Congress Passes Legislation Extending Two Important Health Care Immigration Programs

Congress Passes Legislation Extending Two Important Health Care Immigration Programs

Congress passed two important pieces of health care immigration legislation in the final hours of its session that ended December 8^th.

H.R. 4997 extended the Conrad 30 J-1 waiver program for physicians working in physician shortage areas. Under the program, each state may sponsor up to 30 physicians per year to work in areas that are medically underserved. The Conrad program began to sunset on June 1^st and any physicians entering after that date would no longer be eligible to receive a Conrad waiver. The new law will extend the sunset date to June 1, 2008.

Congress also passed the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 1285). The bill extends the H-2C visa for nurses working in underserved areas until 2009. The H-2C allows up to 500 nurses to come to the US each year.

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.