It looks very likely that the Conrad 30 waiver program will be extended until September 30th – all that is needed is the President’s expected signature.
The Conrad 30 waiver program allows each state in the United States to “sponsor”30 foreign national physicians who promise to provide critically needed health care to communities that are medically under served. Americans get high quality health care that would not otherwise be available, and the foreign national physicians get the opportunity to stay in the United States and receive a J-1 waiver.
With such a win-win situation, the only question that remains is why the program is not extended indefinitely. Perhaps, one day in the future the United States will create a system that ensures all areas of the country have access to quality health care without needing additional physicians from outside the United States – but that day is not around the corner and until it is there is no reason that the Conrad 30 program should be put at constant risk of sunset.