Complaints on getting medical residency visas.
By Sujeet Rajan
NEW YORK: U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, HAS called on the State Department to improve the visa approval process for Indian and Pakistani physicians slated to work in the United States.
In a letter to the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Meng said that international physicians set to do their residencies at American hospitals have encountered great difficulty in obtaining J-1 visas from their U.S. Embassies, especially those located in India and Pakistan. The problem has resulted in serious dilemmas for the physicians, and the American hospitals at which they’re set to work.
“I am told that in the past years, there have been several instances where undue delays in the issuance of visas resulted in hospitals having to withdraw offers to foreign physicians who had already accepted, effectively preventing these physicians from entering the United States at all,” Meng wrote in her correspondence to Assistant Secretary of State Michele Bond, a copy of which was made available to The American Bazaar. “I understand that the Department of State has made great strides in recognizing the unique time frame that international physicians face as they apply for these visas. However, given the high turnover of staff in U.S. Embassies located in India and Pakistan, it is difficult to maintain the institutional knowledge and understanding of this issue needed to adjudicate the visas in the appropriate timeframe.“
The J-1 is a temporary nonimmigrant visa that international physicians use to work in U.S. medical residency programs, most of which begin next month.
A copy of Meng’s correspondence is below:
The Honorable Michele T. Bond
Assistant Secretary (Acting) of the Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Ms. Bond:
In recent months, I have heard reports of international physicians encountering difficulty in obtaining their J-1 visas.
As you know, the J-1 is a temporary nonimmigrant visa used by participants in the Exchange Visitor Program, established to enhance international exchange and mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other nations. International physicians use the J-1 visa to work in the United States in graduate medical education programs, more commonly referred to as residency programs.
International medical graduates are offered a position in a medical residency program in mid-March of each year. The medical residency programs typically begin at the beginning of July of that same year. International physicians accepted into these programs have a three and a half month window to obtain a visa and move to the United States to begin these rigorous and highly competitive residency programs.
Constituents have informed me that some international physicians with required licenses and certificates have encountered great difficulty in obtaining J-1 visas from their U.S. Embassy, especially those located in India and Pakistan. This has resulted in serious problems for both these physicians and hospitals where they have been matched. I am told that in the past years, there have been several instances where undue delays in the issuance of visas resulted in hospitals having to withdraw offers to foreign physicians who had already accepted, effectively preventing these physicians from entering the United States at all.
I understand that the Department of State has made great strides in recognizing the unique time frame that international physicians face as they apply for these visas. However, given the high turnover of staff in U.S. Embassies located in India and Pakistan, it is difficult to maintain the institutional knowledge and understanding of this issue needed to adjudicate the visas in the appropriate timeframe.
I would like to work with your office to address this issue so that international medical graduates do not experience undue delays in the future. Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Grace Meng
Member of Congress.