Bill Proposes 5-Year J1-waiver job term for IMGs
And that's probably gonna make J1 visas even less attractive to IMGs seeking residencies / fellowships in the USA...
On March 10th 2008, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California introduced the following bill that seeks:
"To extend for 5 years the program relating to waiver of the foreign country residence requirement with respect to international medical graduates"
Source: Bill Number:H.R.5571.IH on Thomas.gov
While the Details of the bill on Thomas.gov are not entirely published as of yet, and I shall update that here when it happens - or you can keep track here. Of course, this is just a proposal and the way govt. activities happen, this will be a slow process. Lets see how the dice rolls for IMGs :-)
The bill obviously is a result of project shortage of primary care physicians in the United States and the fact that a previous report indicated a decline in the use of J1 visas by IMGs in favor of H1b visas
On another parallel development, Senator Conrad - the father of the Conrad-30 J1-waiver program for IMGs, proposes a Bill to increase in J-1 waiver state quotas under the Conrad program by 5 per state each time the state reaches 90% of its capacity of J1-waiver physicians. In my opinion, if the 5-year tenure is approved, this Conrad adjustment bill should go hand in hand to reduce J-1 waiver jobs scarcity that a 5-year term might cause, like I discussed before while talking about the rumor on 5-year J1-waiver terms.
Currently, as of March 2008, IMGs in USA who complete residencies or fellowships on ECFMG-sponsored J1 visas must complete a three year contractual employment in designated underserved / shortage areas (generally rural) before being eligible to apply for employment anywhere in the country. The three-year rule applies to IMGs who get employed as primary care physicians, while for some states IMGs with Fellowships employed as respective sub-specialist might need to serve a 5-year J1-waiver term.
Also Read:
- J1-visa waiver basics for IMGs / FMGs
- J1 versus H1b for Residency / Fellowship : Pros and Cons
On March 10th 2008, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California introduced the following bill that seeks:
"To extend for 5 years the program relating to waiver of the foreign country residence requirement with respect to international medical graduates"
Source: Bill Number:H.R.5571.IH on Thomas.gov
While the Details of the bill on Thomas.gov are not entirely published as of yet, and I shall update that here when it happens - or you can keep track here. Of course, this is just a proposal and the way govt. activities happen, this will be a slow process. Lets see how the dice rolls for IMGs :-)
The bill obviously is a result of project shortage of primary care physicians in the United States and the fact that a previous report indicated a decline in the use of J1 visas by IMGs in favor of H1b visas
On another parallel development, Senator Conrad - the father of the Conrad-30 J1-waiver program for IMGs, proposes a Bill to increase in J-1 waiver state quotas under the Conrad program by 5 per state each time the state reaches 90% of its capacity of J1-waiver physicians. In my opinion, if the 5-year tenure is approved, this Conrad adjustment bill should go hand in hand to reduce J-1 waiver jobs scarcity that a 5-year term might cause, like I discussed before while talking about the rumor on 5-year J1-waiver terms.
Currently, as of March 2008, IMGs in USA who complete residencies or fellowships on ECFMG-sponsored J1 visas must complete a three year contractual employment in designated underserved / shortage areas (generally rural) before being eligible to apply for employment anywhere in the country. The three-year rule applies to IMGs who get employed as primary care physicians, while for some states IMGs with Fellowships employed as respective sub-specialist might need to serve a 5-year J1-waiver term.
Also Read:
- J1-visa waiver basics for IMGs / FMGs
- J1 versus H1b for Residency / Fellowship : Pros and Cons
Labels: J-1 Waiver
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posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 12:52 PM
Comments on "Bill Proposes 5-Year J1-waiver job term for IMGs"
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superdoc said ... (March 29, 2008 9:21 AM) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (March 29, 2008 10:00 AM) :
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superdoc said ... (March 29, 2008 8:59 PM) :
Post Your Comment !good work as always DD :-)
As you said, this is just a proposal, and most certainly not applicable to physicians going for J1 visa this year, but FMGs coming in future might have to face the music, but honestly, I don't think that there is anything wrong in it, it just makes u stay in US for a longer time and may well make the transition to a green card easier, albeit a bit longer
True that 5-year would not be a problem for primary care IMGs who get waiver positions in decent locations - but for fellowship trained IMGs doing primary care jobs for 5 years, might mean being out of touch from their fellowship specialty for too long ..wonder if that will affect their employment prospects as specialists after the waiver term
Thats a valid concern, but I personally know of IMGs who are working as faculty on a waiver job in their field of specialization, for e.g there is a FMG cardio attending in Lousiana who is actually doing this job as a part of his waiver, any idea about this particular avenue DD?