Medical Employment Service
800-538-1568

Options For Foreign National Physicians

The most common immigration options for foreign national physicians working in the United States are:

• H-IB Visa Nonimmigrant Option
• TN Visa Canadian Nonimmigrant Option
• Employment-Based Green Card (permanent resident) immigrant option.

The following overview of these three options has been prepared by Valerie Brodsky, Esquire. Ms. Brodsky is a Partner with Vandeventer Black LLP in Norfolk Virginia. She concentrates her law practice in all aspects of Immigration Law. She may be reached at (757) 446-8600.

Nonimmigrant

H-IB Visa: What the Physician Must Prove to the INS
An H-lB petition for a physician must be accompanied by evidence that the physician: Has a license or other authorization required by the state of intended employment to practice medicine, or is exempt by law therefrom, if the physician will perform direct patient care and the state requires the license or authorization, and has a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in a foreign state, or has graduated from a medical school in a foreign state, or in the United States. The petitioner, on behalf of the physician, must establish that the physician:

• Is coming to the United States primarily to teach or conduct research, or both, at or for a public or nonprofit private educational or research institution or agency, and that no patient care will be performed, except that which is incidental to the physician's teaching or research, or
• The physician has passed the Federation Licensing Examination (or an equivalent examination as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services) or
• Is a graduate of a United States medical school, and has competency in oral and written English which must be demonstrated by the passage of the English language proficiency test given by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, or
• Is a graduate of a school of medicine accredited by a body or bodies approved for that purpose by the Secretary of Education.

• Canadian citizen foreign medical graduates coming to the United States as TN nonimmigrants must be coming to engage in teaching and / or research, and may not come to engage in direct patient care.
• Note, however, that patient care which is incidental to (or casually incurred in conjunction with) teaching and / or research is permissible.

Immigrant

Employment-Based Green Card (Permanent Resident) Option
A foreign national graduate of a medical school not accredited by a body or bodies approved for the purpose by the Secretary of Education (regardless of whether the school of medicine is in the United States) and who is coming to the United States principally to perform services as a member of the medical profession is considered eligible for classification as an employment-based second" preference immigrant only if

• The individual establishes that he or she has passed Parts I and II of the National Board of Medical Examiners Examination (NBMEE), or an equivalent examination as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and
• He or she is competent in oral and written English.

Qualified immigrants who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent (including physicians and surgeons) may be eligible for a national interest waiver if it can be established that they will substantially benefit prospectively the national economy, cultural or educational interests, or welfare of the United States.

      Other physicians whose services are sought by an employer in the United States may qualify for employment-based second preference status through an application for alien employment certification.

      For more information regarding physician immigration options, issues, and concerns you may visit www.vanblk.com or e-mail Ms. Brodsky at vbrodsky@vanblk.com, or call 757-446-8600.