The State Department has informed the American Immigration Lawyers Association that the new law expanding the Conrad State 20 waiver program for J-1 physicians could permit states to sponsor 10 more physicians in fiscal 2003 than the 30 per year allowed under the law, an immigration expert told AHA News. Because the law was effective as of May 31, the State Department interprets that to mean states were entitled to 30 waiver slots in fiscal 2002, which ended Sept. 30, instead of the 20 slots the program previously allowed, said Greg Siskind, a partner at Siskind, Susser, Haas & Divine in Memphis, TN. The State Department indicated applications for FY 2003 submitted before Sept. 30 could be credited to the extra 10 slots, as could an application submitted in fiscal 2002 that was sent back by the state because their program was full, Siskind said. More is at http://www.visalaw.com/02dec1/10dec102.html.