U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved International Education Evaluations, LLC, as a new credentialing organization for healthcare workers for certain immigration purposes.
USCIS explained that “an individual who seeks admission to the United States as a nonimmigrant or immigrant, or who is the beneficiary of a change of status request, or who is applying for adjustment of status, in the United States for the purpose of performing labor in certain healthcare occupations is inadmissible unless he or she presents a certificate from an authorized credentialing organization.” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations authorize the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, and the Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy to issue such certificates. DHS regulations also “establish detailed standards for the approval of additional credentialing organizations after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and USCIS has created an adjudicatory framework for the filing and adjudication of those applications using Form I-905, Application for Authorization to Issue Certification for Health Care Workers,” USCIS said.