Visalaw Healthcare Immigration Blog

Sunday, April 24, 2011

CUBAN DOCTORS FACE OBSTACLES IN THEIR ASYLUM PETITIONS

The Miami Herald reports that Cuban doctors are facing unexpected obstacles immigrating to the US after the US government encouraged them to seek asylum here:

Dozens of Cuban doctors encouraged to defect to the United States now face delays in obtaining green cards and citizenship because they joined the Communist Party or affiliated organizations in Cuba when they were young, according to South Florida immigration lawyers and immigrant rights activists.
The delays are an unexpected problem for some of the doctors who had hoped to be received with open arms under a program launched by the Bush administration in 2006 as a way to undermine Cuba’s “doctor diplomacy,” a popular program under which thousands of doctors are deployed to foreign countries. One of the largest contingents is in Venezuela, one of Cuba’s closest allies.

# posted by Greg Siskind @ 12:08 PM

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

RAFFLE OFF MED SCHOOL SEATS TO WEALTHY FOREIGNERS?

An interesting notion reported by Newsweek:

Raffling off classroom seats to wealthy foreigners could save struggling American schools.

Here’s one idea for state universities feeling the pinch of budget cuts: sell a few admission spots to overseas bidders. That’s what Dalhousie University’s medical school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is planning to do. The Canadian med school, which is government subsidized, will hawk 10 first-year spaces at $75,000 each to Saudi Arabia to gin up cash after having lost some funding. Tom Marrie, dean of the med school, tried to ease any concerns. The students “will arrive speaking fluent English and with degrees from North American universities, so we are confident they will fit in well with our student body,” Marrie said.

# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:01 AM

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

FOREIGN DOCTORS DECREASE PERCENTAGE IN MATCH

From ECFMG:

For the ninth consecutive year, the number of first-year (PGY-1) residency positions offered through the Match increased. A total of 23,421 first-year positions were offered in the 2011 Match, held earlier this month. This represents an increase of 612 positions compared to last year and an increase of more than 2,800 positions since 2002.

The number of IMGs, including Fifth Pathway participants, who matched to first-year positions decreased by 60 compared to 2010. Of the 10,477 IMGs who participated in the 2011 Match, 4,626 (44.2%) matched. In the 2010 Match, 4,686 (42.4%) IMGs were matched to first-year positions.

Of the 6,659 IMG participants who were not U.S. citizens, 2,721 (40.9%) obtained first-year positions. The number of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who obtained positions in 2011 decreased by 160 compared to last year.

Of the 3,769 U.S. citizen IMG participants, 1,884 (50.0%) were matched to first-year positions, an increase of 135 over last year. This is the eighth consecutive year that there has been an increase in the number of U.S. citizen IMGs matching to first-year positions.

Of the 49 Fifth Pathway participants in the Match, 21 (42.9%) were matched to first-year positions.

It is important to note that the total number of IMGs who will fill PGY-1 positions for the 2011-2012 academic year will be higher than the number obtaining positions through the 2011 Match. Although the majority of PGY-1 positions in the United States are filled through the Match, a significant number of IMG applicants obtain positions outside of the Match. For example, while 4,796 IMGs obtained PGY-1 positions through the 2009 Match, 7,335 IMGs entered PGY-1 for the 2009-2010 academic year.

The 7,335 IMGs entering PGY-1 for the 2009-2010 academic year is an increase of 59 over the prior year and an increase of 1,262 since the 2002-2003 academic year.

# posted by Greg Siskind @ 5:46 AM

STATE DEPARTMENT CLARIFIES POLICY REGARDING H-1B'S FOR LICENSED PROFESSIONALS

Over the past several months, the US Consulate in Manila has been denying visitor visas to physical therapists and other health professionals seeking to enter the United States to take licensing examinations necessary to qualify for H-1B visas. The State Department has now amended the Foreign Affairs Manual to clarify for consular officers the rules regarding licensing. The FAM now reads as follows:

9 FAM 41.53 N4.1 General Licensure Requirement for H Nonimmigrant
(CT:VISA-1635; 03-31-2011)

The requirements for classification as an H-1B nonimmigrant professional may or may not include a license because States have different rules in this area. If a State permits aliens to enter the United States as a visitor to take a licensing exam, then USCIS will generally require a license before they will approve the H-1B petition. However, some States do not permit aliens to take licensing exams until they enter the United States in H-1B status and obtain a social security number. Therefore, a visa should not be denied based solely on the fact that the applicant does not already hold a license to practice in the United States.

# posted by Greg Siskind @ 4:35 AM