New J-1 Waiver and H-1B Legislation

 

Legislation, S.628, was proposed on March 18, 2009 to provide incentives to physicians to practice in rural and medically underserved communities.

 

This bill will make the J-1 visa waiver program permanent, and in doing so, amend the provisions that were previously imposed on H-1B practitioners, ultimately providing an expansion in the number of foreign physicians accepted each year to a specific state (i.e. make it more than 30).  Many states such as California and Texas use their 30 slots, demonstrating the need for physicians in underserved areas.

 

It has as four main sections. The first simply acknowledges that this initiative may also be referred to as “Conrad State 30 Improvement Act”. Section two eliminates the Sunset provision of the Conrad state 30 program by removing the section that reads “and before September 30, 2009” in the 1994 Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act.

Section three proposes incentives for physicians to practice in medically underserved communities, by amending specific subsections of the original act, and Section four of the bill attempts to retain physicians in medically underserved communities.