Most foreign national medical professionals face additional eligibility demands over and above the general nonimmigrant and green card immigration requirements, including the Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate.
Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate
The Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate, issued by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), is required of the following medical professionals seeking to enter the U.S. to undertake temporary or permanent employment:
- Registered Nurses
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Physician Assistants
- Clinical Laboratory Technicians (Medical Technicians)
- Clinical Laboratory Scientists (Medical Laboratory Technologists)
- Speech Language Pathologists
- Speech Language Audiologists
- Licensed Practical or Vocational Nurses
The CGFNS Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate is granted following review and approval of the following:
- Educational Analysis
- License Validation
- English Language Proficiency Assessment
- Examination of Nursing Knowledge (for registered nurses only)
Click HERE for more information on the required Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate
Physicians |
|
| Temporary Nonimmigrant Options | J-1 Exchange Visitors |
| H-1B Specialty Occupations | |
| O Extraordinary Ability | |
| TN NAFTA for Canadian & Mexican Citizens | |
| E-3 Professional for Australian Citizens | |
| Green Card Options | Physicians are generally eligible for the EB2 Immigrant Visa Category, requiring either PERM Labor Certification or a National Interest Waiver. |
| Considerations | Two Year Foreign Residency Requirements —All medical doctors who complete their residency in the U.S. under the J-1 Program are subject to the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement. Waivers of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement are available in limited circumstances: |
| 1. Hardship to a U.S. citizen or LPR spouse or child. | |
| 2. Persecution if the physician were to return to their home country. | |
| 3. Sponsored by an Interested Government Agency (IGA). | |
| 4. Waiver request by a State Department of Public Health. | |
| State Licensing is required in the state of intended employment if the physicians will provide anything beyond incidental clinical care. | |
Nurses |
|
| Temporary Nonimmigrant Options | H-1B Category |
| Few U.S. nursing positions require a Bachelor’s degree for entry into the profession making the H-1B category unavailable in most instances. However, the USCIS recognizes that certain specialized nursing positions require a Bachelor’s degree and are therefore eligible for the H-1B category. The H-1B nursing applicant must meet the following requirements: | |
| · State licensing requirements | |
| · Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate | |
| TN Category | |
| Registered nurses are eligible for TN nonimmigrant status if they meet the following requirements: | |
| Citizen of Canada or Mexico | |
| Hold the appropriate degree or state/provincial license | |
| Hold Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate | |
| Green Card Options | The U.S. Department of Labor has recognized that there is a shortage of qualified nurses in the U.S. The DOL’s recognition of the shortage allows a U.S. employer to skip the first step in the employment-based green card process (Permanent Labor Certification), allowing the employer to proceed directly to the I-140/Immigrant Visa Application. (For a complete discussion of the employment based green card process, click HERE.) |
| Eligibility for a green card is based on an offer of permanent employment in the nursing profession and requires the foreign national nurse to hold: | |
| · The appropriate diploma in nursing and an unrestricted nursing license from their home country (nurses educated in the U.S. are exempt from the foreign licensing requirement); and | |
| · Either possession of unrestricted license in the state of intended employment in the U.S. or Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate. | |
| Considerations | Health Care/Visa Screen Certificate Required |
| State licensing required – information on state licensing is available at the NCSBN website. |
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