Physicians










Doctors who are graduates of foreign medical schools usually enter the US for their residencies or further training under the J-1 visa. The J-1 visa may be sponsored either by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) or academic institutions.


Sponsorship by ECFMG


The J-1 visa of a foreign medical graduate (FMG) is generally sponsored by the ECFMG for clinical training after she passes either Parts I and II of the National Board of Medical Examiners Examination; the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences; or the US Medical Licensing Examination, Steps I and II.


In addition to passing any of the above exams, the FMG must submit evidence; that her home country requires the type of training she will get in the US; that she intends to return to her home country after the training; and that the training will not be longer than 7 years or the usual number of years for that type of training, whichever is shorter.


 


Two-year residency requirement


As a J-1 visa holder, the foreign doctor is subject to the two-year residency requirement, unless a waiver is granted by the USCIS. Without the waiver of the 2-year residency requirement, the foreign doctor must return to her home country after completion of the training. The foreign doctor may not re-enter the US, unless she has complied with the 2-year residency requirement in her home country. The J-1 visa holder cannot convert to H or L status (except A or G nonimmigrant status) nor acquire permanent resident status without complying with the 2-year residency requirement or obtaining a waiver of such requirement. Similarly, the FMG may not obtain an H or L visa outside the US, but may obtain other types of nonimmigrant visas like the B, E, F. M. O, or TN)


The 2-year residency need not be a period of uninterrupted physical presence in the home country. The FMG may visit the US for brief periods of time within the 2-year residency period. However, such visits will not be included in computing the 2-year residency either, and may have to be made up for by the FMG.


Two-Year Residency Waiver


There are three commonly-used grounds for obtaining a 2-year residency waiver for foreign doctors, namely: exceptional hardship, interested government agency recommendation or state public health department request.


          a.       Exceptional Hardship


A foreign doctor may seek a waiver of the 2-year residency requirement on the ground that it would cause exceptional hardship to her US citizen or permanent resident spouse or child.


Exceptional hardship may include either or a combination of career interruption, economic difficulties, children’s separation from family, etc. Documentation of such exceptional hardship must be submitted along with the application for the waiver on Form 612, which will be filed in the USCIS service center having jurisdiction of the foreign doctor’s residence.


          b.       Interested Government Agency


An interested government agency may recommend the waiver of the 2-year residency requirement on the ground that it would be in the public interest. These agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Appalachian Regional Commission (the Appalachian being a designated health professional shortage area), among others.


 


          c.       State Public Health Department


A state’s public health department may request a waiver of the 2-year residency requirement. These requests are usually based on the need to alleviate the health professional shortages in their respective jurisdictions. The state public health department would request the Department of State (DOS) to recommend a waiver to the USCIS.


There are five requirements to be met to qualify for a waiver based on a state public health department request: first, J-1 admission to pursue medical training before June 1, 2002; second, 3-year full-time employment contract to practice medicine in a health professional shortage area; third, agreement to start employment within 90 days from waiver grant; fourth, state public health department request to the DOS for the waiver; and fifth, waiver to be granted does not exceed the state quota of 30 waivers per fiscal year.