United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2006-05-18 monographic deposited born digital 30 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-773T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T P0b002ee180384f91 f:d06773t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T GAO-06-773T Employment of foreign nationals Foreign medical graduates Health care personnel J-1 Visa waiver J-1 Visas Physicians Testimony A54201 Many U.S. communities face difficulties attracting physicians to meet their health care needs. To address this problem, states and federal agencies have turned to foreign physicians who have just completed their graduate medical education in the United States under J-1 visas. Ordinarily, these physicians are required to return home after completing their education, but this requirement can be waived at the request of a state or federal agency if the physician agrees to practice in, or work at a facility that treats residents of, an underserved area. In 1996, GAO reported that J-1 visa waivers had become a major means of providing physicians for underserved areas, with over 1,300 requested in 1995. Since 2002, each state has been allotted 30 J-1 visa waivers per year, but some states have expressed interest in more. GAO was asked to report on its preliminary findings from ongoing work on (1) the number of J-1 visa waivers requested by states and federal agencies and (2) states' views on the 30-waiver limit and on their willingness to have unused waiver allotments redistributed. Such redistribution would require legislative action. GAO surveyed the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 3 U.S. insular areas--the 54 entities that are considered states for purposes of requesting J-1 visa waivers--and federal agencies about waivers they requested in fiscal years 2003-05. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T.pdf GAO-06-773T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-773T Testimony GAO-06-773T; Foreign Physicians: Preliminary Findings on the Use of J-1 Visa Waivers to Practice in Underserved Areas; Employment of foreign nationals Foreign medical graduates Health care personnel J-1 Visa waiver J-1 Visas Physicians Volume 75 Page 527 75 Stat. 527 Volume 108 Page 4305 108 Stat. 4305 Volume 116 Page 1758 116 Stat. 1758 Volume 118 Page 2630 118 Stat. 2630 Public Law 87-256