The U.S. Department of Labor requires that a foreign nurse has either passed the CGFNS exam OR holds a full and unrestricted license to practice nursing in the state of intended employment. Either the CGFNS or NCLEX and an English language exam must be passed for the I-140 application and subsequent permanent residency application.

CGFNS

The CGFNS exam is administered around the world, three to four times a year. Most of our clients sit for the CGFNS exam in their country, and follow the CGFNS-Consular Process. The CGFNS and NCLEX exams are similar in format and content, which is another reason why most of our nurses sit for the CGFNS, as a practice for the NCLEX exam.

The CGFNS website

NCLEX

The NCLEX exam is administered in the 50 states of the US including DC, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Island, and as of recently, also in London, UK, Hong Kong, and Seol, South Korea. Those of our clients who are already in the US, can sit for the NCLEX exam, and follow the CES-AOS Process. Nurses who are not in the US, but would like to take the NCLEX exam, can now travel to the US, UK, Hong Kong, or South Korea, and then follow the CES-Consular Process or the CES-AOS Process. Read more about NCLEX.

February 6, 2006: Good news from NCLEX: The exam will now be offered in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. Read on to see the new test centers.

[ Read More ]

The NCLEX website

IELTS/TOEFL

An English language proficiency exam is required by CGFNS, as part of their credentials evaluation process. Nurses who were born in the countries of Australia, Barbados, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the US, and UK are exempt from this requirement. Barbados and Jamaica have been recent additions to this list. Nurses have an option to take the IETLS, TOEFL, TSE, or the TWE. All these exams are administered throughout the world, year round.

IELTS website
TOEFL website
TSE website