MELAB Tests No Longer an Option for Health Care Professionals
Posted Dec 13, 2002

As regular readers of the MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom may recall from our October 11, 2002 article, Nursing as a Route to Green Card, a person seeking to enter the U.S. as an immigrant nurse must be able to demonstrate the ability to speak, read, and write English at a level ensuring adequate patient care. Available on our WebSite, that article indicates that a person attempting to meet the English requirements could take the TOEFL, TWE, and TSE, or the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB). However, the MELAB program recently announced that it has officially requested that the MELAB no longer be recognized for the purpose of certifying health care workers. 

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. contacted the English Language Institute (ELI) to determine the reason for the new policy. ELI is the organization that runs the MELAB program. ELI said that they do not have the resources, including seating, to accommodate the thousands of health care professionals who seek to take the MELAB exams. 

ELI has stated that they are no longer willing to send MELAB test scores to agencies involved with visa screening for nurses and other health care professionals. Further, health care workers who registered with the MELAB program but have not scheduled a MELAB test date should contact ELI by eMail or U.S. Post (mail) to request a full refund of test fees. Fortunately, health care professionals who have already taken the MELAB exam or who scheduled a test date prior to November 27, 2002, are not affected by this policy change.

For the immediate future, nurses seeking immigration benefits must take the TOEFL, TWE, and TSE. While there are proposed regulations that provide other testing options, there is no timeline to indicate when those regulations may be implemented. The MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom will keep readers informed of frequent changes in this area of immigration law. We recognize the benefits to the U.S. in locating ways to bring vital health care professionals to our hospitals and health care facilities, helping to fulfill a critical shortage of qualified nurses in the United States.