Bipartisan Group of Congressional Lawmakers Work to Increase ‘Alien Physician’ Jobs in Rural Areas

 A bipartisan group of Congress members and Senators, including Republican David Valadao and Democrat Mike Garcia of California, Brad Schneider (D-CO), and Don Bacon (R-NE), as well as Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Thom Tillis (R-NC), have cosponsored legislation to expand and extend a program that allows foreign nationals, specifically J-1 visa foreign medical graduates, to fill physician vacancies in rural areas of the U.S. 

The bills, introduced to the House as H.R.1585 and to the Senate as S. 709, would allow the Conrad 30 program to continue for an additional three years and increase the waiver limit of thirty to thirty-five in states that have exceeded 90 percent usage. In exchange for this waiver, “alien physician(s)” are required to give a “period of service” of five years. 

The Conrad 30 program was established in 1994 and authorized each state to issue 30 waivers to J-1 visa foreign medical graduates, waiving their requirement to return to their home country for two years after completing their education in the U.S.

S. 719 explains in its text,

“the alien physician agrees to work on a full-time basis practicing primary care, specialty medicine, or a combination thereof, in an area or areas designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of health care professionals, or at a health care facility under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or the alien physician is pursuing such waiver based upon service at a facility or facilities that serve patients who reside in a geographic area or areas designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of health care professionals (without regard to whether such facility or facilities are located within such an area) and a Federal agency, or a local, county, regional, or State department of public health determines the alien physician’s work was or will be in the public interest.”

Speaking with The Center Square, Rep. David Valadao explained, “Programs like Conrad 30 have been instrumental in helping address this gap by bringing highly trained physicians to the areas that need them most.”

Congressman Schneider told the outlet, “Expanding the Conrad 30 visa waiver program is a smart, commonsense step that both parties can support to ensure all Americans have access to quality health care, from doctors they trust, where and when they need it.”

Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, told The Center Square, “With the physician workforce crisis showing no signs of abating, the Conrad 30 program remains an important tool to help ensure patients, particularly in rural and underserved communities, continue to have access to physicians.”

The Center Square cites findings from a recent poll it commissioned, conducted by RMG Research with Napolitan News Service, indicating that 74 percent of voters say that legal immigration is good for the country, and even boasts that 84 percent of Republicans polled held the same view. The poll, which was conducted on August 21st, asked 1,000 registered voters across the U.S. their opinions on both legal and illegal immigration, with 16 percent stating they felt both illegal and legal immigration are good for the nation, while only 8 percent said that all immigration is a net negative for the United States.

Scott Rasmussen, president of RMG Research and founder of Napolitan Institute, told The Center Square, “Views on immigration have stayed steady for decades. Border security is very important to voters. In fact, most say there is no point in discussing other immigration reforms until the border is secure.” 

A June 2-26 Gallup poll of 1,402 U.S. adults, which included oversamples of Hispanic and Black Americans, and was weighted to match national demographics, appeared to offer a similar result with the percentage of Republicans calling for overall immigration to decrease, dropping from 88 percent in 2024 to 48 percent in 2025. This would seem to align with the commonly-held, establishment GOP notion that the party largely supports immigration, provided that it is done legally.

As a counterpoint, showing perhaps not all Republicans are convinced, the Center Square post entitled “Vast majority of Americans think legal immigration is necessary” garnered 116 comments, of which 62 expressed a view against legal immigration.