Visa Issues for International Medical Professionals

For the past half century, about 25 percent of the physicians in the United States of America have been educated abroad and many of these professionals face a complex labyrinth of special testing, graduate medical education, temporary visa applications, waiver procedures and permanent residence petitions before they can settle in the U.S. to pursue their careers. As American population ages, and we gain increased access to health insurance, we will be looking further to international medical graduates to help close the gap between the demands for medical services and our ability to meet those demands. This program will provide an oversight to the common issues and obstacles facing international medical graduates and their employers. Specific topics include:

• Graduate medical education: J-1s, ECFMG;
• 212(e) fulfill/waive, conrad, HHS;
• PERM, EB2 for India/PRC, timing/deadline issues;
• Self-petitions, EB1-1, EB1-2, NIW, Schedule A II; and
• PNIW advantages, contract/fulfillment issues.