USCIS adopts recent AAO decision affirming National Interest Waiver category includes medical specialists in addition to primary care physicians
/In February the Administrative Appeals Office ("AAO") decided an important case for physicians applying for immigrant visas in the National Interest Waiver category, and on March 9, 2016 USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum officially adopting the AAO's decision as agency policy. In its decision in Matter of H-V-P, the AAO held that medical specialists who agree to practice in any area designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of health care professionals or in a VA facility may be eligible for the physician National Interest Waiver category of green cards. This expansion to include medical specialists is a major victory for American communities suffering from a shortage of qualified physicians and foreign-born medical specialists who with to remain in the U.S. If you have questions about whether physicians working for your organization may qualify for a green card in the National Interest Waiver category, please contact one of the attorneys at Iandoli Desai and Cronin at info@iandoli.com or by calling us at 617-482-1010.