Health Care Immigration

Margaret W. Wong & Associates, LLC is among the nation’s leaders in healthcare immigration matters. Among the tens of thousands of cases handled by our immigration lawyers are a tremendous number of J-1 waivers and other measures in service of healthcare professionals and health care companies.

J-1 Waivers

Many healthcare specialists enter the country through J-1 visas, which allow exchange of physicians, students, researchers, and other professionals. The spouses and children of J-1 visa holders can enter on J-2 visas. Some J-1 aliens are subject to a two-year home-country physical presence requirement which requires you to return to your home country for at least two years at the end of your J-1 program. This is also known as the foreign residence requirement under INA 212(e). If you are not able to return to your home country to complete the two-year requirement, you need to obtain a J-1 waiver approved by the DOS and then USCIS prior to getting an H-1B or permanent residency.

It is seldom as difficult to get a J-1 visa as it is to get a J-1 waiver. J-1 visas require returning to your home country for two years, but you can avoid this requirement if you qualify for any of the strict bases for procuring a J-1 waiver. Our law firm is among the nation’s leaders in getting J-1 waivers; we know how to demonstrate to the government that you qualify. (See our J-1 Waiver success stories for a few examples of our past work.)

Other types of visas that apply to the health care immigration are:

H-1A: For registered nurses (RNs) H-4: For spouses or children of H-1 visa holders Schedule A: For nurses and physical therapists O-1: For aliens of extraordinary ability in sciences or other areas. (See our O-1 success stories.)

And of course, many more general work visas apply to health care immigration. See also our Employment Based Immigration page for information valuable to employers of all kinds.