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 and general practice now LTC.
Thanks for the extremely quick response! No we are not married, but he is american. i know theres a massive wait, but i still have around 18 months left here, and he wants to live in london for a year also, so that covers around 3 years of the wait at least :) If i went for Canada is it advisable to apply for licensure on my own and then apply for a job? Also when is the best time to get in and apply before the cap is filled?

thanx again!

If you decide to get married (presuming you are not a same sex couple) then you may find it easier to get a immigrant visa. There are people waiting for a immigrant visa for 5 years so a bit longer than 3 year wait.

In regards to Canada I would suggest starting a thread of its own however there are several threads discussing Canada and the CRNE but a lot will depend on the province you apply to. I think the cap will reopen for nurses in June 2011 and I would say apply as soon as you know you can and it has reopened as only 1000 was allocated this year and I should image the same would be for next year if any are released. Also be aware finding a job may be hard but again will depend on province however where I live in NS I am seeing less jobs advertised

Specializes in neonatal/paeds.

hi silverdragon,

im a tad confused,is it quicker to get an immigrant visa through marriage than work then? and thanks for the canada info!

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

If you marry a USC (as long as not same sex as the US currently doesn't recognise same sex marriages) then yes it is easier to get a immigrant visa however marry for the right reasons not the wrong ones :)

Specializes in neonatal/paeds.

if marriage happens it happens...this id rather do on my own, reduces the dependancy rather a lot :p i guess we'll just go wherever the wind carries us until things are processed....theres worse lives to lead!

thanks for the info :)

Hello to all of you. I'm just a newbie here. I'm very happy to read some of the post here in the forum. It was all very helpful. I have a few questions regarding nclex,ielts and a tourist visa. Can somebody help me and advice me on what to do. I have a friend who is a licensed nurse here in the Philippines. He took the califonia nclex exam last July 2010 but unfortunately he failed. He applied to another state (New York). The CVS result is not yet released and at present the status of his CVS application says that it is still "waiting for approval". He is waiting for almost 8 months now for the result of CVS to be released. He is planning to go to the US this coming July 2011 using tourist visa while waiting for his CVS result to be released so he can apply already for NY NCLEX exam. He is also planning to take the nclex and ielts in NY. My questions are:

1. Is it possible for him to complete all the legal documents and take all those exams in 6 months time? because he is only using a tourist visa.

2. Is it possible for him to look for an employer in 6 months time that could sponsor him either in the hospital or home care setting when he was able to passed all the said exams?

3. He is planning to obtain a working visa while in the US. Is it possible?

4. How long is the processing time of a working visa if he was able to obtain one?

Thank you very much in advance for all the helpful answers that you are going to provide. All your answers would be of a great help. God bless all of you. :)

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
hello to all of you. i'm just a newbie here. i'm very happy to read some of the post here in the forum. it was all very helpful. i have a few questions regarding nclex,ielts and a tourist visa. can somebody help me and advice me on what to do. i have a friend who is a licensed nurse here in the philippines. he took the califonia nclex exam last july 2010 but unfortunately he failed. he applied to another state (new york). the cvs result is not yet released and at present the status of his cvs application says that it is still "waiting for approval". he is waiting for almost 8 months now for the result of cvs to be released. he is planning to go to the us this coming july 2011 using tourist visa while waiting for his cvs result to be released so he can apply already for ny nclex exam. he is also planning to take the nclex and ielts in ny. my questions are:

1. is it possible for him to complete all the legal documents and take all those exams in 6 months time? because he is only using a tourist visa. it may be possible to take nclex whilst in ny however i am not sure if it is possible to sit ielts in the us

2. is it possible for him to look for an employer in 6 months time that could sponsor him either in the hospital or home care setting when he was able to passed all the said exams? he could look for a employer however with the current us job situation and many us nurses struggling to find work i believe he will find it very hard to find a employer

3. he is planning to obtain a working visa while in the us. is it possible? work visa generally requires experience and again with us nurses struggling i think he will find it hard

4. how long is the processing time of a working visa if he was able to obtain one?currently h1b visa is file now and wait interview and can not start working until oct at the minimum if once is approved and issued.

thank you very much in advance for all the helpful answers that you are going to provide. all your answers would be of a great help. god bless all of you. :)

see answers in blue. your friend must be prepared to return home, he must be prepared to find it hard to find a employer

Hello Silverdragon 102.

Thank you for your reply.. This would be a great help for me and my friend. I have some few questions again regarding this matter.

1. If in case my friend wasn't able to find an employer in NY do you think the best thing to do is just to go home here in the Philippines or just extend his stay as tourist?

2. In this time of recession do you think having a good and reputable agency that could possibly help him look for an employer in NY is the best thing to do?

3. How long is the waiting time for NY nclex application? is his 6 months stay in NY enough to complete all the requirements and sit for the exam?

Thank you very much for your reply. God bless.. =)

I must confess, you are doing wonderfully well here. Please i need some information about my present status now. I am about to register for CGFNS Certification Program along with Toefl, but just few hours ago i checked at the website of Illinois board of nursing just to discover that they require CES. Please what should i do. Also advice if i can change the state i am applying to, or i should just take the exam so that i can qualify for the visa screen. But my fear is that will Illinois still consider my CP Certificate to enroll me for nclex. Finally, how long can it take me to process the entire thing, i mean taking cgfns and toefl with visa screen before i can travel to the US. Thanks in anticipation

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
I must confess, you are doing wonderfully well here. Please i need some information about my present status now. I am about to register for CGFNS Certification Program along with Toefl, but just few hours ago i checked at the website of Illinois board of nursing just to discover that they require CES. Please what should i do. Also advice if i can change the state i am applying to, or i should just take the exam so that i can qualify for the visa screen. But my fear is that will Illinois still consider my CP Certificate to enroll me for nclex. Finally, how long can it take me to process the entire thing, i mean taking cgfns and toefl with visa screen before i can travel to the US. Thanks in anticipation

CGFNS exam is only required by a handful of states and may not be accepted, best way to find out is contact the state. personally if you do not have to do CGFNS exam I wouldn't do it but the end decision is yours.

What visa do you have to live and work in the US? Look on an average processing time with the state of 4-6 months before eligibility to sit NCLEX and a couple of more months wait for vsc

Hi to all nurses!

My name is Ana, from NY, passed NCLEX and recieved a NYS license 2 weeks ago.Now I'am looking for a sponsor for H1B.A question is abour VSC -I need to retake the IELTS.

May I register now in CGFNS, before retaking the IELTS?

How much time it tskes to get VSC?

Should I continue to search a sponsor or I have to wait for VSC?

Thanks.

Anybody?

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Yes you can apply for vsc now but they will not issue it until all requirements have been met

+ Add a Comment