International Medical Graduates are permitted to come to the United States for medical residency training on a J-1, non-immigrant Exchange Visitor Visa. Upon completion of training, J-1 visa physicians are required to return to their country of origin for two years before applying for a new United States immigration Visa. The two-year home return requirement may be waived for a physician willing to practice medicine full-time in an underserved area of the United States for a period of three years. A petition for a waiver of the home return requirement is granted by the federal government where a qualified application is submitted to a state health department and the Governor's Designee determines that the immigration waiver is in the national interest.
6 CCR 1016-3-1.3