Difficulties in Implementing Certification Requirement for Health Care Workers
Posted Aug 3, 1999

As we have discussed in previous issues of the Law Office of Sheela Murthy Bulletin, Section 343 of the Immigration and Nationality Act augments the certification requirements for persons who seek to immigrate as healthcare workers, such as nurses and physical therapists. Under Section 343, even those who have already met the equivalency requirements for state licensure must obtain an additional certification to show that their degrees and training are equivalent to U.S. degrees. (The requirement does not relate to those who just happen to be healthcare workers, but are immigrating on some other basis, for example as close relatives of U.S. citizens.) We have mentioned before that the new certificates must be submitted to INS in order to complete the adjustment of status (I-485) process, but that INS does not necessarily provide enough time for the applicant to obtain the certification.

This timing issue has been raised repeatedly in AILA-INS liaison meetings, and continues to be a matter of concern. In the latest such meeting, AILA representatives indicated that often the applicant finds it impossible to take required examinations for certification within the short time frame (90 days) that INS provides for applicants to respond to requests for additional evidence. Noting that 90 days may not be enough to complete the tests, INS now says that applicants can indicate that they are scheduled for the tests within the 90 days, and that will meet the deadline.

We are still left wondering what options are open to an applicant who is exempt from testing requirements. Those who have obtained their degrees in certain English-speaking countries are exempt from the language test, while applicants who have already taken the national licensing exam are not required to take it again. These persons cannot tell INS that they are scheduled for tests, but can only report to the agency on their efforts to obtain the certificate. Unfortunately, the processing time for issuance of the certificates is out of the applicants control. The school(s) where they studied must send confirmation of the degrees directly to the certifying agency, and the states where they are licensed must provide confirmation of licensure, before the certificates can be issued. And of course we must also contend with the processing time at the certifying agency itself. This rule is indeed confusing for those, for example, who have completed their Nursing Degree in the U.S. and now are required to submit a certificate stating that their education is equivalent to a U.S. degree, when in fact, it is a U.S. degree!

As always, we will post any updates at our site at www.murthy.com.