Speech #1100128160

We want to extend what they have done." But in many areas that are more rural than Southern Maryland. as in many inner cities. the gap between medical needs and resources remains great. despite government efforts. In 1994. Congress made foreign doctors who train in the United States while holding a socalled J1 visa eligible to apply for a green card if they practiced for at least three years in underserved areas. The program. which exempts J1 holders from a required return home for two years after their training is complete. has placed thousands of doctors in innercity and rural communities. as well as in prisons. They continue to flood the United States with residency applications. but each year the program receives fewer applications and fills fewer spots. Last year. only 900 of the 1.620 available waivers were issued. Rural health experts attribute much of that drop to the popularity of another visa. the HlB. which allows U.S. companies to temporarily sponsor highly skilled foreign workers in such fields as medicine. architecture and science. In 2000. to make more H1B visas available for technology companies. Congress exempted research institutions and universities. including their hospitals. from a cap on the hardtoget visas. The popularity of the J1 waiver program plummeted. and the pipeline that once channeled doctors to underserved areas narrowed. Today. no medical facilities in Southern Maryland are eligible to sponsor physicians under the J1 waiver program.