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To be admissible to the U.S. as a permanent resident, the foreign-trained
nurse needs a certificate of competency. To obtain the certificate of competency,
the nurse must pass both the Commission of Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools
(CGFNS) Qualifying Exam and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam.
The CGFNS exam is given three times a year at more than 40 exam centers throughout
the world. Alternatively, the nurse must have a full and unrestricted license to
practice professional nursing in the state of intended employment, which entails
the nurse passing the NCLEX examination (National Council Licensure Examination)
and attaining licensure as a registered nurse. The NCLEX is offered only in the
U.S. The majority of states, however, require foreign-trained nurses to first take
the CGFNS Qualifying Exam.
The nurse also must have a job offer from a U.S. employer. The employer acts as
a sponsor for the immigrating nurse and files a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for
Alien Worker on the nurse’s behalf. Professional nursing is a pre-certified
shortage occupation so the petition would be filed under a process that skips the
usual requirement to acquire a certification from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Once the nurse is in the U.S., he or she files an application to take the NCLEX
examination (National Council Licensure Examination) for permanent licensure. The
nurse must take the NCLEX within 30 days of registering for the exam.
TOEFL/ETS Services
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151
Phone: (609) 771-7100
Fax: (609) 771-7500
Email: toefl@ets.org
www.toefl.org
Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools
3600 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: (215) 222-8454 or (215) 349-8767
Fax: (215) 662-0425
Email: info@cgnfs.org
www.cgnfs.org
National Council of State Boards of Nursing
676 N. St. Clair Street
Suite 550
Chicago, Illinois, 60611-2921
Phone: (312) 787-6555
www.ncsbn.org
Exam Dates for the Qualifying Exam
Application deadlines listed below cannot be extended. The dates and deadlines are
as follows:
|
Examination Date |
Application Deadline |
|
March 13, 2002 |
December 12, 2001 |
|
July 10, 2002 |
April 10, 2002 |
|
November 13, 2002 |
August 14, 2002 |
Exam Centers . . .
|
Center No. |
Exam Locations |
|
|
|
|
-
|
Australia
|
|
908
|
Perth
|
|
909
|
Sydney
|
|
|
|
|
802
|
Barbados, Bridgetown
|
|
|
|
|
841
|
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro |
|
|
|
|
-
|
Canada
|
|
910 |
Montreal |
|
915 |
Toronto |
|
920 |
Vancouver |
|
|
|
|
918 |
Egypt, Cairo |
|
|
|
|
805 |
France, Paris |
|
|
|
|
807 |
Germany, Frankfurt |
|
|
|
|
926 |
Ghana, Accra |
|
|
|
|
810 |
Hong Kong |
|
|
|
|
912 |
Indonesia, Jakarta |
|
|
|
|
812 |
Ireland, Dublin |
|
|
|
|
813
|
Israel, Tel Aviv
|
|
|
|
|
815 |
Jamaica, Kingston |
|
|
|
|
816 |
Japan, Tokyo |
|
|
|
|
919 |
Jordan, Amman |
|
|
|
|
836 |
Kenya, Nairobi |
|
|
|
|
817
|
Korea, Seoul
|
|
|
|
|
902 |
New Zealand, Wellington |
|
|
|
|
822 |
Pakistan, Karachi |
|
|
|
|
843 |
Peru, Lima |
|
|
|
|
-
|
Philippines
|
|
823
|
Manila
|
|
907
|
Cebu City
|
|
911 |
Cagayan de Oro City |
|
|
|
|
904 |
South Africa, Johannesburg |
|
|
|
|
837 |
Sri Lanka, Colombo |
|
|
|
|
860
|
Sweden, Goteborg
|
|
|
|
|
826 |
Switzerland, Geneva |
|
|
|
|
827 |
Taiwan, Taipei |
|
|
|
|
828 |
Thailand, Bangkok |
|
|
|
|
831
|
United Kingdom, London |
|
|
|
|
-
|
United States of America
|
|
560 |
Agana, Guam |
|
570 |
Atlanta, Georgia |
|
501 |
Chicago, Illinois |
|
580 |
Detroit, Michigan |
|
550 |
Honolulu, Hawaii |
|
510 |
Houston, Texas |
|
520 |
Los Angeles, California |
|
530 |
Miami, Florida |
|
540 |
New York, New York |
Obtaining a CGFNS Certificate
All applicants are reminded that in order to obtain a CGFNS Certificate, they must
pass both the CGFNS Qualifying Exam and the Test of English as a Foreign Language
(TOEFL), administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). For information
and/or registration for the TOEFL exam, contact ETS at: Test of English as a Foreign
Language, Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151,
USA; Telephone (609) 771-7100.
CANADIAN NURSES
Canadian citizens who are licensed registered nurses in a province or state or who
have an interim permit to practice in the state of intended employment can enter
the U.S. on a TN visa under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Under
NAFTA, Canadian nurses must only take and pass the NCLEX-RN examination (National
Council Licensure Examination) and must have been instructed in English during their
schooling. Canadian nurses do not need a certificate from CGNFS as long as they
work temporarily in the U.S. as a non-immigrant on a TN visa. Canadian nurses who
would like to permanently immigrate to the U.S. must go through the same process
as foreign-trained nurses. However, they are exempt from TOEFL if their professional
schooling was in English.
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