|  NURSES
CAN AGAIN FILE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS WITHOUT VISA SCREEN CERTIFICATE
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
Good news for nurses!
Following numerous complaints from immigration lawyers
and health care workers, the United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) “clarified” its new policy, by stating
that it would once again allow nurses to file
for adjustment of status without including the visa screen (CGFNS)
certificate. The Service Centers would instead give the health
care workers a chance to provide the CGFNS certificate while their
adjustment of status application is being processed. What this
means is that the Service Centers are returning to their old policy
of allowing nurses in the U.S. to file for adjustment of status
(and obtain work authorization) without including the Visa Screen
(or CGFNS) certificate, as long as the nurse submits the certificate
by the time of her adjustment interview.
By way of background, on September 22, 2003, the
USCIS issued a memo that changed the old policy, and required
nurses and certain other health care workers to present a certificate
from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS)
or other equivalent credentialing organizations, at the time of
filing of their adjustment
of status application.
The old policy allowed nurses to file for adjustment
without including the CGFNS
certificate, as long as the nurse submitted that certificate by
the time of the adjustment of status interview (which might be
a year or more after filing). In the meantime, the nurse could
obtain work authorization, while waiting for the interview.
However, after that September 22, 2003 memo, there
were lots of complaints, as nurses were prevented from filing
for adjustment until they obtained the CGFNS certificate. So,
USCIS “clarified” its position, stating that its old
practice of allowing nurses to file for adjustment of status without
the Visa Screen will continue.
Nurses and physical therapists are still one of
the best ways to get a green card, as they are “pre-approved”
or pre-certified for the job (meaning exempt from obtaining labor
certification from the Department of Labor, which adds several
additional years to the processing time for a green card).
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