt know what to do first.:( :cry: everything is complicated with all these retrogression and ressesion:cry:

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Specializes in medical surgical nursing, MAN-MSN.

im soo confused,, i did passed my nclex last december 2008! i chose california coz there where my relatives reside. i still dont have employer, and im afraid if ever i still dont have employer to provide me the ssn, my nclex will be voided,, i asked my lecturer from a review center, he is also a nurse in the us.. he told me that the nclex dont expire,, its just that i have to renew it whenever it reached the 3 years limit without showing them ssn.. but as i have read here it expires and theyre giving advice to look for another state without requiring ssn. please tell me if i should look for aother state or just do the renewal whenever it gets expired. nclex result taken under california may expire if you cannot provide an ssn within 3 yrs time frame.

please tell me what to do!!

and also,, i dont know if i should take the ielts now,, because i also fear that it might get expired after 2 years, im actually doing it step by step and decide to take the ielts to have my visa screen certificate done,, but i back out to take the ielts exam,,when i was told that if i apply for the visa screening, still it doesnt extend the validity of nclex and ielts.. im just scared i might just waste money.. having visa screen will not extend the validity of your nclex result . the only remedy you can do is to apply for an extension or apply in other state and meet the requirements.

and one more thing, does the visa screen certificate expires also? how many years is the validity?? visa screen has a 5 years validty

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Tobby has given you some good answers and also suggest you try and search the forum as much has already been written on Ca

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wow! thank you for the infos!! it's a big help for me, coz i was really so confuse about it!

hmm? so what does my lecturer means when he told me that its just the matter of renewing the NCLEX when it gets expired, coz he really assured me i shouldnt get bothered coz it doesnt get expired and voided..

OMG! i have to fix things now before it gets expired!

does it mean that it is OK to work on my visa screen cerrtificate to be process now?, coz you told me that it expires 5 years after, so is it ok if wouldnt mind about my ielts expiration anymore if i already have my visa screen certificate done??, coz as far as i know the only importance of ielts is to show it together with the nclex, to have your visa screen certificate.. please tell me if im getting it correct or not!! im just afraid i might make a wrong decision. Thank you!!!!:nuke:

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anyways,, if i choose to have an extension regarding my NCLEX expiration,, how many years or months does it gonna extend??

which way is a smart option?? to extend it or to choose another state?? Thanks:)

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Specializes in medical surgical nursing, MAN-MSN.

if i choose to have an extension regarding my nclex expiration,, how many years or months does it gonna extend?? usually they give a 1 year extension , then re-apply again when its up again.

which way is a smart option?? to extend it or to choose another state?? thanks:)

i guess with the retrogression ongoing its best to go to other states that grants a license rather than relying on the extension given by the bon , which will put a great risk of retaking the exam, which off course you don't want to happen.

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hmm? so what does my lecturer means when he told me that its just the matter of renewing the NCLEX when it gets expired, coz he really assured me i shouldnt get bothered coz it doesnt get expired and voided..

OMG! i have to fix things now before it gets expired!

does it mean that it is OK to work on my visa screen cerrtificate to be process now?, coz you told me that it expires 5 years after, so is it ok if wouldnt mind about my ielts expiration anymore if i already have my visa screen certificate done??, coz as far as i know the only importance of ielts is to show it together with the nclex, to have your visa screen certificate.. please tell me if im getting it correct or not!! im just afraid i might make a wrong decision. Thank you!!!!:nuke: arrow_up.gif

please answer!!! thank you so much!!! whoever you are you're such a big help!! Ive been looking for answers and you just did..

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Specializes in medical surgical nursing, MAN-MSN.

your lecturer maybe does not know what really happen if one does not posses an SSN. their is nothing you can renew since no license is given to you. yes ielts is needed for the visa screen and it is valid for 5 years. better browse on the thread concerning California for more details and further explanation!

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