1998 News
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16 OCTOBER 1998
ICHP VisaScreen™ certificates to be issued soon
The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) will soon begin to issue ICHP VisaScreen™ certificates to applicants who qualify under section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996. The certificates will be issued through the VisaScreen™ program of the International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP), a division of CGFNS.
CGFNS is releasing this announcement in light of the publication on 14 October 1998 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) of interim regulations that implement a small portion of section 343 of IIRIRA. Under these regulations, which go into effect on 14 December 1998, INS will only accept an ICHP VisaScreen™ certificate from: (1) nurses, who are (2) applying for permanent resident alien status. CGFNS disagrees with this INS policy and is currently litigating the issue, but will nonetheless begin to process and issue ICHP VisaScreen™ certificates to qualified nurse applicants for permanent residence on 30 October 1998. CGFNS notes that INS interim regulations do not take effect until 14 December 1998, and that INS will not accept the ICHP VisaScreen™ certificate until that date.
CGFNS/ICHP continues to accept applications for VisaScreen™ from applicants from any health care profession (except physicians) for any form of visa, temporary or permanent. In addition, applicants are advised to obtain information regarding dates and locations for the English language proficiency examinations required by section 343. Applicants must take either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), TWE (Test of Written English) and TSE (Test of Spoken English), administered through the Educational Testing Service at +1 (609) 771 7100, or Parts 1 through 3 and the Oral Interview Section of the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB), administered through the English Language Institute at +1 (734) 763 3452. For registration information related to these examinations, please contact the appropriate organization directly. Please note that graduates of educational programs in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States are exempt from the English language requirements.
To request a VisaScreen™ application packet or obtain additional information about CGFNS / ICHP services, contact: CGFNS / ICHP, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400; Philadelphia, PA 19104-2665 USA; telephone +1 (215) 349 6735 or +1 (215) 349 6736; fax +1 (215) 349 0026.
Anyone seeking further information should consult the 14 October 1998 INS notice in the Federal Register on pages 55007 – 55012.
