NIW Approvals Again for Medical Doctors Working in HPSAs!
Posted Oct 27, 1999

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. has recently, on October 20, 1999, received word that the U.S. Congress has passed a Bill reversing the harsh effects of the NYSDOT case for doctors working in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). The details of the final bill have not yet been released and we are providing this information based on preliminary information provided as of 2 days ago.

It appears that the new law will require the INS to approve National Interest Waiver (NIW) Petitions for those Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) and mandate that the FMGs continue to serve in an underserved area for 5 years. Unlike the present statute which requires the FMG to practice for 3 years in the HPSA to file the adjustment of status or the I-485 and related documents, the present Bill will allow the FMG to file the I-485 at any time while working at the HPSA. The INS will process the case but will hold the I-485 case in abeyance and approve it after the doctor has worked for 5 years at the HPSA. The practical effect may be the same as currently, since most medical doctors now have to wait for the 3 years to file the I-485 and then have to wait an additional 2 years before they are eligible for obtaining the green card since the INS is taking about 2 years or longer for processing the I-485.

This Bill is the first in a series of efforts by AILA, hopefully to attempt to mitigate the harsh effects of the NYSDOT case which has adversely affected many potential NIW applicants for the green card.

This breaking news which has not yet been officially released should be attributed to the intense lobbying efforts of some of our learned colleagues at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Apparently, it is expected to be signed by President Clinton very soon. We will provide further details as they become available, but in the meantime we wanted to share the good news with our readers!