Before the Registered Nurse (RN) may be employed in the US, it is necessary to complete several steps as presented below:
Step 1. The RN must have a diploma in nursing and an unrestricted and unencumbered nursing license from
the nurse's home country.
Step 2. The RN must take an English language exam demonstrating their proficiency in English.
The tests that are acceptable are: TOEFL iBT, IELTS and TOEIC.
Step 3. Obtain a CGFNS Certificate.
The CGFNS Certification Program Certificate is required of internationally-educated registered nurses by a majority of
U.S. states in order to take the NCLEX-RN® licensure examination.
The CGFNS International Certification Program is a three-part program designed to predict an applicant's likelihood of
passing the NCLEX-RN® examination and becoming licensed as a registered nurse in the United States. The three parts of the
program include a credentials review, a Qualifying Exam of nursing knowledge and an English language proficiency examination.
Applicants must successfully complete all three parts of the Certification Program in order to earn the CGFNS Certificate.
Step 4. Obtain a VisaScreen Certficate.
The VisaScreen Certificate is issued by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS). VisaScreen
includes an educational review, licensure review, English language skills assessment and passage of one of two approved examinations
for registered nurses (CGFNS International Qualifying Exam or NCLEX-RN).
The VisaScreen Certificate is different from the CGFNS Certificate, although most of the requirements of the VisaScreen
Certificate are satisfied by the CGFNS Certificate.
Step 5. The VisaScreen Certificate can now be presented to a consular officer as part of immigrant
visa petition (Form I-140). Typically, the visa petition will be approved in two to three months.
