The House Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27 approved an American Hospital Association-supported bill (H.R. 4997) that would extend for two years the State 30/J-1 Visa Waiver program, which allows state health agencies to annually hire up to 30 foreign physicians to practice in rural and inner-city communities that often have difficulty recruiting physicians. The program, which expired June 1, allows foreign physicians who have completed medical residency programs in the U.S. to remain in the country on their J-1 visa provided they agree to practice medicine for three years in an underserved area. Without reauthorization, physicians who have entered the U.S. on J-1 visas since June 1 will not be able to get a waiver to remain in the country after their training is completed.
“Many communities that might otherwise have no access to medical services now have physicians nearby as a result of this program,” said panel member John Hostetler, R-IN, who co-sponsored the measure.
[ via AHA News Now ]
Comments