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J-1 Waiver Option for Clinical Faculty

Conrad 30 Waiver Program 

The Conrad 30 Waiver program allows eligible “J-1 Alien Physicians” (i.e. medical residents or fellows) to apply for a waiver of the 212(e) Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement. The program may recommend up to 30 waivers per state per fiscal year to address the shortage of qualified physicians in each state’s medically underserved areas.

Next Steps

  1. The hiring department completes the new faculty appointment paperwork and determines your department’s commitment to sponsor a permanent residency application for the prospective faculty hire.
    1. The hiring department needs to ensure that they have funds to pay for the Conrad 30 Waiver application process including the law firm fees (click here for fee schedule). 
    2. Emory University will not sponsor this application if there are no plans to sponsor the prospective hire for a permanent residency process.  The 212(e) waiver is not needed for a temporary employment option such as O-1.  The waiver approval is needed for permanent residency sponsorship.   
  2. To start the Conrad Waiver process, complete the Conrad Waiver Request form and email it to isss@emory.edu.
    1. The law firm will not begin the case work until after they receive an official email from ISSS.  Please refrain from contacting the law firm as it will just delay the overall process.  
  3. Upon receiving the request form, ISSS will review for the sponsorship eligibility and contact the assigned law firm to initiate the process.

Timeline Considerations

  • Conrad waiver requests should be submitted to ISSS on or before April 30. Any Conrad waiver requests submitted on or after May 1 will be subject to a higher legal fee. Please refer to the fee schedule for these amounts. 
  • Upon submitting the request to ISSS, ISSS will review the eligibility and email the assigned law firm to begin the process including the initial case conference meeting with the employee, supervisor, department administrator, and ISSS.   
  • The Georgia Department of Community Health (GA DCH) accepts waiver applications between August 1 – August 31. The assigned law firm will prepare and file the waiver application before the August 31 deadline if otherwise eligible. 
  • If the waiver is selected among the 30 available spots, the next steps will be to receive a waiver recommendation from the US Department of State (DOS), followed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the final government approval. 
  • Upon receiving the waiver approval from USCIS, the hiring department can initiate the H-1B Request process so that the scholar can change to H-1B status to fulfill their Conrad 30 commitment for full three years as regulations require it.