h1b quota for physicians??

C

citzapplicant

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

How do H1Bs work for physicians? Are they subject to the regular H1B quota? The 65K visa numbers?? Is it the case that when the H1B quota runs out, that means foreign doctors/physicians can't apply either? Thank you.
 
Yes, the quota also applies for physicians (it is actually more like 57k as some visas are reserved for citizens of chile and singapore).

There are some exceptions:

- J1 waiver physicians are exempt (since last 12/3/2004 this has been clarified through a law introduced by Sen Conrad)

- physicians (or any other professional) working for teaching hospitals are exempt

- I am not sure, but I also believe that people working for non-profit corporations (e.g. community health centers) are exempt.

And yes, unless you are in one of the exemption categories, you can't apply if the quota is used up.
 
what makes you think you are special

:rolleyes:
citzapplicant said:
Hi,

How do H1Bs work for physicians? Are they subject to the regular H1B quota? The 65K visa numbers?? Is it the case that when the H1B quota runs out, that means foreign doctors/physicians can't apply either? Thank you.
Click to expand...
 
> Would an H4 applicant applying for H1 in an underserved area be exempt?

Only the people who get their H1b with a waiver are covered by the Senate bill.

You might be able to file for an exemption of the quota if you can show that your work is 'in the public interest' (which is what the DoH letter for the NIW says).
 
what about greencard?

thanks for the comments to my previous question. how do greencards work? are physicians subject to the eb1/eb2/eb3 priority dates/retrogression/quota as well? thank you.
 
> are physicians subject to the eb1/eb2/eb3 priority
> dates/retrogression/quota as well?

Yes.

Physicians are typically in EB-2. So if you are from anywhere but the retrogression countries, you are fine (at this point in time). If you are from india or the philipines, you are positively screwed.

EB-2 might retrogress for the worldwide category. There is a big 'hump' of labor certs that was filed in 2001 due to the 245i law as well as plenty of IT professionals who came to the US in the late nineties and got their LCs filed in this timeframe. These are now progressing through the system and swallow many numbers. People say 'there are only a couple of hundred cases from 1998 left so the retrogression will be over in a short time'. This is unfortunately not how the visa number thing works, and nobody can tell right now whether it will improve or worsen anytime soon.

One option is to get around retrogression is go get into the EB-1 category by taking an academic position and getting a 'outstanding researcher' petition filed by the university. If you have published dilligently before and during residency AND the university is behind you, these have a pretty good chance for success.
 
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