Nevada Shifts Oversight of J-1 Visa Program, Will Address Abuses

Nevada has shifted oversight of the J-1 visa program from another bureau of the state Health Division to the Health Planning and Statistics Bureau, and the new overseer of the program said she will aggressively enforce the program's guidelines, the Las Vegas Sun reports (Allen, Las Vegas Sun, 1/29). The program allows foreign physicians to practice in medically underserved communities of the state.

However, a recent Sun investigation of the program found that some foreign physicians were forced by their sponsors to work up to 100 hours per week, were being "cheated out of their salaries" and "diverted from the patients" in underserved areas that they were supposed to help. According to the Sun investigation, "The abuses are possible because the foreign doctors are reluctant to complain about their employers, who sponsor the visas allowing them to stay in the U.S." (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/17).

Lynn O'Mara, the new overseer, said she will meet privately with J-1 physicians over the next six months to address program abuses reported by the Sun. O'Mara can enforce past violations by reporting possible cases of fraud to the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners. In addition, O'Mara said she might file complaints against the foreign doctors for not fulfilling the terms of the J-1 waiver program by working in areas not classified as underserved. The state also plans to expand the advisory council to include seven members who are not state employees involved in the program, according to O'Mara (Las Vegas Sun, 1/29).