Website Q & A - February 7, 2007As an RN from Canada, Can I Work Here Since I Have a Sponsoring Employer?Dear Mr. Lee, I am a registered nurse from Canada and came here three months ago with my Canadian passport and a found a nursing home that is willing to sponsor me under the TN NAFTA visa as a registered nurse. I got my nursing education from China. Can I accept the offer from the nursing home? Dear reader: You should be aware that all registered nurses wishing to apply for TN status now need the Visa Screen certification which is administered by CGFNS (Commission for Graduate Foreign Nursing Schools). This requirement has been in effect since July 26, 2004. The Visa Screen certification requires proof of the nurse's education and foreign license, an English proficiency test and passage of either a CGFNS qualifying examination or NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination). The English proficiency requirement is waived for a foreign registered nurse who has obtained a nursing education in English from Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S.. A Visa Screen certificate is valid for five years. In your case, you would have to take the English proficiency test as your nursing education was in China. In addition, although U.S. state licensure reciprocity allows Canadian nurses to obtain U.S. licenses and generally avoid NCLEX-RN, the Visa Screen certificate requirement requires the Canadian nurses to pass either NCLEX-RN or a CGFNS qualifying examination anyway.
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