December 2005 Employment Visa Availability During FY-2006   The backlog reduction efforts of both Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Labor continue to result in very heavy demand for Employment-based numbers.  It is anticipated that the amount of such cases will be sufficient to use all available numbers in many categories.  As a result cut-off dates in the Employment Third preference category will apply to the China, India and Philippines chargeabilities and Mexico as of December.  In addition, heavy demand requires the establishment of a Third preference cut-off date on a worldwide basis in December.    The amount of Employment demand for applicants from China and India has resulted in the oversubscription of the Employment First and Second preference categories for those chargeability areas.  The establishment of such cut-off dates has occurred in December.   The level of demand in the Employment categories is expected to be far in excess of the annual limits, and once established, cut-off date movements are likely to be slow.  It is not possible to predict the rate of movement in future months.     CGFNS Will Process English Scores from TOEFL iBT for its Certification and VisaScreen Programs   Philadelphia, PA: The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) announced, that it has begun to accept TOEFL iBT English scores on behalf of those applicants who are taking the new internet Based Testing English exam. CGFNS will continue to accept the previous TOEFL,TWE and TSE scores if they are less than 2 years old.   CGFNS and its division, the International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP), will begin using the TOEFL iBT minimum passing scores that were first proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) based on score information from Educational Testing Service (ETS), the administrator of TOEFL iBT.   As of November 21, 2005, the following Total and Speaking section scores will be utilized as acceptable minimum passing scores for TOEFL iBT: Registered Nurses, Clinical Laboratory Scientists, (Medical Technologists) Speech Language Pathologists, Audiologists and Physician Assistants: Total 83 and Speaking 26 Clinical Laboratory Technicians, (Medical Technicians) and Practical/Vocational Nurses, (LPN/LVN): Total 79 and Speaking 26 Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists: Total 89 and Speaking 26 These scores are subject to change when a final decision or announcement is published by the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding the approval of minimum passing TOEFL iBT scores for the designated healthcare professions.   For Registered Nurses active in the CGFNS Certification Program, (CP) only a passing Total score is required.   TOEFL iBT scores already received by the CGFNS/ICHP are being matched to applicants.   About TOEFL iBT: Educational Testing Service (ETS) has developed this new internet based version of the TOEFL, (TOEFL iBT) which will measure all four skills of communication: reading, writing, listening, and for the first time speaking. A new scoring scale has been established that will contain one total score on a scale of 0-120 and four skill scores each on a scale of 0-30.     USCIS International Offices   USCIS operates the largest immigration service in the world, with offices in 28 foreign cities.  These offices are separated into three districts headquartered in Rome, Bangkok and Mexico City.  Each International District Office is headed by a District Director, and covers a specified service area that includes several countries.   International District Offices accept certain applications and petitions for U.S. immigration benefits, and provide information and forms to the public. These offices and their Sub Offices work closely with the U.S. Department of State in various aspects of the visa-issuing process, maintain close liaison with agencies of the countries within their jurisdictions, and provide assistance to domestic USCIS offices relating to foreign law and foreign documentation.  International District Offices also play significant adjudicative, logistical, and managerial roles in the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.     New USCIS Refugee Officer Corps   The establishment of the Refugee Corps as part of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is becoming a reality with the selection of over thirty refugee officers and a new director of the Office of Refugee Affairs.   The USCIS Refugee Corps is a new initiative that will create a cadre of officers dedicated to the adjudication of refugee applications at overseas locations. Refugee Corps officers will be based in Washington, DC, but will travel overseas for 50 percent of the year.  Building on a tradition of balancing humanitarian commitments and national security concerns, the Refugee Corps will expand USCIS’s capacity and flexibility to meet ever-changing global developments.   Establishment of the Refugee Corps requires a transformation and realignment of responsibilities within the Office of Refugee Affairs as well as overseas.  Programs and Operations functions are being expanded to support the Corps and to increase the focus on training, fraud prevention, and quality assurance.   Our address has changed, but our focus remains the same!   Goff and Wilson has moved to a new location at Two Capital Plaza, Suite 403 in Concord, NH.    Please visit our web site for directions to our new office, and in case you have any questions, please call us at 603/ 228-1277. We hope to see you soon! For a list of where the TOEFL iBT is being administered, visit the learners and test takers section of the TOEFL website at www.ets.org/toefl.   For directions to our new office please visit us at http://www.goffwilson.com/contactus/usa.asp 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