 SENATE MAY VOTE TO RESTORE NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVERS FOR PHYSICIANS
Last August the INS issued a ruling, Ir Re New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), that fundamentally changed the way it issued National Interest Waivers (NIWs) to certain applicants for permanent residency. This case presented nearly unattainable requirements that had to be met before an immigrant would qualify for an NIW. An NIW allows a foreign national to avoid the requirement of a labor certification if the INS determines his work is in the national interest. A labor certification is, in essence, a test of the US labor market to show that there are no minimally qualified US workers available to fill the applicant’s proposed position. After NYSDOT, the foreign national was required to show, among other things, that requiring a labor certification would itself be adverse to the national interest.
Now there may be changes on the horizon for some of those seeking a NIW. Senator Majority Leader Trent Lott and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle have agreed to co-sponsor legislation that would restore NIWs to their previous position, at least for physicians working in medically underserved areas or at a Veterans Administration hospital and whose work has been found by a federal agency or a state department of health to be in the public interest. The legislation is to come in the form of an amendment to the bill appropriating annual funding to the Commerce, State, and Justice Departments.
The INS is believed to have no objections to the legislation. Congressmen frequently seek out the comments of INS officials when they are considering immigration matters.
Our sources tell us that the bill may be voted out of the Senate before the 4th of July recess. If the amendment is approved, it will go to the House-Senate Conference Committee hammering out the final Commerce, State and Justice appropriations bill. Then both houses will vote on the bill. If this happens, the only thing left would be for President Clinton to sign the bill. Last year the CSJ appropriations bill was not passed until October, but this year the appropriation bill could be finished before August.
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