Visa Screen Certificate / CGFNS

World Registration

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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.)

Dear Suzanne, any word on when retrogression will be lifted?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Dear Suzanne, any word on when retrogression will be lifted?

Not something that we can predict and the latest bulletin hasn't changed at all

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I keep stating that it is expected to be at least a couple of years if you are from the PIC countries and Mexico, do not expect it to be lifted anytime soon. If anything, it is only going to get worse because of the number of applicants keeps increasing.

Please, lets get back to the topic that is being asked here about the VSC. There are already multiple threads on the retrogression and the October Bulletin, otherwise the questions will not get answered.

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All my Visascreen documents are being mailed separately, does that matter? E.g. My transcript will be sent to CGFNS by the Registrar's office of my college( I asked if I could pick it up and have it mailed in the same envelope with the the nursing information, they said no); the nursing school will be mailing their info separately, the BON will be sending the license verification separately, and I mailed my VSC application.

There's no way I could have mailed them as one package. Is that going to me a problem? I am kinda concerned and hoping CGFNS has some way of matching the names /collecting the documents as they come in.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

should not be a problem

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All my Visascreen documents are being mailed separately, does that matter? E.g. My transcript will be sent to CGFNS by the Registrar's office of my college( I asked if I could pick it up and have it mailed in the same envelope with the the nursing information, they said no); the nursing school will be mailing their info separately, the BON will be sending the license verification separately, and I mailed my VSC application.

There's no way I could have mailed them as one package. Is that going to me a problem? I am kinda concerned and hoping CGFNS has some way of matching the names /collecting the documents as they come in.

That is how it is supposed to be done, there is no problem with that at all.

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thanks guys

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Hi, I am worried... Here is my situation. I have a CGFNS Certificate. Last May 2006, I was Interviewed for US working Visa. One requirement I do not have is the VisaScreen Certificate because I have'nt passed IELTS( speaking test in particular) and so they are asking me to submit the VSC... Now I passed IELTS last May 2007.. August, I went at US embassy and asked if my application is still active? And they said "yes" and I need to submit the VSC... I went on to process all my requirements for the VSC.

Processing time for the VSC is ussually about 6 mos.right? Now I am worried that by the time the VSC is released and I will submit it at the US Embassy( that is 1 year and 6 mos). Will the US Embassy Consul honor or accept my VSC and will they still process my working Visa? And any advises please... thank you very much.:o

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The wait time is just a couple of months, not six months. But what type of working visa? The only thing that is available to you is the H1-C, and that is not a good idea in any case for anyone. If you do not like the facility, or they do not like you, it is very difficult to get placement at another facility that can do the H1-C; there are only 15 out of the entire US.

Not sure why your employer did not give you this information about the VSC being required before any visa would be issued to you in the first place. At this point, it will be more to do with if the employer still has a spot for you, that may no longer be in existance because of the time that has passed. I would check with them, and a new contract is going to be required to be submitted to the US Embassy before they will grant a visa.

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All signatures are supposed to be the same, make sure that the one on the picture is a complete signature and that is what should have been used on the application as well.

Suggest that you write your signature in full on the application next to where you wrote your other signature. All need to match, and it is easy to just fix it now since it has not been sent in.

hi suzzane! do you mean it like this? like put a slash between the two signatures?

---> signature in full / usual signature

i applied online so the forms that i'll have to change is the one from school, two of the license validation forms(i forgot what it's called) and the photo form... oh no! i've already passed a form for my IELTS results, will it be okay? Will CGFNS recognize i have two signatures?

when will be my passport be needed by CGFNS? because i had a different signature there too, it's in full signature except that my middle name is in the form of middle initial... I got my passport at a young age and my mother taught me to sign that way. now that i'm a grown-up i've come up with my own but she advised me not to change my signature in the passport when we renewed it so it's the same since then... now it's a problem! :( it was like that too with nclex but i got through. Thanks for reading suzzane! i know... it's troublesome.. didn't realize that earlier :( should i just carry a document like a legal document that says all 3 signatures belong to one person? i swear i'm changing my signature in my passport the next time i'm renewing it.:madface:

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hi there! can you please advice me on how to start with the visa screening certification process? and what are the necessary documents i need to prepare to accomplish the application form(?)iam an NCLEX and IELTS passer already,. how long would it take me to get this certification? thanks a lot

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
hi there! can you please advice me on how to start with the visa screening certification process? and what are the necessary documents i need to prepare to accomplish the application form(?)iam an NCLEX and IELTS passer already,. how long would it take me to get this certification? thanks a lot

you need to go to the CGFNS website and start the process. Your training school may have to send copy of your transcripts and you will have to send proof of schooling as a child usually waivered if schooling was longer than 10 years ago. You will also need to arrange with the governing bodies and pay any fees for your results to be sent to them. IE your BON needs to send verification that you passed NCLEX, can take anything from 4 months if from overseas and that your documents as received in a timely manner

CGFNS VSC

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