Department of Veterans Affairs : Physician J-1 Waivers
Posted Jul 18, 2003

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA or Department) is responsible for providing federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. The VA will act as an interested government agency (IGA) and seek a waiver of the J-1 two-year home residency requirement (HRR) when it is clearly in the interest of the Department's mission and programs. This is one of the possible IGA waivers available for J-1s discussed in Overview: J-1 Visa, IGAs for Physicians, published in the MurthyBulletin on June 15, 2003 and available on MurthyDotCom.

Obtaining an HRR waiver through the VA is particularly attractive to foreign medical graduates who are able to secure positions with a VA medical facility. The VA medical facility and the foreign medical graduate conjunctively prepare and file the waiver application with the VA central office in Washington D.C. The application then will be reviewed by the VA and forwarded to the U.S. Department of State (DOS). If the DOS recommends the waiver, it will be forwarded to BCIS for issuance of the approval notice.

Eligibility Criteria for VA Waivers

VA HRR waiver applicants must demonstrate that: (a) the loss of the exchange visitor’s services will disrupt a VA program; (b) the VA facility failed, after comprehensive recruitment not initiated specifically for the exchange visitor, to find a qualified U.S. physician (c) the position is in demand at a VA facility. Please note that, unlike waivers generally obtained through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, waivers from the VA may be obtained regardless of whether the VA facility is located in a health professional shortage area (HPSA).

The physician must agree to work at the VA facility for a minimum of three years and must begin employment within 90 days of receiving the waiver approval. The foreign medical graduate is also expected to comply with all Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) as well as U.S. Department of Labor regulations. In practical terms, this means the individual must procure H1B nonimmigrant status in order to begin working at the VA facility as a physician. This also means that the individual must meet licensing requirements for the position and the facility must offer at least 95% of the prevailing wage for the position. The exchange visitor may not procure any alternative visa or status during the three-year commitment to the VA facility.

J-1 Waiver Applicant Must Timely Notify VA of BCIS Decision

Exchange visitors meeting the above-mentioned requirements will be granted a waiver of the two-year HRR. It is the responsibility of the exchange visitor to inform the VA facility where s/he will work and as to whether the waiver has been denied or granted within 15 days of the decision. If approved, the VA facility then is expected to contact its central office on the date that the foreign medical graduate begins working.

Waiver Subject to Reconsideration or Revocation

The waiver will be subject to reconsideration if the required obligations are not met. Specifically, if the foreign medical graduate fails to begin employment with the VA facility within the required period, the waiver will be revoked. Additionally, the foreign medical graduate must complete the three-year employment commitment, or s/he will be required to fulfill the two-year HRR. An exception to this rule is provided to individual exchange visitors who can demonstrate that their employment was prematurely terminated as a result of “extenuating circumstance,” such as hardship to the foreign national or closing of the VA facility. This circumstance must have been unforeseen at the time of filing the waiver. It is important to note that, in the event that the VA facility closes, the foreign medical graduate will be expected to serve any time remaining on his/her three-year commitment at an alternative, qualifying VA facility.