Lawmakers urge Trump to raise number of doctors
A number of US senators and representatives have written to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urging the Trump Administration to increase the number of doctors available to fight the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The lawmakers seek a waiver to restrictions that do not allow doctors on specific work-based visas – including physicians in the Conrad State 30 program – to provide medical care in specialties or at locations other than those approved for their immigration status.
If doctors who are on H-1B and J-1 visas provide care in crisis locations that are not approved, even remotely, their immigration status would be in jeopardy without the waiver.
The Conrad State 30 program allows doctors training in the US to stay without having to return to their countries if they consent to work in an underserved (often rural) area for three years. At present, several foreign doctors training in the US are required to go back to their countries for two years following the completion of their training before they can apply for another visa or green card.
“While these policies are well intended, the current public health crisis requires a robust and timely medical response that begins with getting physicians to the front lines,” says the letter. “Health care workers on H-1B and J-1 visas – including physicians in the Conrad State 30 program, which helps retain U.S.-trained physicians who work in underserved areas – are a key resource in this process,”.
The letter was signed by 18 senators and 29 representatives, from both parties.
Senators who signed the letter include Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND).
Representatives who signed include Tom Cole (R-OK-04), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Abby Finkenauer (D-IA-01), Bobby Rush (D-IL-01), Kendra Horn (D-OK-05), Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08), Eliot Engel (D-NY-16), Donna Shalala (D-FL-27), Ron Kind (R-WI-03), Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29), John Katko (R-NY-24), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM-02), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16), Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), David Trone (D-MD-06), Frank Lucas (R-OK-03), Cindy Axne (D-IA-03), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), Albio Sires (D-NJ-08), Ken Calvert (R-CA-42), Joe Kennedy (D-MA-04), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), John Larson (D-CT-01) and David Price (D-NC-04).
