Becoming a Nurse in the United States

The two main programs that CGFNS offers that are required by the majority of the U.S. Boards of Nursing in order to obtain registration/licensure as a nurse in the United States are the CGFNS Certification Program (CP) and the CGFNS Credentials Evaluation Service (CES). A third program is geared specifically towards New York State and is called the CGFNS Credential Verification Service (CVS) for New York State.

Initial and endorsement licensure requirements differ from state to state and do change over time. Therefore, we suggest that you contact the Board of Nursing in the state where you wish to practice to verify its licensure requirements.

It is also necessary to obtain a visa (temporary or permanent) in order to legally work in the United States. Detailed information regarding visa applications and policies should be obtained from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). You may check their web site at http://uscis.gov/.

The USCIS requires the VisaScreen^® certificate from CGFNS/ICHP for registered and practical nurses, physical therapists, speech language pathologists and audiologists, medical technologists, medical technicians, occupational therapists, and physician assistants seeking an occupational visa in order to work in the United States.