2003 News

CGFNS re-opens exam center in Mexico City, Mexico

PHILADELPHIA, PA — MAY 20, 2003 — The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) is pleased to announce that it is re-opening an exam center to conduct its Qualifying Exam for nurses in Mexico City, Mexico, beginning with the November 12, 2003 exam.

CGFNS administers its Qualifying Exam three times each year for nurses educated outside the United States who wish to practice nursing in the United States. The exams are offered at over 40 locations worldwide in March, July and November. The new exam center will be open for the November 12, 2003 exam and all exams thereafter. The exam center number for the Mexico City location is 927. Applicants wishing to sit for the November 12, 2003 Qualifying Exam in Mexico City, or any exam thereafter, should designate the exam center number 927 on their Certification Program application.

The dates and deadlines for the Qualifying Exam in 2003 and 2004 are as follows:

The Qualifying Exam is designed for first-level, general nurses educated outside the United States, who wish to become licensed in the United States. Forty U.S. states require that foreign-educated nurses pass the CGFNS Qualifying Exam^SM before they will be authorized to sit for the NCLEX-RN? examination, the U.S. national licensure exam for registered nurses.

In addition, United States law provides that nurses seeking to obtain permanent work visas to the United States to work in their profession must obtain a "VisaScreen Certificate" from CGFNS. This certificate attests to: 1) the comparability of the nurse’s education and training to that offered in the United States, (2) ability to speak and write English at an appropriate level, and (3) possession of a currently valid and unencumbered nursing license in the home country.

CGFNS is an immigration-neutral, private not-for-profit organization. It is independent of, and has no relationship with, any recruiting or referring organization. CGFNS was established in 1977 with the encouragement of the U.S. Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Its sole mission is to evaluate the credentials of health care professionals (other than doctors) seeking to work in the United States. All applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the CGFNS Web site, www.cgfns.org, for important notices, announcements and application information.