July 2004  A Statement from CGFNS to Healthcare Professionals and Organizations regarding Section 343 for Health Professionals Entering the U.S. under Trade NAFTA As the July 26, 2004 deadline approaches for full implementation of the certification requirement for foreign healthcare workers under Section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, CGFNS wants to advise interested parties that unless CGFNS receives all the federally mandated documents that meet the program requirements by July 9, 2004 there can be no reasonable expectation that a VisaScreen certificate can be issued to eligible applicants by the deadline established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "All federally mandated documents" include such items as nursing school transcripts and the completed CGFNS Nursing form, license verification form, and English language proficiency test results (unless exempt from the English exam).   Of particular concern are the Canadian nurses, medical technologists (scientists), and medical laboratory technicians who cross the US/Canada border daily to work in U.S. hospitals. To address the specific issues of the Canadian TNs, CGFNS telephoned Canadian applicants to solicit their help in getting their documents mailed to us and sent letters to all Canadian schools with return Fed-Ex envelopes, trying to ensure timely receipt of necessary documentation.   CGFNS will continue to work diligently to ensure that we issue and ship any certificate that is ready for issuance before the close of business on Friday, July 23rd, which is the last day we can ship certificates for delivery by Monday July 26th.     CGFNS Re-opens Exam Center in Cochin, India   Philadelphia, PA - June 22, 2004 - The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) has announced that it is re-opening the exam center to conduct its Qualifying Exam for nurses in Cochin, India, beginning with the November 10, 2004 exam.   CGFNS administers its Qualifying Exam four times each year for nurses educated outside the United States who wish to practice nursing in the U.S. The exams are offered at over 40 locations worldwide in March, July, September and November.   The exam center in Cochin will be open for the November 10, 2004 exam and all exams thereafter. The exam center number for the Cochin location is 851. Applicants wishing to sit for the November 10, 2004 Qualifying Exam in Cochin, India, or any exam thereafter, should designate the exam center 851 on their Certification Program application.   The dates and deadlines for the Qualifying Exam in 2004 are as follows: Exam Date Deadline for NEW Applications Deadline for Re-Applications November 10, 2004 August 11, 2004 September 8, 2004   The Qualifying Exam is designed for first-level, general nurses educated outside the United States, who wish to become licensed in the U.S. Forty states require that foreign-educated nurses pass the CGFNS Qualifying Exam before they will be authorized to sit for the NCLEX-RN examination, (the U.S. national licensure exam for registered nurses).     Pre-Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (Pre-FPGEE)   The Pre-FPGEE is a practice examination to help familiarize you with the FPGEE. The Pre-FPGEE is not intended for use as a study guide. This practice examination will benefit those who are preparing for the FPGEE by exhibiting the types of questions provided on the actual examination as well as providing a score estimate.   Since the full benefit of this experience requires that you complete the Pre-FPGEE on your own, the Pre-FPGEE should not be taken in a group nor with study aids or reference materials on hand.   Each attempt at the Pre-FPGEE is $50. You may take the Pre-FPGEE up to two times, receiving a different form each time. To take another Pre-FPGEE test, you must complete the test you have already paid for and review its score report before paying for another test.     Selective Service Requirements and Immigration   The Military Selective Service Act, available at http://www.sss.gov/, requires that all male U.S. citizens age 18 to 26 must register for Selective Service, thus subjecting themselves to military service in the event that a draft is reinstated.  Under the Act, legal permanent resident males between ages 18 and 26 also must present themselves to a U.S. post office designated for registration within 30 days after entering the U.S. as a legal permanent resident.  For aliens who apply for permanent residence using Consular Processing, consular officers require immigrant visa applicants within the appropriate age range to sign form DS-1810, notifying them of their requirement to register for selective service.  For aliens who adjust to permanent residence, USCIS uses Form I-485 to effect automatic registration for selective service of aliens who are required by law to register.   Nonimmigrant males are specifically exempted from Selective Service Registration so long as they maintain their nonimmigrant status.  However, parolees, refugees, and asylees are required to register.  Non-citizens illegally present in the U.S. are also required to register.   Permanent Residents, who are required to register with Selective Service but fail to do so, subject themselves to a finding that the alien lacks the “good moral character” required for naturalization to U.S. citizenship. USCIS presumes that any failure to register is knowing and willful. If the alien can overcome this presumption, he is still eligible for citizenship. Generally failure to register for Selective Service is no longer a problem in terms of a “good moral character” determination once the alien reaches age 30.   Did you know?   France, Japan and Italy are in the top 12 New Hampshire Export Markets.                - source: Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division   Haywood Wise, Of Counsel to the firm in Paris, France, recently pitched a complete game victory for the Paris Baseball Team against the Pessac Team.  Great job Haywood! For additional information about CGFNS please visit www.cgfns.org or you may contact the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2651 USA; telephone: (215) 349-8767; fax: (215) 349-0026; e-mail: support@cgfns.org.   If you have questions regarding the Pre-FPGEE, please visit www.nabp.net If you have any comments on our newsletter, any topics you would like to see reviewed or if you have news, events or other items of interest that you would like to share - please forward your comments and suggestions to abouley@goffandwilson.com. Copyright 2003 Goff and Wilson Professional Association - www.goffandwilson.com - unsubscribe One Capitol St., PO Box 347, Concord, NH 03302-0347 v: 603.228.1277    f: 603.226.0791    info@goffandwilson.com