CGFNS CES for an immigrant still required?

lawrence01 · Feb 13, 2008

hi,
I'm a RN here in the PI.I have an immigrant petition(just waiting for my interview).I am planning to apply licensure by examination in nevada(my father who petitioned me lives there).I have visited the BON nevada website and learned that foreign grads are require to have CGFNS-CES report before allowed to sit for an exam.as far as I know,it evaluates your credentials such as your transcript of records,license in the PI,etc. my father have asked her friends who are nurses,same situation as mine,said that they didn't have the CES report since they are immigrant.I told my father that it is only the CGFNS visa screen cert. I don't need to apply(am I right?).I am having trouble explaining that to him.he insisted that I apply for nclex rn when I am already there since I have a different case from those handled by agencies.was there really a difference?I am in need of your advice,as you are more knowledgeable in this matter.I still doubt what was suggested by my father's friends.
thanks in advance! :)

Being an immigrant through your parents will waive the visa screen certification req't. You are correct on what the CES is for. It is a req't for the Nevada BON. The Nevada BON does not want or prefer that a 3rd party evaluate the transcripts (and other documents) for them. They do not evaluate foreign transcripts, they rely on CGFNS to do it for them. The CES is only for the Boards as their req't, it has nothing to do with immigration. If NV BON requires it for foreign-educated nurses it must be done. If an American Citizen studies in PH for a BSN and the State requires the CES be done for foreign-educated nurses, he also has to go through with it as the purpose of the CES is to evaluate foreign transcripts as he is considered a foreign-educated nurse as well. Legal status has nothing to do with it. Also, BONs or BRNs that do their own evaluation of transcripts, foreign-educated or not don't need the CES. But only States that do their own evaluation are exempted from it (such as CA BRN and VT). So, the CES has really nothing to do with immigration.

Be careful of getting advice from nurses who are there for a long time. Always take it with a grain of salt. Most bad information comes from them. We had always have inaccurate info. being given by their aunts and relatives who are RNs in the US for a long time. The longer they are there, the likelihood that it would be an obsolete info. Requirements, always change and very often.

I even know of an aunt telling her niece that a visa screen certification is not needed if on a tourist visa already and that they did not do it at their time. My guess it, the visa screen certification might not even be implemented yet on her time and were in working visas.

One thing is right, though. You definitely do not need to go through recruitment agencies and can apply directly.

The only thing that would convince them is to let them read the application form the Nevada BON saying that the CES is needed for them to grant you eligibility to take the NCLEX-RN exam.

It would be a waste of time when you will go in NV and have not done the leg work for the CES while still in PH. You will be going back to PH to do the leg work if you can't find someone to do it for you and it would be hard to find someone to do all those work for you that is knowledgeable enough and trusting him to not screw up on anything. Remember, you have to go to your school to request them to send the transcripts and pay the fee for the courier for their use and go to PRC (if you are licensed) for them to send a validation of your license.

I remember someone that went to the US on a tourist visa and claimed he did not need the visa screen because he is adjusting status. Some of his batch mates were telling him otherwise but did not believe them. While in the US, he soon realized he was wrong because he consulted an immigration lawyer already. Attempted to request his batch mates to go to their school and PRC to do the work for him but no one obliged (can't blame them). To make the long story short, he was forced to go back home and then almost wasn't able to go back to the US because the immigration officer notice that he exhausted the 6 mos. from his previous stay and coming back to the US in barely a month thereafter.

spongebob6286, BSN, RN · Feb 13, 2008

thanks for the info. :) I will convince my father that I still need do apply for CGFNS CES since it has nothing to do with immigration. :)

suzanne4, RN · Feb 15, 2008

As we keep stating, licensure and immigration are two very different things. And bet if you ask your father's friends, they also wrote the CGFNS exam back when they came over. Rules do change, and be happy that you will not be required to write that exam. Even if you already have a US passport, the fact that you trained out of the country makes you a foreign grad, and you will always have to follow those additional rules, there is no exception made to that for any state.

The CES is not an issue and he shouldl be happy with you wanting to get that done, as it is also required if you want to go on with your schooling.