[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 8, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 8CFR212.15]

[Page 259-261]
 
                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
 
CHAPTER I--IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
PART 212--DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS: NONIMMIGRANTS; WAIVERS; ADMISSION OF CERTAIN INADMISSIBLE ALIENS; PAROLE--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 212.15  Certificates for foreign health care workers.

    (a) Inadmissible aliens. With the exception of the aliens described 
in paragraph (b) of this section, any alien coming to the United States 
for the primary purpose of performing labor in a health care occupation 
listed in paragraph (c) of this section is inadmissible to the United 
States unless the alien presents a certificate as described in paragraph 
(f) of this section.
    (b) Inapplicability of the ground of inadmissibility. The following 
aliens are not subject to this ground of inadmissibility:
    (1) Aliens seeking admission to the United States to perform 
services in a non-clinical health care occupation. A non-clinical 
health-care occupation is one where the alien is not required to perform 
direct or indirect patient care. Occupations which are considered to be 
non-clinical include, but are not limited to, medical teachers, medical 
researchers, managers of health care facilities, and medical consultants 
to the insurance industry;
    (2) The spouse and dependent children of any immigrant alien who is 
seeking to immigrate in order to accompany or follow to join the 
principal alien; and
    (3) Any alien applying for adjustment of status to that of a 
permanent resident under any provision of law other than an alien who is 
seeking to immigrate on the basis of an employment-based immigrant visa 
petition which was filed for the purpose of obtaining the alien's 
services in a health care occupation described in paragraph (c) of this 
section.
    (c) Occupations affected by this provision. With the exception of 
the aliens described in paragraph (b) of this section, any alien seeking 
admission to the United States as an immigrant or any alien applying for 
adjustment of status to a permanent resident to perform labor in one of 
the following health care occupations, regardless of where he or she 
received his or her education or training, is subject to this provision:
    (1) Licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and 
registered nurses.
    (2) Occupational therapists.
    (3) Physical therapists.
    (d) Presentation of the certificate. An alien described in paragraph 
(a) of this section who is applying for admission as an immigrant 
seeking to perform labor in a health care occupation as described in 
this section must present a certificate to a consular officer at the 
time of visa issuance and to the Service at the time of admission or 
adjustment of status. The certificate must be valid at the time of visa 
issuance and

[[Page 260]]

admission at a port-of-entry, or, if applicable, at the time of 
adjustment of status.
    (e) Organizations approved by the Service to issue certificates for 
health care workers. (1) The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing 
Schools is authorized to issue certificates under section 343 for the 
occupations of nurse, physical therapist, and occupational therapist.
    (2) The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy is 
authorized by the Service to issue certificates under section 343 for 
the occupation of occupational therapist.
    (3) The Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy is 
authorized by the Service to issue certificates under section 343 for 
the occupation of physical therapist.
    (f) Contents of the certificate. A certificate must contain the 
following information:
    (1) The name and address of the certifying organization;
    (2) A point of contact where the organization may be contacted in 
order to verify the validity of the certificate;
    (3) The date of the certificate was issued;
    (4) The occupation for which the certificate was issued;
    (5) The alien's name, and date and place of birth;
    (6) Verification that the alien's education, training, license, and 
experience are comparable with that required for an American health care 
worker of the same type;
    (7) Verification that the alien's education, training, license, and 
experience are authentic and, in the case of a license, unencumbered;
    (8) Verification that the alien's education, training, license, and 
experience meet all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for 
admission into the United States as an immigrant under section 203(b) of 
the Act. This verification is not binding on the Service; and
    (9) Verification either that the alien has passed a test predicting 
success on the occupation's licensing or certification examination, 
provided such a test is recognized by a majority of States licensing the 
occupation for which the certificate is issued, or that the alien has 
passed the occupation's licensing or certification examination.
    (g) English testing requirement. (1) With the exception of those 
aliens described in paragraph (g)(2) of this section, every alien must 
meet certain English language requirements in order to obtain a 
certificate. The Secretary of Health and Human Services has determined 
that an alien must have a passing score on one of the two tests listed 
in paragraph (g)(3) of this section before he or she can be granted a 
certificate.
    (2) Aliens exempt from the English language requirement. Aliens who 
have graduated from a college, university, or professional training 
school located in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New 
Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States are exempt from the 
English language requirement.
    (3) Approved testing services. (i) Michigan English Language 
Assessment Battery (MELAB).
    (ii) Test of English as a Foreign Language, Educational Testing 
Service (ETS).
    (4) Passing scores for various occupations--(i) Occupational and 
physical therapists. An alien seeking to perform labor in the United 
States as an occupational therapist or physical therapist must obtain 
the following scores on the English tests administered by ETS: Test Of 
English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Paper-Based 560, Computer-Based 
220; Test of Written English (TWE): 4.5; Test of Spoken English (TSE): 
50. Certifying organizations shall not accept the results of the MELAB 
for the occupation of occupational therapist or physical therapist. 
Aliens seeking to obtain a certificate to work as an occupational or 
physical therapist must take the test offered by the ETS. The MELAB 
scores are not acceptable for these occupations.
    (ii) Registered nurses. An alien coming to the United States to 
perform labor as a registered nurse must obtain the following scores to 
obtain a certificate: ETS: TOEFL: Paper-Based 540, Computer-Based 207; 
TWE: 4.0; TSE: 50; MELAB: Final Score 79; Oral Interview: 3+.

[[Page 261]]

    (iii) Licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses. An 
alien coming to the United States to perform labor as a licensed 
practical nurse or licensed vocational nurse must have the following 
scores to be issued a certificate: ETS: TOEFL: Paper-Based 530, 
Computer-Based 197; TWE: 4.0; TSE: 50; MELAB: Final Score 77; Oral 
Interview: 3+.

[63 FR 55011, Oct. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 23177, Apr. 30, 1999]