Initiative Launched to Bring Physicians to Rural and Underserved Areas of Upstate New York

Washington, D.C. — The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) launched its J-1 Visa Program in collaboration with New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to make quality healthcare accessible to rural America by easing the visa requirements for nondomestic physicians who trained in the U.S. if they agree to practice in underserved areas, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, announced Dec. 5.

“Following my advocacy, the Northern Border Regional Commission will launch its J-1 Visa Program to help provide rural and underserved areas across Upstate New York and the North Country with accessible, quality, and affordable healthcare helping to alleviate the physician shortage,” Stefanik said, in a statement. 

NBRC will recommend the U.S. Department of Homeland Security waive what is known as the “two-year home-country physical presence requirement” for eligible physicians seeking to work at healthcare institutions and practices within the NBRC territory. The purpose is to help alleviate a physician workforce shortage disproportionately affecting rural America.

In July 2022, Stefanik led her colleagues in a letter specifically calling on the NBRC to implement a J-1 visa waiver program that would allow nondomestic physicians trained in the U.S. to work in health professional shortage areas or medically underserved areas within the NBRC’s area of jurisdiction, according to a statement released by Stefanik.