On Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, the President signed into law S.3245,
a bill that reauthorizes for three years the Conrad State 30 J-1
Visa Waiver Program, EB-5 Regional Center Program, the E-Verify
Program, and the Special Immigrant Non-minister Religious Worker
Program.
The four programs granted extensions do the following:
- The Conrad State 30 J-1 Visa Waiver program assists medical
doctors studying in the United States on J-1 status. Each state
receives 30 J-1 visa waivers for foreign medical graduates each
fiscal year. A J-1 visa waiver eliminates the requirement that a
J-1 physician return to his or her home country for two years
before applying for a permanent U.S. visa.
- The EB-5 Regional Center program is available to foreign
investors who make a capital contribution of $500,000 or $1,000,000
(depending on the geographic location) in a U.S. business that
creates 10 full-time jobs for American workers. In exchange for job
creation, the foreign investors are
