A court in Massachusetts has ruled that the bar on state health insurance coverage for immigrants who have held permanent residency for less than five years violates the state's constitution. Legal immigrants were initially covered, but dropped a few years ago as a response to budget pressures in the Bay State.

Lisa Vognild writes an interesting article for the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters outlining more than 60 years of international physicians coming to America to train and practice.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Louisiana law that limits nurse licenses to permanent residents and citizens. The court held that non-immigrants are not a protected class entitled to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. A similar law involving pharmacists in New York was ruled unconstitutional by a District Court and is now being appealed to the Second Circuit, potentially putting the two circuits in conflict. The matter could eventually be settled by the US Supreme Court.

An important victory for my friend Jan Pederson and her colleague Michelle Kobler. From Bender's Immigration Bulletin:

J-2 spouse AOS victory!

In a decision dated November 30, 2011, A#: 200984146/LIN1190536914, the Nebraska Service Center found that a former J-2, who had never held J-1 status, who was covered by the former J-1’s Conrad State 30 can adjust status independently of the former J-1, while the former J-1 is still completing the three year service requirement required for the Conrad State 30 waiver. The facts were that both the J-1 and the J-2 were physicians. The J-2 completed medical residency training in J-2 status with an EAD. The J-1 was granted a Conrad State 30 waiver which covered the J-2. The J-1 changed status to H-1B to complete the medical service requirement and the J-2 changed status to H-1B at the same time. The employer of the former J-2 sponsored her for a PERM and I-140, both of which were approved. The NSC issued a Notice of Intent to Deny in connection with the I-485, raising the issue of whether the J-2 could adjust status before the J-1 completed the three year medical service requirement. Counsel provided extensive briefing and prevailed arguing that the waiver of the two year home residence requirement granted pursuant to Section 212(e) and 214(l) of the INA was unconditional and fully vested, subject to revocation only upon the occurrence of a condition subsequent; such as the failure of the J-1 to complete the three year service requirement. Thus, the former J-2 had a full and unconditional waiver and could adjust status.

The Health Resources and Services Administration has updated its list of Health Professional Shortage Areas. That list is critical for determining if doctors can qualify for J-1 waivers and national interest-based green cards. The quick summary:

As of October 19, 2011, there are:

• 6,422 Primary Care HPSAs with 66.8 million people living in them. It would take 17,803 practitioners to meet their need for primary care providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 2,000:1).
• 4,677 Dental HPSAs with 52.5 million people living in them. It would take 10,279 practitioners to meet their need for dental providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 3,000:1).
• 3,803 Mental Health HPSAs with 95.3 million people living in them. It would take 6,264 practitioners to meet their need for mental health providers (a population to practitioner ratio of 10,000:1).

A University of Minnesota program to help doctors from abroad retrain in the US has fallen victim to budget constraints. According to the Crookston Times, the cost of the program was $150,000. So far, three Somalian doctors have been retrained. The program was designed to help doctors in the US participate in a seven month intensive retraining program in order to get ready to re-enter a residency program and eventually qualify for licensure in Minnesota.

The link is here.

Here are the contents:

1. Openers

2. Ask Visalaw.com for Healthcare Workers

3. Health Care News Bytes

4. The ABC’s of Healthcare Immigration – Immigrant Visa Options for Nurses

5. USCIS Reverses Policy for Affiliation-Based H-1B Cap Exemption

6. Cuban Physicians Cannot Show Qualifications to Practice Medicine

7. FSBPT To Change Testing Options For Physical Therapy Graduates

8. Judge Rules NY Pharmacy Licensing Law Discriminates Against Nonimmigrants

9. Arizona Proposes Law Requiring Hospitals to Check Immigration Status

10. Transplant Patients Forced to Wait When Organ Donors Cannot Get Visas

11. Illegal Immigrant Kicked Out of Hospital

12. House Judiciary Committee Advances H-1C Nurse Bill

13. Chart Of Physical Therapist Licensing Requirements By State

14. State 30 Physician Waiver Chart

15. Physician National Interest Waiver Chart

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