Abuse: Some J-1 Waiver IMGs Underpaid, Overworked

As if the 2-year home country requirement, the trouble for looking for waiver jobs and then needing to stick around for 3 years was not enough, additionally at some places there have been reports of employers taking advantage of these physicians - overworking them, underpaying them and keeping them beyond the three year limit by threatening visa termination and deportation.

And the saddest part is that many of employers implicated have been now-settled immigrant doctors themselves, who own clinics in underserved areas.

Note that as per rules, a J-1 doctor’s salary must be set at the prevailing wage at an amount determined by the Federal government based on how much a similar American physician would earn.

Las Vegas Sun recently conducted a cool investigation in Nevada interviewing about 25 doctors, most of them who had already completed their J-1 waiver requirements. They then reported on how J1-waiver physicians were abused into 'indentured servitude' - prompting a state query into the matter.


So, How does the abuse work ?

I have already written about the J-1 waiver job system and that a J1-visa IMG must find a employer in an underserved area for 40-hours-week rural service jobs. Some Employers take advantage by siphoning off their J-1 docs to hospitals in the area instead - which pay a bigger paycheck allowing the employer to earn a larger amount through the J-1 waiver doc while continuing to pay the same low salary to the hired doc. They are really not supposed to make the J-1 doc work elsewhere other than the clinic for which he or she is hired for.

Result ? More work, More stress - but the same salary as a clinic doc. And since the Employer is the visa-sponsor - not the state or Federal government, the employer pretty much has the J1-doc by the neck on visa & deportation issues!
Unfortunately most IMG J1-waiver physicians have been reluctant to speak openly about it - understandable since they visas are at the mercy of their employers. The same reason why Dr. Shaji Matthews came forward about the issues in public - since he already had his Green Card by then.

As this story says, Dr. Matthews :

"was hired by a Las Vegas doctor who financially cheated him and then threatened to have him and his family deported if he refused to extend his employment contract and guarantee a loan to finance the clinic where he worked."
Recently, another Employer was punished in Washington state recently for a similar problem - Read here


Oh well well...another reason to rather try for the H1b visa - and this abuse is perhaps something IMGs could bring up while negotiating for H1b visas with residency program directors

Read More Stories about the investigation here and here


Notes:
1. Please Do Not Construe this to apply to all J1 waiver programs, its a great program allowing physicians to contribute to primary care in required areas in return for the opportunity to stay in the United States
2. If you are /were abused during your J1-waiver jobs , contact the story investigator from Las Vegas Sun - Marshall Allen - at 259-2330 or at marshall.allen@lasvegassun.com

UPDATE:

As of July 2009, Nevada government passed a new law that tightens J1-waiver positions scrutiny to make sure there are no such abuses anymore. Read Story here

Also See:

- Dr. Shaji Matthews Testifies [PIC]


Other Scam Stories:

- FMGAmerica - Frauding IMGs ?
- When Baylor Physicians dumped ethics for $400,000



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