Congress Extends the Conrad State Program until June 1, 2008
Posted Mar 16, 2007
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Memorandum notifying the appropriate directors within USCIS that the Conrad State Program has been extended until June 1, 2008. This is the result of a law passed in mid-January 2007, which extended the program as well as making it effective retroactively from May 31, 2006. The Conrad State Program is designed to provide each state with 30 waiver slots for J-1 physicians, sometimes referred to as J-1 international medical graduates (IMGs), who serve in medically underserved areas in order to obtain waivers of the two-year home-residency requirement to which they are subject.
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Background on Conrad State Program
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In 1994, Senator Kent Conrad sponsored the provision establishing the J-1 visa waiver program for IMGs at the state level. This law allows states to sponsor waivers of the J-1 two-year home-residency requirement, acting as "interested government agencies." The program is only applicable to IMGs and does not apply to other types of J-1s who may be in need of waivers.
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Because of Senator Conrad, the program became known as the Conrad State Program. Under the original program, states were allowed to sponsor up to 20 waivers per year for IMGs who are subject to the two-year home-residency requirement. The provision now has been extended three times. In 2002, the number of waivers was increased from 20 to 30 per state, and the program was extended until 2004. On June 25, 2004, our readers were informed of another extension of this important program until June 1, 2006, in our June 25, 2004 article, Conrad Program Update, available on MurthyDotCom. At that time, the Conrad State Program was also expanded to allow states to recruit specialists in addition to primary care physicians and to provide for an exemption from the H1B annual cap for all waiver recipients.
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While almost all states are participating in the Conrad State Program, there are some states that have chosen not to participate. Before considering obtaining a waiver through this program, one must make sure that the waiver is available through the state in which s/he is interested in practicing. It is also necessary to check the requirements and procedures, as they vary from state to state, although there are common elements.
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Basic Requirements for the Conrad State Program
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While specific eligibility requirements vary from state to state, they all require that the IMG agree to practice medicine for at least three years in a geographic location designated as a shortage area. (Since 2004, states are also allowed to place up to five physicians in facilities that serve patients living in designated shortage areas without regard to the location of the facilities.) IMGs are required to be licensed according to both federal and state professional regulations criteria.
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Many have requirements that the potential employer document efforts to recruit qualified U.S. physicians for these positions, often over an extended period of time, such as six months. Some, but not all, require physicians to sign contracts providing for substantial "liquidated damages" payable to the employers if the physicians break these contracts of employment.
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Because the Conrad State Program benefits both the participating states and the IMGs, it is expected that legislation will be introduced once again, and the Congress to provide for another extension beyond the current expiration date of June 1, 2008.
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This important program will be tracked, so that we may continue to share useful information of this kind with our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers.