1998 News
Due to the age of these news items, information (including links) may be outdated. Please use the search feature at the top of the page to find more current information on the subject or to find a current link.
1 OCTOBER 1998
Update of regulations regarding Section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)
On 14 October 1998, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) issued interim regulations on section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) that affect nurses and occupational therapists applying for permanent resident alien status. These regulations, which go into effect on 14 December 1998, address only two health care professions (nurses and occupational therapists). Although the long-awaited regulations make it possible for permanent-visa-applicant nurses and occupational therapists to fulfill the requirements of section 343 of IIRIRA — physical therapists, medical technologists, speech language pathologists, medical technicians, and physician assistants applying for immigrant visas or for adjustment of status to permanent residence will be “held in abeyance” until INS issues final regulations under section 343.
CGFNS interpretation of the interim regulations
The interim regulations set the guidelines for nurses and occupational therapists to obtain a certificate validating that they have fulfilled all regulatory requirements including a review of their education, licensure, experience and English language proficiency. These certificates must then be presented to INS or the State Department when applying for a green card.
Certifications are required only for persons seeking immigrant visas or seeking to adjust status to permanent resident. An immigrant visa or permanent resident status is often referred to as a green card. Persons seeking to qualify for green card status based on their health care occupation require a certification.
Certifications are not required for health care workers entering the United States in a temporary or non-immigrant visa status. Since Trade NAFTA (TN) is a non-immigrant status, no certification is required. The INS will continue to waive the requirements of section 343 for all health care workers in temporary or non-immigrant status. Canadian nurses entering the US in the TN class are exempt from the requirements of section 343 under the interim regulations.
The English proficiency exam requirement has been waived for graduates of nursing and occupational therapy programs in countries in which the primary language is English. These countries include Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Interim Regulations and the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), through its division, the International Commission on Health Care Professions (ICHP), is the credentialing agency named to provide the screening of nurses and issue certificates. INS anticipates that additional occupations will be added when a final rule is promulgated.
Nurses
Certificates will be issued through the ICHP. Applicants must fulfill the following requirements in order to obtain a certification of their credentials: education that is comparable to that of a U.S. educated nurse; authentic, unencumbered and appropriate license, passing scores on the CGFNS nursing predictor/qualifying exam or NCLEX-RN®, and passing scores on English language proficiency examinations (where applicable). Applicants should apply directly to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to take TOEFL, TWE and TSE or the English Language Institute to take the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB).
For the many nurse applicants that have already applied to CGFNS and been approved, certificates will begin to be issued on or about 30 October 1998 in order of approved applications. The VisaScreen® certificates must be presented to INS or the State Department when applying for a green card. Please note that INS will not accept certificates by CGFNS for nurses, and by NBCOT for Occupational Therapists, until 14 December 1998.
For further information, please see the INS rule in the 14 October 1998, edition of the Federal Register on page 55007.
