[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48515-48516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23199]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Designation of Geographic Shortage Areas for Waiver of Two-Year
Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement, International Medical
Graduates, Exchange Visitor Program
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DHHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability of information about areas with
shortages of health care professionals.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr. Evan R. Arrindell, Acting Director, Division of Shortage
Designation, Bureau of Primary Health Care, 4350 East-West Highway,
Room 9-1D-1, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, (301) 594-0816.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 220 of the Immigration and
Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-416) amended
the Immigration and Nationality Act (``the Act'') (8 U.S.C. 1182(e)) to
add a new subsection (k) to Section 214 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1184)
concerning waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement for
international medical graduates (``IMGs''). IMGs who were admitted to
the United States on a J-1 visa in the exchange visitor program, or who
acquired this status after admission to the United States, are subject
to a 2-year home country residence and physical presence requirement.
This means that they must reside and be physically present in their
country of nationality or last residence abroad for an aggregate of at
least 2 years following departure from the United States prior to
acquiring lawful permanent resident status, unless they have been
granted a waiver of this requirement.
Under section 212(e) of the Act, a waiver of the 2-year requirement
may be granted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (``INS'')
upon favorable recommendation of the Director of the United States
Information Agency (USIA) on the basis of: (a) Exceptional hardship to
the applicant's U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or children;
(b) persecution on account of race, religion, or political opinion; (c)
a ``no objection'' statement issued by the applicant's
[[Page 48516]]
``home'' country; or (d) a request made to USIA by an interested U.S.
Government agency to recommend a waiver to USIA because the applicant's
work is important to the public interest.
The Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act provided
an additional basis for waiver of the 2-year requirement. A State
Department of Public Health or its equivalent can request the Director
of USIA to recommend that INS grant up to 20 waivers a year. Conditions
for these requests are that: (a) in the case of an alien who is
otherwise contractually obligated to return to a foreign country, the
government of that country provides USIA with a written statement that
it has no objection to the waiver; (b) the IMG demonstrates that he or
she has a bona fide offer of full-time employment and will begin this
employment within 90 days of receipt of a waiver, for a period totaling
not less than 3 years; (c) the employment is in an area designated by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of
health care professionals. Both INS and USIA have published in the
Federal Register interim-final regulations, with requests for comments,
setting forth procedures and requirements for obtaining State-requested
waiver requests. 60 F.R. 26676 (May 18, 1995) and 60 F.R. 16785 (April
3, 1995).
Section 214(k)(1) of the Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) authorizes the
Secretary of HHS to designate ``geographic area or areas * * * as
having a shortage of health care professionals'' for purposes of the
State-requested waiver. Notice is hereby given that both Health
Professional Shortage Areas (``HPSAS'') and Medically Underserved
Areas/Medically Underserved Populations (``MUAs/MUPs''), determined
under Sections 332 and 330 of the Public Health Service Act,
respectively, (42 U.S.C. 254e and 254c) are designated by the Secretary
of HHS for purposes of 2-year home residency waiver requests by States
under Section 214(k)(1) of the Act. HPSAs can be geographic areas,
population groups, and health care facilities meeting regulatory
criteria set forth at 42 CFR Part 5. Only physicians specialized in
primary care (family practice, general internal medicine, pediatrics,
and obstetrics and gynecology) are considered for physician shortage
areas.
MUAs/MUPs are shortage areas and population groups designated
pursuant to criteria set forth at 42 CFR Sec. 51c.102(e) based on
weighted values related to primary care physician ratios, infant
mortality rates, the percentage of the population age 65 and over, and
the percentage of the population below the poverty level. Whole
counties and groups of contiguous counties can be designated.
The Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources Services
Administration publishes periodically a list of HPSAs in the Federal
Register. The latest list was published on January 21, 1994 (59 F.R.
3412). This office also issues a list of MUAs/MUPs. Persons interested
in obtaining this list or other information concerning HPSAs and MUAs/
MUPs should contact: Dr. Evan R. Arrindell, Acting Director, Division
of Shortage Designation, Bureau of Primary Health Care, 4350 East-West
Highway, Room 9-1D-1 Bethesda, Maryland 20814 (phone: (301) 594-0816).
Dated: September 1, 1995.
Donna E. Shalala,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-23199 Filed 9-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-M
