The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is committed to assuring that all Mississippi residents have access to quality, affordable health care. The Mississippi Office of Rural Health and Primary Care reviews applications and makes recommendations to the Appalachian Regional Commission, hereafter referred to as the "ARC", in regards to the primary care J-1 visa waiver placements within that region of the state. The applications will be reviewed for completeness, and inclusion of all appropriate documentation, as required by the federal agency.
1. The primary purpose of the Mississippi J-1 Visa Waiver Programs is to improve access to primary health care in physician shortage areas in Mississippi and secondarily, to needed specialty care, by sponsoring physicians holding J-1 Visas.2. The State of Mississippi recognizes that the J-1 Visa Waiver Program affords J-1 Visa holders the privilege of waiving their two-year foreign residency requirement in exchange for providing primary or specialty medical care in designated health professional shortage areas. 3. The provision of assistance to the ARC in the administration of this program is designed to be consistent with the federal requirements of the program resulting in added benefits to the State of Mississippi.4. The purpose of the following Guidelines is to articulate the conditions under which the State of Mississippi will provide a recommendation to the ARC.5. Health care facilities/sites interested in employing J-1 Visa Waiver physicians must submit an ARC 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Application to the Mississippi Office of Rural Health and Primary Care to determine if the proposed J-1 physician placement will qualify for the Program.6. The recommendations provided to the ARC will in no way interfere with placements through the "Conrad State 30 Program". The Mississippi J-1 Visa Waiver Program through the "Conrad State 30 Program" is a separate and distinct program from any other program and is an additional program to any now operating within the State of Mississippi.7. The Mississippi State Department of Health's Guidelines are completely discretionary, voluntary, and may be modified or terminated at any time. The sub Mission of a complete waiver package to the MSDH does not ensure an automatic waiver recommendation. In all instances, MSDH reserves the right to recommend or deny any request for a waiver. 8. HPSA designations must be current on the date the U.S. Department of State reviews the application and on the date the INS approves the J-1 visa waiver. Therefore, any application that is being submitted to the Mississippi State Department of Health at the end of the three-year HPSA designation cycle may be summarily denied if the renewal of the HPSA designation is not obtained.15 Miss. Code. R. 9-95-1.1.1