SENATE PASSES PHYSICIAN NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER BILL

The Senate has quietly passed legislation to breathe some life back into the once popular national interest waiver category for permanent residency . The INS Acting Associate Commissioner for Programs last August issued the now infamous New York State Department of Transportation decision which basically added an extra-statutory requirement that national interest waiver applicants prove not only that they are benefiting the country, but that it would be contrary to the national interest to undergo a labor certification. The goal of the legislation is to improve access to health care for poor, uninsured and elderly Americans in medically underserved areas.

In late July, the Senate added a short amendment to its Commerce, State and Justice Appropriations Bill that would exempt certain physicians from NYSDOT’s onerous requirements.

The language of the amendment reads as follows:

"Hereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General shall grant a national interest waiver under section 203(b)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 USC 1153(b)(2)(B) on behalf of any alien physician with respect to whom a petition for preference classification has been filed under section 203(b)(2)(A) of such Act if –

1. the alien physician seeks to work in an area designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of health care professionals or at a health care facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
2. a Federal agency or a State department of public health has previously determined that the alien physician’s work in such an area or at such a facility was in the public interest."

The bill will primarily benefit physicians who received J-1 interested government agency waivers based on accepting commitments to work in medically underserved areas or at VA facilities. Theoretically, a physician working in a covered area who did not have a J-1 visa could qualify for a national interest waiver if a Federal agency or State health department supports the application.

A number of individuals have worked diligently behind the scenes to bring this issue to the attention of Senators. The amendment had the support of both Democratic and Republican members of the Senate.

The next major hurdle will be for this legislation to pass the House of Representatives. If you represent a health care firm or organization, an international medical graduate, or an immigration professional interested in seeing this bill pass, please drop an e-mail to Greg Siskind at gsiskind@visalaw.com for information on advocating on this issue.

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