J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa – Foreign Medical Graduates

1. Definition of Foreign Medical Graduate. INA § 101 (a) (41).

Foreign medical graduates may participate in various J-1 categories, depending on their activities. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines “graduates of a medical school” as “aliens who have graduated from a medical school or who have qualified to practice medicine in a foreign state, other than such aliens who are of national or international renown in the field of medicine.”

2. Purpose of J-1 Foreign Medical Graduates / Alien Physicians Program. 22 C.F.R. § 62.27 (a).

The purpose of the J-1 Visitor Exchange program for foreign medical graduates and alien physicians is to provide an opportunity for foreign medical graduates to pursue graduate medical education or training at accredited schools of medicine or scientific institutions in the U.S. Also, foreign medical graduates may participate in J-1 programs involving observation, consultation, teaching, or research activities.

3. Types of J-1 Exchange Programs for J-1 Foreign Medical Graduates / Alien Physicians.

There are three types of J-1 Exchange programs that foreign medical graduates and alien physicians may participate in. Each type of program has its own criteria. Foreign medical graduates and alien physicians may participate in:

  • Clinical exchange programs for graduate medical education or training.
  • Non-clinical exchange programs for purposes of observation, consultation, teaching or research; or
  • Public health and preventive medicine exchange programs which do not include any clinical activities involving direct patient care.

4. Duration of Foreign Medical Graduates / Alien Physicians Exchange Program Participation. 22 C.F.R. § 62.27 (e).

The duration of an alien physician’s participation in a J-1 Clinical Exchange Program is limited to the time typically required to complete such program. The length of stay will be determined at the time of the alien physician’s entry into the United States.

Duration of participation in any J-1 Foreign Medical / Alien Physician Exchange Program is limited to seven years. An extension may be obtained if the alien physician can demonstrate that the country to which the alien physician will return at the end of the additional training has an exceptional need for an individual with such additional qualification. Extensions may also be obtained to include the time necessary to take an examination required for certification by a specialty board or to repeat one year of clinical medical training.

5. Applicability of the Two-Year Home Residency Requirement. 22 C.F.R. § 62.27 (g).

All exchange foreign medical graduates and visitor physicians coming to the United States “for the purpose of receiving graduate medical education or training” are automatically subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement. The availability for a waiver of the two-year home-country physical presence requirement for such individuals is limited.

Foreign medical graduates and alien physicians coming to the United States for the purpose of observation, consultation, teaching, or research are not automatically subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement. Participants may be subject to this requirement if they are governmentally financed or if they are pursuing a field of study catalogued in the J-1 Exchange Visitor Skills List.

6. Alternatives to the J-1 Foreign Medical Graduates / Alien Physicians Category.

For foreign medical graduates and alien physicians who wish to come to the United States as nonimmigrants, the H-1B temporary worker category should also be considered.