Section 591.10  Applicability

This Part implements Section 1182(e) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows state health departments to request a waiver of the J-1 Visa requirement that international medical graduates must return to their home country upon completion of graduate medical training in the United States.  If an international medical graduate is offered a three year employment contract in a health professional shortage area or medically underserved area, or serving a medically underserved population in Illinois, the Illinois Department of Public Health and certain federal agencies can request that the international medical graduate be allowed to remain in the United States.  The Illinois Department of Public Health has been authorized by the U.S. Information Agency to request J-1 Visa Waivers annually for up to 30 eligible physicians.

a)         The provisions of this Part are organized into two Subparts.  Subpart A includes  general provisions, such as definitions and administrative hearing rules, which apply to all Sections of the Part.

b)         Subpart B establishes eligibility criteria for an international medical graduate to request that the Department seek a waiver of the J-1 Visa home-country requirements.  The Subpart sets forth the application time table and components, and the criteria to be used to select those physicians for whom a waiver will be requested.

(Source:  Amended at 29 Ill. Reg. 3327, effective February 16, 2005)