Unlimited H-1B visas for Medical Grads

Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 12:07 AM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

by Rob Sanchez
April 26, 2005 No. 1240

An obscure news-blip on an American Medical Association webpage shows
just how far hospitals will go to circumvent the yearly cap on H-1B
visas in order to hire foreign doctors.

Lawyers said some hospitals are considering setting up
nonprofit organizations to employ their IMG residents so
they can qualify for the exempt H-1B visas.

"International Medical Graduates" (IMGs) are required to get an H-1B
visa in order to practice as a physician after they finish their
residency. Hospitals, like most U.S. employers, are whining that they
can't get enough H-1B visas but it appears that they may have found a
way to beat the system. Immigration lawyers are advising hospitals to
set up nonprofit organizations that are exempt from the yearly cap.
Nonprofit research organizations can hire unlimited numbers of H-1B
visa holders because they are exempt from the yearly cap. To find out
more about exempt employers, use the web link:
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/H1BFAQs.htm#AreH-1BsExempted

This scheme for circumventing the H-1B yearly cap is probably
fraudulent but it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to prove
that hospitals are using doctors from their nonprofits to practice
medicine. Surely patients would not have the wherewithal to figure out
that their doctor is employed by a nonprofit research organization and
not the hospital.

The increase in the numbers of foreign doctors could be substantial if
hospitals could implement this scheme. The U.S. medical industry is
very similar to high-tech in that they have an insatiable appetite for
foreign born doctors. Currently about 1/3 one-third of internal
medicine generalists and subspecialists are foreign born.

I see no reason that other large employers couldn't use the same scheme
that these lawyers concocted. Why couldn't Microsoft or Intel, for
example, set up nonprofit research operations to do their engineering
work?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/05/02/prbf0502.htm

Visa rule confusion grows
The next batch of medical residents are set to be on the job July 1,
and if they are coming from another country, they'll need a visa before
then. But there's a good deal of confusion regarding the additional
20,000 H-1B visas for fiscal year 2005 that were supposed to be
released March 8.

At press time, the government had not issued the visas, and the
criteria for who will qualify for them was still unclear, immigration
lawyers said. The confusion is affecting about 300 to 400 of the
roughly 9,000 IMGs who need visas annually.

The H-1B is the most popular visa among international medical graduates
because it allows them to apply for permanent residency. This year the
annual 65,000 cap was reached in October 2004. Medical residents at
hospitals associated with a research institution are exempt from the
cap. IMGs who landed residencies at hospitals without university ties
still will be able to come to the United States, but they will need to
enter the country under the less desirable J-1 visa. That visa requires
them to return to their home country for two years after their U.S.
training is finished.

Lawyers said some hospitals are considering setting up nonprofit
organizations to employ their IMG residents so they can qualify for the
exempt H-1B visas. Otherwise, lawyers say, residents risk losing their
most qualified IMG applicants to programs that can offer access to the
H-1B visas.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://ea.acponline.org/physicians/IMG.html

Last Updated: December 23, 2004
International Medical Graduates (Enduring)

Printable Version

If international medical graduates (IMGs) continue to enter the U.S.
physician workforce at current rates, they will continue to account for
about one-third of internal medicine generalists and subspecialists.
The numbers of IMGs who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents is
likely to increase. However, national security policies may conflict
with policies that promote recruitment of IMGs and threaten the supply
of foreign trained physicians entering internal medicine and its
subspecialties. Most IMGs entering the physician workforce will be of
Asian origin. IMG internists will continue to provide a substantial
amount of care in underserved areas.

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