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.