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.)

hello! i really need your help.. How do i forward my NCLEX results to CGFNS/ICHP? Is it true that i need to write a letter to the California Board of Registered Nursing? If so what will the letter contain? Is there a corresponding fee? please do help me.. I couldn't find the instructions at the VS handbook and California website! Thank you!

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hello! i really need your help.. How do i forward my NCLEX results to CGFNS/ICHP? Is it true that i need to write a letter to the California Board of Registered Nursing? If so what will the letter contain? Is there a corresponding fee? please do help me.. I couldn't find the instructions at the VS handbook and California website! Thank you!

There is a page that is included with the application for the VSC, it is called Verification..........that needs to be sent to CA along with $60 US for them to forward it on to ICHP.

They do not accept letters, it must be that form to be used.

You won't find the information on the CA website, and is included with instructions as to what the verification is used for. But each state has a different fee and that needs to be verified. CA is definitely $60.

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Put yes, as a nurse in the US, and working at a hospital, you will get more than enogh hours to meet the requirements. In the past, I got over 150 hours per year until the past couple of years. It is very easy to get them. They are looking to see if you are coming here for two years and returning home afterwards. Remembe that VCS is also required for those in other health care fields that are not RNs and do not get expedited for the green card and can qaulify for the H1-B. RNs cannot get that visa.

Hi suzanne! What if I answered no to the question about my license being a lifetime or not? What will be its implication/s on my VSC application? Should I correct that and how? :bow:

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There is a page that is included with the application for the VSC, it is called Verification..........that needs to be sent to CA along with $60 US for them to forward it on to ICHP.

They do not accept letters, it must be that form to be used.

You won't find the information on the CA website, and is included with instructions as to what the verification is used for. But each state has a different fee and that needs to be verified. CA is definitely $60.

thank you so much! i just have one more question... I do not hold a license yet in California since i do not have a SSN... will the CA BON also forward my NCLEX test results? Does ICHP also need the NCLEX test results from CA BON or just the REQUEST FOR VALIDATION/REGISTRATION OF LICENSE FORM from the CGFNS website? Thank you so much for your help. You have really helped me big time! hehehe

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hi suzanne,

thanks to your unending guidance..I just feel the visa is getting farther away by day. Anway, at least it's reality check for us aspirants.

bastiangillian, RN 12/06

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Visa Screen can use the same documents that are sent with the CES application, you do not have to resend them. You can decide when you want to submit the application and the fee with it.

And thank you for the very nice note.

hi suzanne4,

can you possibly give me the website for my reference where it is stated that ICHP will not require me to resend the school documents that were used for my CES report if i am to apply for my VSC. I've been browsing the cgfns website for VisaScreen but I cannot find it. But it was specifically stated under the CES services that, "If you have applied for other CGFNS International Services prior to applying for CES, you are still required to send all mandatory documentation from your school of general healthcare, as well as any additional schools where you have completed a specialty or post-basic program. There are different requirements for each CGFNS International service and the documentation in your file that was submitted for another CGFNS International program may not be sufficient to prepare a CES report."

Your response will be very much appreciated. Thank you.

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There are no working visas for nurses, other than the H1-C that we do not recommend at all. And actually you need a VSC in hand for the petition to be submitted for that temporary visa. Not when you go to the US Embassy. Anyone working as a nurse in the US that is getting a visa, must have a Visa Screen Certificate.

Hi Suzanne. I couldn't help notice that you mentioned that you do not recommend H1C visas at all. Is there any particular reason?

Also, i just wanted your insight into when do you think the retrogression will be lifted?

Thanks.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
hi suzanne4,

can you possibly give me the website for my reference where it is stated that ICHP will not require me to resend the school documents that were used for my CES report if i am to apply for my VSC. I've been browsing the cgfns website for VisaScreen but I cannot find it. But it was specifically stated under the CES services that, "If you have applied for other CGFNS International Services prior to applying for CES, you are still required to send all mandatory documentation from your school of general healthcare, as well as any additional schools where you have completed a specialty or post-basic program. There are different requirements for each CGFNS International service and the documentation in your file that was submitted for another CGFNS International program may not be sufficient to prepare a CES report."

Your response will be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Kanebo! I can't help noticing your post. Though it was aimed for Suzanne, I'll also answer your question. I hope that will be okay.

Anyway, I myself was confused whether I should mail another set of the same documents for my VisaScreen. I applied for CES a year earlier. I emailed CGFNS about it and they told me that I don't need to submit it again. There were 3 documents that I passed for CES that's also required for the VisaScreen service; the documentation of my secondary school, academic records from my professional school, and my license validation from the Phil. I didn't pass any of those again. My VisaScreen Initial Certificate was mailed to me 2 weeks after.

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Hi Kanebo! I can't help noticing your post. Though it was aimed for Suzanne, I'll also answer your question. I hope that will be okay.

Anyway, I myself was confused whether I should mail another set of the same documents for my VisaScreen. I applied for CES a year earlier. I emailed CGFNS about it and they told me that I don't need to submit it again. There were 3 documents that I passed for CES that's also required for the VisaScreen service; the documentation of my secondary school, academic records from my professional school, and my license validation from the Phil. I didn't pass any of those again. My VisaScreen Initial Certificate was mailed to me 2 weeks after.

Thank you for your prompt answer. It's nice to hear it from someone who have gone thru the actual process. Many thanks again.

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Hi Suzanne. I couldn't help notice that you mentioned that you do not recommend H1C visas at all. Is there any particular reason?

Also, i just wanted your insight into when do you think the retrogression will be lifted?

Thanks.

Never, never, never. There are only about 14 facilities in the US that currently qualify for that visa. If you do not like the facility or they do not like you, you will only have a very short time to find another H1-C hospital to employ you, or you will be given less than a month and have to leave the US.

The only way that a facility can qualify for that is if they are extremely short-staffed, way below what is needed, and/or are in very difficult areas to get to. Geographically undesirable as we call it. If you have family and friends that you wish to visit frequently, it will be almost impossible.

Those are just a few of my reasons. And you must have a Visa Screen Certificate in hand for the process to even be started.

I will never recommend a temporary work permit like this to anyone, never have and never will.

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hi suzanne,

thanks to your unending guidance..I just feel the visa is getting farther away by day. Anway, at least it's reality check for us aspirants.

bastiangillian, RN 12/06

Thank you for the nice note.

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thank you so much! i just have one more question... I do not hold a license yet in California since i do not have a SSN... will the CA BON also forward my NCLEX test results? Does ICHP also need the NCLEX test results from CA BON or just the REQUEST FOR VALIDATION/REGISTRATION OF LICENSE FORM from the CGFNS website? Thank you so much for your help. You have really helped me big time! hehehe

They cannot forward one thing without it being requested, and you need to use the form that comes with the VSC application. As well as $60 US payment or they will not process your request.

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