Shortcut to Green Card For Doctors

A medical degree may be considered as an advanced degree so that physicians may file under the employment-based second preference category (EB-2). Since visa numbers under this category are currently available worldwide except India and China, a green card application will be processed relatively fast.

Last June 17, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a guidance memorandum on the adjudication of the Form I-140 Petition for Alien Worker filed for physicians.

The I-140 petition must be accompanied by a labor certification or a national interest waiver. The labor certification is obtained by demonstrating to the Department of Labor (DOL) that there are no able, willing and qualified U.S. workers available to fill the proffered position in the area of intended employment.

A national interest waiver, on the other hand, exempts the physician from the labor certification requirement. Physicians who work in medically underserved areas qualify for the waiver. Eligibility for the waiver must be established at the time of the submission of the I-140 petition.

The beneficiary of I-140 petition supported by a labor certification must meet several requirements. He/she must possess the equivalent of a U.S. medical degree, has or is eligible for a full and unrestricted medical license in the state of intended employment as of the date the labor certification is filed and must overcome the “unqualified physician” ground of inadmissibility.

The inadmissibility ground applies to physicians seeking admission under EB-2 or EB-3 preference category who will be involved in patient care and has graduated from a medical school not accredited by the Secretary of Education.

To overcome the inadmissibility, he/she must have passed Parts I and II of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) or an equivalent examination, currently the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), and is competent in written and oral English.

This inadmissibility ground only applies to physicians who will be involved in patient care and who had graduated from an unaccredited medical school. It does not apply to medical researchers and teachers.

The inadmissibility does not also apply to a physician who was fully and permanently licensed to practice medicine in a U.S. state on January 9, 1978 and was practicing in the U.S. on that date.

Physicians of national or international renown are not required to overcome the “unqualified physician” inadmissibility provision of the law because they are not included in the definition of “graduates of a medical school.”