Many rural and underserved communities across the country struggle to attract doctors. A federal program called Conrad State 30 helps by letting each state sponsor up to 30 foreign-trained physicians on J-1 visas to skip the usual requirement of returning to their home country for two years — as long as they agree to practice in areas with doctor shortages. That program expired in 2015, and this bill would reauthorize it for three more years while expanding the per-state cap from 30 to 35 waivers, with automatic increases up to 45 or more if states consistently use them. The bill also adds real employment protections for these physicians: their contracts must spell out on-call hours and malpractice coverage, and non-compete clauses are banned — meaning a doctor can leave a bad employer without being locked out of practicing nearby. Physicians who complete their service obligation would get a clearer path to a green card, and their spouses and children would no longer be subject to the two-year home-country return requirement either.
Congressional Summary
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization ActThis bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment.Individuals coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area.The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand.A physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the physician's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area.Employment contracts for physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work.Certain physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-02-25
- Date Added
- 2026-03-30