Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program for Physicians
The New Mexico J-1 Visa Waiver (Conrad State 30) Program allows foreign medical graduates to obtain a waiver of their 2-year foreign residence requirement in exchange for a commitment to practice in underserved areas of New Mexico after the completion of their training.
Under the Conrad State 30 Program, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) may support the requests of up to 30 candidates per federal fiscal year for these waivers. Up to 10 waivers may be used in non-designated areas as long as they serve patient populations from designated medically underserved areas.
Application
The J-1 waiver applications are accepted at the beginning of September of each year. The application process is on a first come, first serve basis. Applications are accepted until all 30 waivers have been filled.
Process
A physician wanting to apply for a waiver recommendation from the NMDOH must submit a complete NM J-1 Waiver Application 2024 packet.
Applications and all supporting documents should be sent to the NMDOH J-1 Visa Waiver Program Coordinator. When the application packet is received, the J-1 Visa Waiver Program Coordinator will review for completeness and conformity to Federal and State of New Mexico requirements.
NOTE: Waiver slots will not be reserved with incomplete applications packets.
After review of the complete application packet, a decision for a letter of support from NMDOH typically takes 4-6 weeks.
If a letter of support is granted, the NMDOH J-1 Visa Waiver Program Coordinator will send the completed application packet directly to the US Department of State (DOS). According to the DOS website, the processing times vary depending on the basis under which you request a waiver. After the review process, the DOS will forward its recommendation to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS makes the final determination on wavier requests."
Forms
FAQ's
Tools
The Find Shortage Areas site is used to query shortage area data. The available tools are HPSA Find, Shortage Areas by Address, and MUA Find.
The US Department of State - J-1 Waiver Guide describes eligibility, how-to-apply, and additional information about the Waiver of Exchange Visitor Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement.