VisaScreen

• VisaScreen Certificate

• Who need VisaScreen certificate

• Credentialing Organizations

• Certificate Validity and Usage

• English Language Requirements

• Requirement Exemptions

• Special Rule for Qualified RNs

VisaScreen Certificate

The VisaScreen certificate from an authorized credentialing organization certifies that the foreign national’s education, training, experience and license are comparable to that required of an American healthcare worker, meet all legal requirements for entry into the United States under the requested visa classification, are authentic, and in the case of a license unencumbered. The VisaScreen also certifies that the healthcare worker possesses a defined minimum level of English competence and that, if the healthcare worker is a nurse, the nurse has passed the CGFNS exam or the NCLEX exam.

Who need VisaScreen certificate

• Registered nurses
• Licensed practical and vocational nurses
• Occupational and physical therapists
• Clinical laboratory scientists and technicians
• Physician assistants
• Speech language pathologists and audiologists

The VisaScreen requirement does not apply to physicians, derivative beneficiaries, foreign nationals seeking admission for training, or foreign nationals seeking admission to work in a non-clinical capacity, including medical teachers, medical researchers, and managers of healthcare facilities.

Credentialing Organizations

1. CGFNS - the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools for healthcare workers in any of the covered occupations
2. NBCOT - the National Board for Certification and Occupational Therapy for occupational therapists
3. FCCPT - the Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy for physical therapists

Certificate Validity and Usage

The VisaScreen Certificate must be used within five years of its issue date. Otherwise a new VisaScreen Certificate must be obtained. However, it is still valid after 5 years if it was used at least once during the initial five-year period.

A nonimmigrant must present the VisaScreen Certificate to a consular officer at the time of visa issuance or a Department of Homeland Security officer at the time of admission.

English Language Requirements

The English language testing requirements do not apply to nurses presenting a CGFNS certified statement and any aliens who graduated from a college, university or professional training school in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States.

Currently, there are three testing services for testing English competence: Educational Testing Services (“ETS”), Test of English and International Communication (“TOEIC”) Service International, and International English Language Testing System (“IELTS”). The required scores on each exam vary depending on the foreign national’s occupation.

Occupational and physical therapists:

Paper-based TOEFL 560 or computer-based TOEFL 220; Test of Written English (“TWE”) 4.5; Test of Spoken English (“TSE”) 50. Occupational and physical therapists may not use TOEIC or IELTS.

RN nurses and bachelor’s degree level occupations:

 paper-based TOEFL 540 or computer-based TOEFL 207, TWE 4.0, and TSE 50. In the alternative, they may present a TOEIC 725, TWE 4.0, and a TSE 5.0. As another alternative, they may present IELTS 6.5 overall with a spoken band score of 7.0. The Academic module is required.

Occupations requiring less than a bachelor’s degree:

Paper-based TOEFL 530 or computer-based TOEFL 197, TWE 4.0, and TSE 50. In the Alternative, they may present a TOEIC 700, TWE 4.0, and TSE 50. As another alternative, they may present IELTS 6.0 overall with a spoken band score of 7.0. Both the Academic and General module are acceptable.

Requirement Exemptions

If you are educated in the U.S. and are one of the following, you are exempt from the education comparability review and the English proficiency requirements.

1. Nurses graduating from National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission entry level programs or Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education entry level programs;
2. Occupational therapists graduating from Accreditation Counsel for Occupational Therapy Education of the American Occupational Therapy Association programs;
3. Physical therapists graduating from Commission on Accreditation and Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association programs;
4. Speech language pathologists and audiologists graduating from Counsel on Academic Accreditation and Audiology and Speech Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association programs.

Special Rule for Qualified RNs

A CGFNS certified statement can be used in lieu of the VisaScreen Certificate. CGFNS is currently the only approved credentialing organization authorized to issue such a certificate.

An RN nurse is eligible for the certified statement if:

1. The RN nurse has an unrestricted RN license in the state of intended employment and that state verifies that foreign licenses are authentic and unencumbered;
2. The nurse has passed the NCLEX-RN exam;
3. The foreign national nurse’s nursing program language of instruction was English;
4. The nursing program was located in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States, or any other country designated by CGFNS such as Trinidad and Tobago; and
5. The nursing program was in operation before November 12, 1999 or has been approved by CGFNS.