A bill to increase by 5 the number of flex waivers available in each State for J-1 nonimmigrants and to establish a secondary physician match portal to assist alien physicians who are unable to find employment in their preferred State of residence to find employment in another State.

Kevin Cramer

Republican · ND · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)Original· 2026-05-21

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-05-21

Source: Congress.gov

This bill would allow more foreign doctors on temporary J-1 visas to work in states other than where they initially planned, by increasing the number of "flex waivers" each state can grant and creating an online system to help these doctors find jobs in different states. The changes would make it easier for foreign physicians to practice medicine across the country when they can't find positions in their preferred location, potentially helping address doctor shortages in areas that need them.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4637 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4637 To increase by 5 the number of flex waivers available in each State for J-1 nonimmigrants and to establish a secondary physician match portal to assist alien physicians who are unable to find employment in their preferred State of residence to find employment in another State. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 21, 2026 Mr. Cramer (for himself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To increase by 5 the number of flex waivers available in each State for J-1 nonimmigrants and to establish a secondary physician match portal to assist alien physicians who are unable to find employment in their preferred State of residence to find employment in another State. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Conrad 30 Physician Workforce Optimization Act''. SEC. 2. INCREASING THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF FLEX WAIVER ALLOWANCE SLOTS IN EACH STATE. Section 214(l)(1)(D)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(l)(1)(D)(ii)) is amended by striking ``10'' and inserting ``15''. SEC. 3. SECONDARY PHYSICIAN MATCH PORTAL. Section 214(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(4)(A) The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, after consultation with the heads of a representative sample of State Departments of Public Health, shall establish a portal for alien physicians who-- ``(i) have been granted the status of a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(J)(i); ``(ii)(I) have applied for a waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement under section 212(e), but were not selected by the State to which they submitted their application; or ``(II) have sought to apply for a waiver of the 2- year foreign residence requirement under section 212(e), but were unable to submit an application because the State's numerical cap had been reached, or applications were otherwise not accepted at the time of the attempted submission; and ``(iii) request to be included in such portal. ``(B) Any State, or any employer located in such State, that has not filled all of its allotted waivers under paragraph (1)(B) for the current fiscal year may use the portal established pursuant to subparagraph (A) to access information about the credentials of potential alien physicians who may be interested in obtaining full-time employment as a primary care or specialty care provider in such State. ``(C) Information about international medical graduates who request to be included in the portal established pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be included on an attestation form that is sent to an organizing body to facilitate the dissemination of such information to States with available waivers. ``(D) The Director shall establish a secondary match period, not to exceed 60 days, during which employers in States with available waivers for the current fiscal year can review and interview alien physicians included in the portal before March 1st of such fiscal year. ``(E)(i) The portal shall contain essential information contained in the alien physicians initial application to streamline the secondary application process for potential employers. ``(ii) Employers participating in the secondary application process shall certify that-- ``(I)(aa) their facilities are located in a health professional shortage area or in a medically underserved area; or ``(bb) they are seeking an applicable flex waiver under section 214(l)(1)(D)(ii); and ``(II) they have unsuccessfully advertised the…

position for which the alien physician will be hired. ``(iii) State departments of public health and prospective employers shall be provided access to the portal in order to identify potential alien physicians. ``(F) The Director, after consultation with a representative sample of State departments of health or related agencies, shall publish a set of best practices and core application requirements that-- ``(i) assist States in determining the sufficiency of waiver applications submitted for the secondary match; and ``(ii) include the essential elements necessary to establish sufficiency and ensure a streamlined process for the secondary match applications.''. <all>

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