Alerts and Updates
J-1 Physician Update
October 4, 2005
A publication of the national Immigration Practice Group of Duane Morris.
Duane Morris Welcomes Roberta Freedman and Michelle Funk to the D.C. Office
Duane Morris is proud to announce that Roberta Freedman has joined our Washington, D.C. office as a partner, and Michelle Funk has joined as an associate attorney. Both Ms. Freedman and Ms. Funk have extensive experience in matters relating to J-1 physicians, including J-1 waivers, H-1B petitions, national interest waivers, PERM labor certifications and consular processing. Their knowledge in these areas will greatly complement our national healthcare practice.
Ms. Freedman has been practicing immigration and nationality law for more than 20 years. Working with J-1 physicians and their employers, she has helped hundreds of J-1 physicians through the waiver process and subsequent permanent residency process. An active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Ms. Freedman is the past chair of the Washington, D.C. Chapter and past director of the Board of Governors. She is also a former member of the Coordinating Committee of Immigration Law of the American Bar Association.
Ms. Funk practices immigration law with a focus on J-1 physicians. She has comprehensive experience working with J-1 physicians both to obtain waivers for their home requirements and the H-1B petitions and on EB-1 and O-1 visas. Ms. Funk has a great deal of experience in hardship waiver and HHS research waiver filings. A member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, she is the current chair of the Chapter Conferences Committee for Washington, D.C.
Lengthy Immigrant Visa Quota Backlogs Expected in All Employment-Based Categories
The Department of State issued its October 2005 visa bulletin and there are long quota cut-off dates for Chinese and Indian nationals in all three employment-based (EB) categories and for all nationalities in the EB-3 category. EB-2 cut-off dates range from May 1, 2000 (China) to November 1, 1999 (India). The EB-3 category for Indian nationals has a cut-off date of January 1, 1998 and May 1, 2000 for Chinese nationals. The date for EB-3 for all nationalities is March 1, 2001. The EB-1 and EB-2 categories for all other nationalities remain "current" (meaning there are sufficient numbers available under the quota to meet current demand).
Aside from the length of the backlogs, the most surprising development is that, for the first time, there are now backlogs in the EB-1 category for Chinese and Indian nationals. The cut-off dates are January 21, 2000 and August 1, 2002, respectively. To access the latest visa bulletin, see the link listed at the end of this section.
Lengthy EB quota backlogs will prevent certain foreign workers (Indian and Chinese nationals, in particular) and all others who qualify under EB-3 and are sponsored by U.S. employers from securing final green card approval for many years. Ironically, while the processing time of labor certifications under the new PERM system has been greatly reduced (see below), employer-sponsored green card processing has been considerably lengthened due to this development. Fortunately, extensions of a foreign worker's H-1B status beyond the 6th-year limit are permitted while waiting for their quota cut-off date to be reached.
Updated visa bulletins may be found at:
http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.htmlH-1B Cap Has Been Reached: Are You Exempt?
On August 12, 2005, USCIS announced that the H-1B cap had been reached on August 10, 2005. This means that there are no H-1B numbers available until October 1, 2006. Fortunately, if you fall into one of the following categories, you may be exempt from the H-1B cap:
- A J-1 physician who is the beneficiary of an interested government agency waiver based on their commitment to work in a medically underserved area.
- A physician who was previously granted status as an H-1B nonimmigrant in the past 6 years and has not left the U.S. for more than one year since attaining that status (such as medical residents or fellows).
- A physician who is going to be employed by an institution of higher education, such as a college or university.
- A physician who is going to be employed by a nonprofit entity affiliated with an institution of higher education.
- A physician who is going to be employed by a nonprofit research or governmental research organization.
In addition, if you received your master's degree, or higher, from a U.S. university, there are additional H-1B visas available.
J-1 Program Update
The New York State Department of Health recently announced that it has moved its deadline from March 2006 to November 30, 2005.
The Ohio Department of Health recently released new guidelines for its J-1 waiver program. If you are planning to accept an offer of employment in Ohio, you should contact the Ohio State Department of Health or our office at mlfunk@duanemorris.com for a copy of the updated guidelines.
The following programs are scheduled to begin accepting applications on October 1, 2005: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington.
PERM Update
The Department of Labor recently withdrew a policy that would prevent an employer from filing more than one labor certification at a time on behalf of an employee. The Department of Labor has not yet finalized its position on this issue, but the recent retraction demonstrates an understanding that further exploration is needed.
In addition, the Department of Labor recently published an e-mail address for special handling cases at Backlog Elimination Centers. The addresses are:
For Dallas:
For Philadelphia:
Job Opportunities
Clients of Duane Morris' who are employers in Kentucky, West Virginia, Oregon, Kansas and Michigan have asked us to announce that there are multiple openings available with their clinics. Each employer has a clinic that meets the requirements for a J-1 waiver. There are opening for Psychiatrists, Endocrinologists, Hospitalists and Nephrologists. Contact Michelle Funk at regarding these openings.
DM Attorneys on the Move
The annual AILA Conference was held in June 2005 in Salt Lake City where partners from Duane Morris' national Immigration Practice Group, Denyse Sabagh, Roberta Freedman and Lisa Spiegel, were invited to speak on a range of immigration issues.
On August 13, 2005, Duane Morris held its first J-1 Physician Symposium in Philadelphia, PA, with speakers from our Washington, D.C. Immigration Practice Group, including Denyse Sabagh, Roberta Freedman and Michelle Funk. The focus of this series of symposiums is "Life After Training: Options for J-1 and H-1B Physicians." Please contact Rachel Sommers at if you would like materials from this event. Additionally, please stay tuned for the next symposium location.
Roberta Freedman and Denyse Sabagh, partners in Duane Morris' national Immigration Practice Group, were selected by their peers for inclusion in the prestigious referral guide "Best Lawyers in America 2006."
For Further Information
If you have any questions or would like to suggest a topic to be covered in our upcoming publications, please contact one of the attorneys of our Immigration Law Practice Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.
