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.)

Visa Screen is handled thru ICHP, which is actually a separate company from CGFNS. They are two separate entities under the same parent company and can use the same documents that are sent in. But they are processed entirely separately.

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Hi suzanne4,

I am from Romania.My englisch is not so good , but I hope you can understand.

My wife pass the IELTS in september 2005 and the NCLEX in january 2007.She has already the interview with the us hospital.

I like to know when she will receive the visa screen and when she will go in usa.

Thank you.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hi suzanne4,

I am from Romania.My englisch is not so good , but I hope you can understand.

My wife pass the IELTS in september 2005 and the NCLEX in january 2007.She has already the interview with the us hospital.

I like to know when she will receive the visa screen and when she will go in usa.

Thank you.

Has she applied for the visa screen? If not she needs to apply for it now and also arrange for her IELTS and NCLEX scores to be forward to ICHP there usually is a small fee for this, you cannot send the results must be done by them.

At the moment there is a retrogression on and no visas currently so will be a while before she moves to the US as the hospital will need to file I140 and then the process with NVC will start probably once retrogression has lifted which at the moment no one knows how long it will last but hopefully something will be sorted soon

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The Visa Screen Certificate is not the visa, and is done by ICHP/CGFNS once she has applied for it and has completed the NCLEX-RN exam as well as the series of English exams. This is completely separate from the immigration process, but is needed to present to US Embassy when she has her interview for the visa for the US. It is just a screening process, nothing more.

She still will need to go thru the immigration process, and not sure where she is with that, and if the employer has even submitted anything on her behalf.

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Specializes in MIDWIFERY.

Hi I contacted the ICHP customer service via E-Mail regarding the waiting for NCLEX Result issue and was told that once the validation for license form is sudmitted the results is inclusive.

Hoping to receive my VisaScreen soon.

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Hey all,

I didn't read through this whole thread so perhaps this question is redundant but I'm wondering...

If a person is currently an F1 and is using OPT to work. Do they still need to get the CGFNS VisaScreen?

Thanks :)

-Yee

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hey all,

I didn't read through this whole thread so perhaps this question is redundant but I'm wondering...

If a person is currently an F1 and is using OPT to work. Do they still need to get the CGFNS VisaScreen?

Thanks :)

-Yee

my understanding is if you are looking for an immigration visa then yes you need the visa screen as it is a requirement by immigration. I believe if marrying a US citizen then you do not need the visa screen

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Thanks Silverdragon :) I was asking out of curiosity as there's a person I know who seems to think that her OPT means she does not need a VisaScreen. Her intent is to get a greencard however I think she does not realize that it is highly unlikely that she will get one before her OPT expires and also unlikely that she will be able to obtain an H1 before then, correct?

I'm thinking this is not a good situation for this person to be in right now.

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Hey all,

I didn't read through this whole thread so perhaps this question is redundant but I'm wondering...

If a person is currently an F1 and is using OPT to work. Do they still need to get the CGFNS VisaScreen?

Thanks :)

-Yee

You are still going to be applying for a green card, so the answer is YES. The only thing that is waived is the English requirement if you did your basic training in the US, and if you did a BSN in another country, then came over here to do the MSN before going thru the immigration process, then the English would not be waived for you.

You must complete all of the same requirements for immigration that a nurse that trained overseas needs to complete in terms of immigration. Unless you are getting a green card because a spouse is petitioning you.

All visas to work in health care in the US require the VSC and when the nurse is applying for their own green card. And it is very easy to get if the training was done in the US, usually takes only about four weeks to get after passing of the NCLEX-RN exam.

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Thanks Silverdragon :) I was asking out of curiosity as there's a person I know who seems to think that her OPT means she does not need a VisaScreen. Her intent is to get a greencard however I think she does not realize that it is highly unlikely that she will get one before her OPT expires and also unlikely that she will be able to obtain an H1 before then, correct?

I'm thinking this is not a good situation for this person to be in right now.

Your friend has a much bigger issue and not sure if they are even aware of it. There have not been any H1-B visas for nurses available over the past three years, that was when visas started to be expedited. And as a new grad with only less than one year of experience, they would not qualify for it even if it were the case. Next issue is that the H1-B visas that will be available this October were gone in less than a day last month when the window was open to submit an application for it.

And if they have the OPT because of the F-1 status, it is not renewable, and they will have to continue on with further studies to remain current. Or they will not have a visa to adjust when they become available. Even if the H1-B visas were available, they still require the VSC, and that actually needs to be submitted with any temporary work visa in the first place.

OPT just permits them to get training for a year, it does not exempt them from one thing for immigration, other than the language requirement.

Suggest that you have your friend do some reading here before they are out of status and are required to leave the US.

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Thanks Suzanne,

I did think that my friend's situation is not a good one to be in. For me I am eligible for a TN so I'm doing that until it is possible for me to go to a GC.

I think my friend has not fully investigated her circumstances and is probably going to get screwed royally if she does not do her homework more carefully.

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You are 100% correct on this. Advise you to tell your friend to do their homework, or they will be backing to return home in the next few months. They do not have a clue as to anything that they need to do. Actually 2 wrong for 2 questions.

When does their OPT finish?

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