On May 15, 1998, the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) filed a lawsuit against the INS and the Department of State in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. In its suit, CGFNS alleges that the INS and State Department's refusal to accept CGFNS certifications of the qualifications of foreign health care workers is evidence of a violation of Section 343 of IIRIRA. This stems from INS' failure to provide regulations to implement Section 343.

Section 343 of IIRIRA requires that foreign health care workers satisfy a screening program prior to receiving an occupational visa. CGFNS asserts that its screening program, VisaScreen(tm), satisfies the screening requirements of Section 343.

Another result of INS' failure to issue regulations for foreign health care workers is that non-immigrant health care workers enter the U.S. for renewable six-month periods, but health care workers seeking adjustment of status are in limbo.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has published model pleadings for both an individual mandamus action and a class-action mandamus challenging the INS' failure to provide regulations on this issue. Attorney readers and others interested in receiving more information on this document can contact me by e-mail at gsiskind@visalaw.com.