All internationally educated health care providers, including physical therapists, applying for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa seeking admission to the United States must provide a certificate issued by credentialing organizations approved by the U.S. Attorney General through the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
The new interim rule eliminates a temporary waiver previously available for non-immigrants (non-citizen legal residents).
The rule will result in the imposition of a requirement for internationally educated physical therapists applying for visas to enter the United States to practice physical therapy to obtain documentation of their professional credentials and qualifications from approved private credentialing agencies and provide that documentation to a consular office in order to qualify for visa issuance.
Discretion will be used with the possibility of the requirement being waived when there is a possibility of a conflict with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
To become a licensed physical therapists, you must meet the requirements of the state or jurisdiction in which you are seeking licensure.
You need to sit for a licensure examination. Upon successful completion of the exam and fulfillment of other board requirements (eg, TOEFL, TSE, TWE), a license will be awarded allowing the applicant to practice in that jurisdiction only.
