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2001 News and Alerts

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FEBRUARY 1, 2001

Update on “Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999”

This update-at-a-glance provides information about:

Interim final regulations by the U.S. Department of Labor for the H-1C program; and
The processing of CGFNS certificates for foreign-educated nurses, as required by the “Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999”.

The status of the U.S. Department of Labor regulations for the H-1C visa program

A. Issuance of interim final regulations for health care facilities participating in the H-1C visa program.

On August 22, 2000, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued interim final regulations implementing that agency’s portion of the H-1C visa program. These regulations took effect on September 21, 2000.

The DOL regulations implement the labor side of the H-1C program:

identifying which hospitals (14) are eligible to participate, and
describing the labor and wage conditions the approved health care facilities must meet in order to participate.

The DOL identified the following 14 hospitals as currently eligible to participate in the H-1C program:

Beaumont Regional Medical Center, Beaumont, Texas
Beverly Hospital, Montebello, California
Doctors Medical Center, Modesto, California
Elisabeth General Medical Center, Elisabeth, New Jersey
Fairview Park Hospital, Dublin, Georgia
Lutheran Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri
McAllen Medical Center, McAllen, Texas
Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Mercy Regional Medical Center, Laredo, Texas
Peninsula Hospital Center , Far Rockaway, New York
Southeastern Regional Medical Center, Lumberton, North Carolina
Southwest General Hospital, San Antonio, Texas
St. Bernard Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
Valley Baptist Medical Center, Harlingen, Texas

The DOL also described the labor and wage conditions that health care facilities must meet in order to participate in the H-1C program. The health care facility must file an attestation with the DOL demonstrating the following requirements as a condition for petitioning the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for H-1C nurses:

The facility’s qualification to employ H-1C nurses;
Payment of a wage which will not adversely affect wages and working conditions of similarly employed registered nurses;
Payment of wages to aliens at rates paid to other registered nurses similarly employed by the facility;
Taking timely and significant steps designed to recruit and retain U.S. nurses in order to reduce dependence on non-immigrant nurses;
Absence of a strike/lockout or lay off of nurses;
Notice to workers of the facility’s intent to petition for H-1C nurses;
Percentages of H-1C nurses to be employed at the facility; and
Placement of H-1C nurses within the facility.

The status of the regulations for a new, streamlined process provided for under subsection 212(r) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

B. Issuance of Certified Statements by CGFNS for registered nurses trained in certain English-speaking countries.

Public Law 106-95 created an alternative, streamlined process of complying with that provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which requires the certification of foreign nurses and other health care workers.

Specifically, Section 4 of that Act provided for a new subsection 212(r) of the INA, which allows certain registered nurses from certain designated countries to avoid the formal certification process established in section 212(a)(5)(C), and instead obtain from CGFNS a certified statement of their qualification under the new law.

In order to be eligible to request this alternative procedure, the alien must demonstrate that he or she:

has a valid and unencumbered license as a registered nurse in a State where the alien intends to be employed and such State verifies that the foreign licenses of alien nurses are authentic and unencumbered;
has passed the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN^® examination);
is a graduate of a nursing program (a) in which the language of instruction was English, (b) located in a country designated by CGFNS within 30 days of the date of enactment of P.L. 106-95, based on CGFNS’s assessment that the quality of nursing education in that country, and the English language proficiency of those who complete English-language-medium programs in that country, justify the country’s designation, and (c) which was in operation before November 12, 1999, or is subsequently designated by CGFNS and any equivalent credentialing organizations approved for the credentialing of nurses under subsection 212(a)(5)(C).

Following its assessment of the quality of nursing education programs and the English language proficiency of those who have completed English-language-medium programs in those countries, CGFNS designated the following countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Section 212(r)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by Section 4 of Public Law 106-95 (Nov. 12, 1999), requires that CGFNS determine whether a state nursing licensing board “verifies that the foreign licenses of alien nurses are authentic and unencumbered.” Based upon its initial review, the Commission determined that the states of Florida, Georgia, Illinois and New York satisfy this requirement. The Commission will review the practices of any other state board, on a case-by-case basis, to determine whether its foreign-license-review procedures satisfy the requirements of new section 212(r)(1).

This review is pursuant to a requirement of the Immigration and Nationality Act only, and offers no comment on any other aspect of the licensing policies or practices of any state board.

CGFNS began issuing certified statements under this program on February 11, 2000. It issues such certified statements to qualified applicants not more than 35 days after receipt of a completed application. This 35-day period applies only to foreign nurses described in Section 4 of Public Law 106-95.

For further information about the “Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999, search this site, or for the text of the bill itself, visit the Government Printing Office Web site at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ095.106.pdf.