WSJ: FMG Physicians Prefer H-B1 Over J-1

The Wall Street Journal reports that the number of foreign physicians in the U.S. on J-1 visas drastically fell from 11,000 in 1995-1996 to 6,000 in 2005-2006.  The number of foreign physicians present in the U.S. has not decreased; rather, more and more physicians prefer to use the H-1B visa instead of the J-1 in order to complete their medical training, thus avoiding the need to apply for a J-1 visa waiver and serve at least three years in a rural area.  

The J-1 visa waiver program provided an annual supply of 1,000 necessary foreign physicians to fill vacancies in rural clinics and hospitals across the country.  However, as a result of the expansion of the H-1B program in 2000, which allowed research facilities and teaching hospitals to be exempt from the annual 65,000 H-1B visa cap, foreign physicians have the ability to bypass the J-1 visa route and enter the U.S. on H-1B visas for these institutions, which are generally located in urban areas.  

According to the WSJ, this trend has caused a large reduction in the number of applicants for J-1 visa waivers, required by all physicians who pursue medical training in the U.S. on a J-1 visa.  Washington ’s Conrad Visa Waiver Program, for example, had only two waiver applicants from 2006-2007.  The previous year, the state received seven applications, and thirteen applications were received from 2004-2005.

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