Lawmakers In US Seeks To Speed Up Visas For Indian Doctors

21 Nov 2014

In a bid to meet the scarcity of skilled physicians in the United States, legislation has been introduced by the leading American lawmaker to accelerate visas for Indian doctors.

A member of House Foreign Affairs Committee, Grace Meng, Democratic Congresswoman from New York, has introduced a legislation, which needs State Department to accelerate the process of visa approval for Indian physicians who are programmed to work in the US hospitals.

The legislation bill seeks to offset the complexity faced by overseas physicians, particularly by Indian doctors in acquiring J-1 visas from American Embassies in their nations.

The Meng's legislation also needs the faster review of J-1 visa applicants, which is the only accountability of a designated officer or worker from March to June, as most of the programs start in July.

She added that the enduring lengthy and extreme visa holdups of physicians from India are unacceptable.

She also said that in several cases, due to long delays in the visas approvals, many hospitals are being forced to with draw their offers from overseas physicians, in fact preventing the doctors from arriving to the US.

The long delays not only effected the commitments and plans of physicians, who would like to enter the US, but also affected the number of Americans who rely on these facilities for serious medical treatment, mainly in communities where there is a scarcity of doctors.

The J-1 is a short-term non-immigrant visa that allows overseas physicians to work in US medical residency programs.

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