The U.S. healthcare system stands at a critical juncture. Projections estimate a deficit of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, threatening access to care, especially in underserved communities. The bipartisan Doctors in Our...more
The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) released an updated policy manual at the end of September for the 2025 Conrad 30 Waiver Program application cycle, which opened October 1st. Changes include an online-only submission...more
Maryland health care employers and J-1 physicians who commit to serve the underserved in Maryland and who missed Conrad 30 waiver application deadline Dec. 1 are in luck: The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) has reopened...more
A government shutdown was narrowly avoided on September 30, 2023 after Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government for an additional 45 days. However, another shutdown is possible if Congress does not pass...more
The U.S. faces a shortage of 124,000 physicians by 2034 according to the latest study by the Association of American Medical Colleges – a projection exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals seeing increased traffic,...more
On May 11, 2002, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum relating to certain J-1 waivered foreign medical graduates during the COVID-19 national emergency. The memo, captioned “Temporary...more
Healthcare workers – critical to the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic – are needed more now than ever, yet the bureaucracy surrounding employment of foreign national healthcare workers creates roadblocks....more
The Texas Service Center has begun processing Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, for H-1B petitions where the beneficiary has already been charged against the H-1B annual limit. ...more
The current government shutdown does not affect the vast majority of USCIS’s activities. Their offices are open, and interviews and appointments are proceeding as normal. USCIS continues to accept petitions and applications...more
For the third time this year, a government shutdown is looming. While the Trump Administration is lobbying for funding for a border wall, thousands of lawful immigrants are wondering, “what is going to happen to my case?” The...more
On September 18, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would resume the premium processing service for fiscal year 2018 H-1B cap cases....more
USCIS has resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 cap. This includes petitions receipted in this year's H-1B lottery process, subject to the standard H-1B cap of 65,000 and...more
USCIS announced on Monday, September 18, 2017, that it will immediately accept premium processing requests of all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 cap. H-1B cap petitions filed in April 2017,...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced, on September 18, 2017, that it has resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2018 cap. USCIS had originally...more
On March 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unexpectedly announced that it would temporarily suspend its premium processing service for all H-1B petitions received on or after April 3, 2017. The...more
As of July 24, 2017, USCIS has resumed premium processing service for certain types of H-1B cap-exempt petitions. While premium processing is still not available for most H-1B petitions, USCIS announced that it will now...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 24, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would resume premium processing for H-1B petitions for certain cap-exempt employers effective immediately....more
USCIS announced that – beginning July 24, 2017 – it will resume premium processing for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions, including those where the petitioner is an institution of higher education, a nonprofit organization...more
The United States Supreme Court has allowed portions of President Trump’s travel ban to take effect; citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen may be denied admission to the United States if they lack any...more
Supreme Court Agrees to Review President Trump’s Travel Ban and Narrows the Scope of Lower Court Injunctions - On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it had agreed to hear President Trump’s...more
On Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed for physicians under the Conrad Waiver program, as well as interested government interagency waivers....more
On Friday, June 23, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that premium processing for H-1B petitions — which the agency suspended for all such petitions beginning April 3, 2017 — will be brought...more
USICS announced that – beginning June 26, 2017 – it will resume premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed for medical doctors under the Conrad 30 Waiver Program, as well as interested government agency waivers....more
President Trump Notifies Congress of Intent to Renegotiate NAFTA - On May 18, 2017, President Trump officially notified Congress of the administration’s intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement...more