BACKGROUND:

DENIAL OR DELAY IN ISSUANCE OF J1 VISAS FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATES FROM PAKISTAN

Problem

Medical school graduates in Pakistan applying for U.S. medical residency programs have been experiencing denials, cancellations, or significant delays in obtaining J1 visas from the U.S. embassy and consulates in Pakistan.

Discussion

International Medical Graduates (IMG) make significant contributions to medical care in the United States. Currently, IMGs comprise about 25% of all U.S. physicians. Some 65% of IMGs serve as primary care physicians in rural areas with shortages of health care professionals.

In recent years, graduates of medical schools in Pakistan have been experiencing an undue number of denials, cancellations or significant delays in obtaining J1 visas at U.S. missions in Pakistan to participate in U.S. medical residency training. Many of these result from the fact that the applicant merely has the same last name as individuals on security watch lists maintained by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Also, Pakistani medical school graduates must undergo two separate security screenings: (1) Once when they travel to the U.S. on B1 visitor visas for residency interviews. They must then return to Pakistan. (2) After being selected and signing a residency contract, they are screened again when applying for a J1 visa to start the U.S. residency.

As a result of the lengthy and duplicative security process, Pakistani medical graduates have experienced a decline in U.S. residency participation. For example, in 2003 approximately 100 physicians from both India and Pakistan enrolled in U.S. residencies on J1 visas. In 2010, more than 400 medical graduates from India started U.S. residencies, while the number from Pakistan has remained at around 100.

There are two parts to the problem:

1. J1 visa is denied because the Pakistani applicant does not have sufficient U.S. ties and thereby, they wouldn’t come back after finishing their residencies. This implies that they will become illegal, and thus could be a burden on U.S. society. These criteria could be appropriate for B1 visitor visas but not J1. Medical students on J1 visas have residency contracts with U.S. hospitals and thus can provide for themselves. The goal is to prevent this problem from happening in the future.

2. J1 visa is granted but the processing time is greatly delayed due to security checks. Delays can take 2-6 months. Such delays hurt Pakistanis’ prospects for residency programs; in fact, they are a key reason why fewer Pakistan students get into residencies than students from India.

Request

The State Department is respectfully requested to (1) review and streamline security screening for Pakistani medical graduates applying for U.S. residencies; (2) reconsider J1 visa denials or cancellations already received by medical students. The Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America has a list of 14 J1 visa denials or cancellations that have occurred in 2011 alone.

Recently two Pakistani physicians were subject to such an ordeal and went through months of agony and hardship after being detained in Canada. For three months, the couple tried reaching all the government and immigration departments as well as numerous advocacy organizations to no avail. Click the video above to hear their story and see how CPR was able to help.