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December 24, 2003
The HHS and J-1 Waivers for Physicians
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has just reopened its
J-1 waiver program for physicians working in underserved areas, after several
months of closure for an apparent review of the program. The program is
utilized by physicians who are in the U.S. in J-1 status seeking a waiver
of their two-year home residency requirement. HHS will act as an interested
government agency to recommend a waiver of the home-country residence requirement
in certain situations for physicians and areas satisfying specified criteria.
The program now has significant new restrictions reducing the number
of physicians eligible for the waiver. These restrictions include:
- Only facilities in Health Professional Shortage Areas with a certain
score will qualify. Medically Underserved Areas are no longer eligible.
- Only Health centers qualified pursuant to the Public Health Service
Act,rural facilities as defined by the Social Security Act, and Native
American/Alaskan Native tribal facilities will qualify for the HHS waiver.
It is not yet clear why these limitations have been instituted. Programs
like this one have been instrumental in helping communities provide needed
health care services to their residents. As the country continues to face
a severe shortage of physicians, the need for waiver programs attracting
foreign physicians will continue.
Click here to see an excerpt from the HHS website (PDF/120
kb, 2 pages)
For more information please contact the
GT Business Immigration Group.
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