April 2005  USCIS Reminds Applicants For Adjustment Of Status To Obtain Advance Parole Before Holiday And Summer Travel Abroad   Washington, DC U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) reminds individuals with an application for adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent resident, an application for relief under the NACARA 203, or a pending asylum application, that they must obtain Advance Parole by filing Form I-131 Application for Travel Document with the USCIS before traveling abroad.  Advance Parole is permission to re-enter the United States after traveling abroad in order to continue processing for adjustment of status.  Such individuals must be approved for Advance Parole before leaving the United States.  Travel outside of the United States without advance parole may have severe consequences for certain individuals who are in the process of adjusting their status.  Such individuals may be unable to return to the United States, their applications may be denied, or both.   “With this travel reminder, we wish to encourage our USCIS customers to be aware of the immigration travel requirements before making holiday or summer travel plans to their home country,” said Eduardo Aguirre, Director of USCIS.   Because processing time for Form I-131 varies from 60 to 150 days, applicants planning to travel abroad should plan ahead due to the busy summer travel season.   Note:   Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, aliens who depart the United States after being unlawfully present in the United States for extended periods of time can be barred from admission to lawful permanent resident status, even if they have obtained Advance Parole prior to departure.  Those aliens who have been unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days but less than one year are inadmissible for three years; those aliens who have been unlawfully present for a year or more are inadmissible for 10 years.  Aliens who are unlawfully present, depart the U.S., and subsequently reenter under a grant of parole, may nevertheless be ineligible to adjust their status.   Please contact our office at 603-228-1277 for information about applying for Advance Parole!     Credentials Certification Deadline Approaching for Trade NAFTA Healthcare Professionals Working in U.S. CGFNS issues reminder of July 26 deadline extension for qualified workers   Philadelphia, PA, March 29, 2005 The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) has issued a reminder to selected Canadian and Mexican healthcare professionals working in the United States about a credentials certification deadline that is fast approaching. The deadline of July 26, 2005 affects registered nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and medical technologists who are working under Trade NAFTA status, and who were employed and licensed in the U.S. prior to September 23, 2003.   The credentials certification includes an educational analysis, licensure validation, English language proficiency assessment (not required if educated in Canada, outside of Quebec), and in the case of nurses, a passing score on an approved exam of nursing knowledge. The VisaScreen program is a credentials certification program administered by the International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP), a division of CGFNS. CGFNS is the only federally approved credentialing organization for all four professions listed above.   According to Barbara L. Nichols, CGFNS Chief Executive Officer, the need for certification of Canadian and Mexican healthcare worker credentials arises from Section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which became effective September 23, 2003. "The rule required that certain Canadian health professionals entering the U.S. to work under Trade NAFTA, or applying for a temporary or permanent occupational visa, must have their credentials certified. In July 2004, the Department of Homeland Security extended the deadline to July 26, 2005, but only for professionals who were already employed and licensed in the U.S. prior to September 23, 2003," Nichols notes.   Nichols says, "We strongly urge all healthcare workers whose credentials need to be certified under Section 343 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) to quickly initiate and follow up on the process, since arranging for transmission of the required documentation from the educational or licensing institution may take several months. CGFNS will work to expedite its review of this category of applications, but can only do so once all required foreign documentation is received."     News from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy    According to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy web site the June 25, 2005 FPGEE will be offered in Northlake (Chicago), IL; New York City; and San Mateo, CA. Additional candidates for the New York City site are no longer being accepted.   Registration Letters for the June 25, 2005 examination were mailed Friday, March 11, 2005, to those who have been accepted to sit for the exam.   When you receive your Registration Letter, please be sure to follow the instructions carefully. You need to visit the NABP web site, under ‘Special Items’ please select ‘Register for the FPGEE June Exam’. Here you can enter in your EE Number and your Registration Number, as provided in the Registration Letter.   Admission tickets for those registered to take the June 2005 exam are presently being mailed.   Please be reminded, that both English exams (TOEFL and TSE) must be completed within two (2) years before or after taking the FPGEE exam in order to receive the FPGEC Certificate.     Step 2 CS Scheduling Restrictions Lifted for Test Dates Through June 2005   March 18, 2005 As previously published, scheduling restrictions are in effect for Step 2 CS test dates in 2005. These restrictions allocate a specific number of testing spaces in each test session to students/graduates of international medical schools (IMGs) and U.S./Canadian medical schools (USMGs). Scheduling patterns and demand are monitored and adjustments made, as needed, to the allotment of testing spaces to IMGs and USMGs.   Due to changing demand for testing spaces, these scheduling restrictions have been lifted for test dates through June 2005. This means that, effective March 18, Step 2 CS testing spaces for dates before July 1, 2005 are available to all applicants registered for Step 2 CS (IMGs and USMGs) on a first-come, first-served basis.   Scheduling restrictions for test dates in July through December remain in effect. For complete information, refer to Scheduling Restrictions for 2005 Test Dates.   Demand for Step 2 CS testing spaces in 2005 is expected to be heavy at all Clinical Skills Evaluation Centers. If you plan to take Step 2 CS in 2005, you are strongly encouraged to register and schedule your testing appointment as soon as possible.   Introducing our Staff   Steve Marchand is our Director of Client Services.  He comes to us after several years of statewide and regional experience in the public policy, political, and public affairs advocacy arenas.  Steve’s experience includes working with a number of gubernatorial, state and local political candidates, as well as consulting in New Hampshire for national-level advocacy groups.  He has also participated in numerous program evaluations of municipal and county governments around the country.   He joined Goff and Wilson in 2004. He assists the Attorneys in regularly contacting current and potential clients to review customer satisfaction, identifying potential new markets, and facilitating periodic self-evaluation within the firm.  He also aids in building relationships between citizens and organizations with immigration law needs and the firm.   Steve is a graduate of Syracuse University, with undergraduate degrees in Public Relations and International Relations, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Syracuse’s Maxwell School.  He is also an elected official, serving as a City Councilor in Portsmouth, NH since 2004.  He resides in Portsmouth with his wife, Sandi Hennequin, daughter Abigail, and soon-to-be-born second child, due in June. Welcome, Steve! Please see the following link to the NABP's web site: http://www.nabp.net/   For more information about Step 2 CS, please visit: http://www.ecfmg.org/  If you have any comments on our newsletter, any topics you would like to see reviewed or if you have news, events or other items of interest that you would like to share - please forward your comments and suggestions to abouley@goffandwilson.com. Copyright 2004 Goff and Wilson Professional Association - www.goffandwilson.com - unsubscribe One Capitol St., PO Box 347, Concord, NH 03302-0347 v: 603.228.1277    f: 603.226.0791    info@goffandwilson.com