Visa Screen Certificate / CGFNS

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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 and general practice now LTC.

As it states in the VSC handbook you must submit a copy of your secondary education. Page 8 of the handbook. There are exceptions if education is over 10 years but even then I submitted a copy of my certificate to be safe

VSC handbook 2008

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hello,

i just completed my visa screen form online and there were i had to fill out my primary and secondary school information. i was high schooled in my country and then i got my ADN degree here. am i supposed to send only my transcript of the college i attended here? i saw people writing about CES in the above threads but it doesn't apply to me. please respond.

You fill in the information about your schools but once they get your transcripts from your ADN program that you attended here in the U.S. they'll generally exempt you from having to submit any high school transcripts. The only issue is if your entry level professional education was not in the US, but yours was, so just have your school here send the transcripts to them. Hope this answers your question. This is how it worked for me.

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thank you silverdragon102 and helloworld,

i called the cgfns office myself and they said i didn't need to send in anything, just my passport size photo with the photo identification form. they were gonna send the letter to the school on my behalf.

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Hi. I passed my Philippine Boards Dec 2007, CA-NCLEX this May 2008,TOEFL-IBT August 2007. I am here in the US as a Visitor. I am going home to the Phils and will start my application for the VSC.

I plan to be back in the US after 3-5 months. I already have a hospital that will sponsor me when I get back.

My problem is, I am getting married when I go back home.I wish to process my visa screen with my married name.

If my name in my visa screen is my married name but I don't change my name in my passport (my maiden name), will there be a problem when I finally get petitioned?

I am worried because I want to get my husband-to-be to the US as well through sponsorship, if possible.(I know i need a lawyer for this).

I am planning not to change my name on my passport (but bring marriage certificate) so as not to be questioned needlessly at the immigration when i go back to the US.

Will the difference in names affect immigration and petition ?And do u think it is wise for me to just change my documents to my married name when I am finally back in the US?

Thanks for your time and hope to hear from you! :nurse: :bow:

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Hi. I passed my Philippine Boards Dec 2007, CA-NCLEX this May 2008,TOEFL-IBT August 2007. I am here in the US as a Visitor. I am going home to the Phils and will start my application for the VSC.

I plan to be back in the US after 3-5 months. I already have a hospital that will sponsor me when I get back.

My problem is, I am getting married when I go back home.I wish to process my visa screen with my married name.

If my name in my visa screen is my married name but I don't change my name in my passport (my maiden name), will there be a problem when I finally get petitioned?

I am worried because I want to get my husband-to-be to the US as well through sponsorship, if possible.(I know i need a lawyer for this).

I am planning not to change my name on my passport (but bring marriage certificate) so as not to be questioned needlessly at the immigration when i go back to the US.

Will the difference in names affect immigration and petition ?And do u think it is wise for me to just change my documents to my married name when I am finally back in the US?

Thanks for your time and hope to hear from you! :nurse: :bow:

If you are talking about being petitioned for green card. That is not really allowed at the moment due to retrogression. You have to consult an immigration lawyer about this if you want further details that you cannot read on the many threads and posts already discussing why is such in the forums.

Regarding, what to put on the VSC application. You put their what your marital status on the time you applied. What your marital status on your passport doesn't really matter much but what matters is because that was filled-up a long time ago and that was your status when you filled it up. What matters is that all forms, including the Visa Screen and the immigration forms you will be filling-in in the future needs to reflect your current marital status at the time you are answering it and a marriage certificate as proof of a legal marriage.

When you try to go back to the US via tourist visa, you will always be questioned by the immigration officer at the port of entry no matter what since their priority is to identify those who plans to work in the US but are entering via a tourist visa.

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I see. Thank you for th prompt answer. I know what to do now.hehe Honesty is still the best Policy, if I am reading you right. Thanks Lawrence!:lvan:

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hello suzanne now I"m reading the forum about the visa screen certificate and I want to ask you can I apply for this visa before passing IELTS and NCLEX-RN exam and after appllying parallel with it to learn take NCLEX and IELTS exams

thanks

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
hello suzanne now I"m reading the forum about the visa screen certificate and I want to ask you can I apply for this visa before passing IELTS and NCLEX-RN exam and after appllying parallel with it to learn take NCLEX and IELTS exams

thanks

Better to apply for VSC once you have passed NCLEX. Application is for 12 months and if you have any delays you will have to pay again.

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hi! I already have an employer in NY and they will be filing my I-140 very soon. Now,I only have to take the IELTS for my Visa Screen Application. According to the instructions in the Visa Screen Application, I could already send my application prior to taking the English exam. Can I really do this? I also noticed in the application form that there's no IELTS option under the English Language Proficiency (item #15). The options given are only TOEFL and MELAB. Why is this so?

Also, who will forward my IELTS results to ICHP (International Commission on Helathcare Professions - a division of CGFNS which accepts the Visa Screen Application).

Another question,there are 2 formats of IELTS: academic & general training. Which one should I take?

Thanks! I hope you guys can help me out with my questions. :)

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hi! I already have an employer in NY and they will be filing my I-140 very soon. Now,I only have to take the IELTS for my Visa Screen Application. According to the instructions in the Visa Screen Application, I could already send my application prior to taking the English exam. Can I really do this? I also noticed in the application form that there's no IELTS option under the English Language Proficiency (item #15). The options given are only TOEFL and MELAB. Why is this so?

Also, who will forward my IELTS results to ICHP (International Commission on Helathcare Professions - a division of CGFNS which accepts the Visa Screen Application).

Another question,there are 2 formats of IELTS: academic & general training. Which one should I take?

Thanks! I hope you guys can help me out with my questions. :)

Suspect that you are looking at an old application as the MELAB is not even offered any longer. And the IELTS has been approved for the past few years, so again, you need a newer form.

But be aware that just because you have found an employer to petition you, there is no way that you are going to be able to remain in the US and begin to work. We are under a retrogression at this time and there is no way to adjust any visa, not sure what type that you are currently on. Once the I-140 gets submitted and approved, you are going to be hit head on with the retrogression and things are not going to advance past that for quite sometime.

I never recommend sending in for the VSC until you have passed the English exams, there is a year limit on the application or you pay a larger fee.

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thanks suzanne! :) i'll just look for the latest Visa Screen application form in the internet.

i'll not be staying here in the US anyway. i have to return to philippines because my i-94 (not if that's what it's called) is good for 3 months only. weird huh? normally they give 6 months to tourists but in my case, they gave me only 3 months. what's important is I have a sponsor already and they will be filing the i-140 this week so that i'll get a priority date asap.

thanks again for the reply! :)

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hello I have another question

if I apply for VSC is it give me a date or bulletine for taking exam nclex-RN because I"m going to apply for it and now I"m preparing for nclex-RN

is it possible to take the exam this year or maybe 2009

I don"t forget and IELTS exam but now I"m planning to take nclex

just tell me please is it correct if I first apply for VSC and for one year to take the exam

thanks

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