Dear Readers:
On September 30th, the Conrad 30 J-1 waiver program for physicians is set to expire. This is hardly novel. The 21-year old program is still considered a pilot program and it has never been extended for more than four years. The program is extremely popular and all 50 states plus several territories sponsor J-1 doctors for waivers to work in medically underserved communities. But the program is badly in need of technical and substantive improvements if it is to achieve its ambitious goal of helping to substantially alleviate the growing physician shortage in the US.
As part of efforts to extend the Conrad program, several bills have been introduced in both Houses of Congress that would not only make the Conrad 30 program permanent, but also make changes to the program to help it run better. Unfortunately, getting any immigration bills passed in Congress, even ones that are popular and have no one working to oppose them, have trouble moving. The EB-5 immigrant investor regional center program expires on September 30th and may also be the subject of some important substantive changes. The same is true for the E-Verify program with some in Congress calling for it to become mandatory for all employers. If either of these programs is altered, then it makes it more likely that the physician changes would also be considered. The religious occupations green card program is also set to expire, though there don’t appear to be efforts to change it.
Another possibility would be to extend the four expiring programs without making any substantive changes. That is likely the default strategy if no agreement can be reached on the various improvements bills. Also, the programs could be extended for a short period – perhaps 90 days – in an effort to buy more time to work a deal on the substantive improvements.
We will be monitoring the developments closely and if a physician bill passes, we will send a special newsletter out alerting readers to the news.
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Siskind Susser, PC’s immigration lawyers service hundreds of hospitals and other health care employers around the US as well as individual health care professionals. We would be happy to talk with you or someone from your organization about our services and how we can help with immigration matters. Just call us at 901-682-6455 or email me at [email protected]
Sincerely,
Greg Siskind
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.