The Physician Immigration Handbook

The Physician Immigration Handbook

The Physician Immigration Handbook, 10th ed. (Print)
01/15/2026
$175.00
Release Date: 01/15/2026
Format Size ISBN
Print* 418 pages 979-8990066441

Updated annually and now in its tenth edition, The Physician Immigration Handbook by Greg Siskind and Elissa J. Taub delivers current, practical guidance on the complex intersection of U.S. immigration law and the medical profession.

Physician immigration is widely regarded as one of the most challenging areas of U.S. immigration law. The Physician Immigration Handbook, 10th Edition demystifies this complexity with clear, accessible explanations designed for ease of use. Updated each year, The Handbook outlines what foreign physicians need to know to apply for graduate medical training at U.S. teaching hospitals and how they can lawfully remain in the United States to build their medical careers.

Structured around the typical path of the international medical graduate (IMG), The Handbook begins with the application process leading to ECFMG certification and admission to U.S. graduate medical training programs. It then examines the two primary immigration options available to IMGs seeking medical training in the United States: the J-1 visa and the H-1B visa.

From there, The Handbook guides physicians from training through post-training employment, permanent residency (the “green card” process), and ultimately U.S. citizenship. It also addresses employment-related issues such as layoffs, mergers, and acquisitions, along with special immigration benefits available to foreign physicians serving in the U.S. military.

Written for IMGs, physician recruiters, human resource professionals, and government officials, The Physician Immigration Handbook explains how the U.S. immigration system operates and the specialized rules that apply to physicians. The Handbook includes 24 chapters presented in a clear, question-and-answer format:

  • Qualifying for Graduate Medical Training in the United States;
  • The J-1 and the H-1B Visas;
  • Seeking a Visitor Visa to Pursue Graduate Medical Training;
  • J-1 Visas for Graduate Medical Training;
  • The J-1 Home-Residency Requirement;
  • Conrad 30 Waivers;
  • “Public Interest” Waivers;
  • Hardship and Persecution Waivers;
  • J-2 Status for Family Members of a J-1 Exchange Visitor;
  • The H-1B Visa Process;
  • Cap-Exemption Strategies for the H-1B Visa;
  • H-4 Family Members Accompanying an H-1B Visa Holder;
  • Consular Processing of Nonimmigrant Visas;
  • Lawful Permanent Residency;
  • Obtaining Permanent Residency Through PERM Labor Certification;
  • National Interest Waivers;
  • Other Paths to Achieving Permanent Residency;
  • Obtaining U.S. Citizenship;
  • The Impact of Employment Termination;
  • The Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions;
  • Immigration and the Locum Tenens;
  • The Role of Physician Recruiters;
  • Special Issues Affecting Canadian Physicians; and
  • Hiring an Immigration Attorney.

The Handbook also features a robust set of appendices, charts, and sample questionnaires, including:

  • Resources and Websites of Interest;
  • Physician Licensing Requirements by State;
  • Physician National Interest Waiver Chart;
  • Preliminary Immigration Questionnaires for Physicians and Physician Employers; and
  • Conrad 30 State Chart.

And more!

With a wealth of practical tips and tactical advice, this new edition is an indispensable guide, buy yours today!


*Interested in a bulk purchase? Contact us to receive a bulk discount when purchasing 5 or more copies.

Greg Siskind is a founding partner of Siskind Susser PC and is one of America’s best-known immigration attorneys. Siskind Susser (www.visalaw.com) has one of the largest health care immigration practices in the United States and represents many of the nation’s hospitals and health care systems across the country, as well as smaller health care employers, individual health care professionals, and other medical institutions. Greg is a past chair of the International Medical Graduate Taskforce (IMG Taskforce) (www.imgtaskforce.org), a physician immigration bar organization in the United States. Greg also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) (www.aila.org).

Greg is a man of many firsts. He created the first immigration law firm website in 1994 followed by the first lawyer blog in 1997. He also was the first immigration lawyer ever to grace the cover of the American Bar Association Journal. And he is one of the first immigration lawyers to develop artificial intelligence-based software applications for clients.

Greg has been practicing law since 1990. He received his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his law degree from the University of Chicago.

Elissa J. Taub is a partner of Siskind Susser PC, where she leads the firm’s health care immigration practice group. She handles a variety of immigration matters for doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. Her practice also includes immigration processes for individuals in the sports, entertainment, and fashion industries.

Elissa has authored many articles, spoken at conferences related to physician and health care immigration, and is regularly invited by clients to present on immigration matters. She is a member of the IMG Taskforce and AILA for which she has served on multiple national committees. Elissa also is a member of the American Health Law Association where she has held a national leadership position.

Elissa is listed as a Corporate Immigration Thought Leader in the Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who in Corporate Immigration). She earned her law degree from Villanova University School of Law in Villanova, Pennsylvania, where she graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis.