Attorney Consultation Service for IMGs Offers Counsel on Navigating U.S. Immigration

APA’s new Immigration Attorney Consultation allows APA member psychiatry residents and early career psychiatrists who are international medical graduates (IMGs) a free, one-time, 30-to-45-minute consultation with an immigration attorney.

The consultation will give IMGs an opportunity to explore a variety of difficult or complicated immigration issues—obtaining a visa or J-1 visa, visa waivers, paths to permanent citizenship, spousal status, and other questions. The service was begun in February of this year and is an outgrowth of a 2022 IMG Work Group that developed a host of recommendations for APA to aid IMG psychiatrists; the work group also created a comprehensive IMG Resource Guide.

“An IMG physician trainee or early career psychiatrist is constantly navigating three learning curves—residency training itself, acculturation to the United States, and the ever-changing immigration landscape,” said APA Deputy Medical Director for Education Vishal Madaan, M.D., who initially co-chaired the work group along with Daniel Castellanos, M.D. “The latter consumes a lot of time and effort.”

Two attorneys specializing in immigration law—Lucy Magardichian, Esq., and Dina Corigliano, Esq.—are working with APA on a pro bono basis to provide these initial consultations to APA members. IMG psychiatrists seeking a free consultation should visit the Immigration Attorney Consultation page on APA’s website and send an email to Magardichian or Corigliano noting “APA member seeking consultation” in the subject line; APA members should allow the attorneys up to seven business days to respond.

APA is not part of this consultation and does not have experience with the attorneys or the advice they may provide. Members who wish to contact one of the attorneys will be responsible for initiating contact, deciding whether to proceed, and establishing the scope and limitations of any consultation or business relationship that might follow. During the consultation, the immigration attorney should make the APA member aware of the limitations of the brief service and whether it constitutes an attorney-client relationship.

Raman Marwaha, M.D., who succeeded Madaan as co-chair of the work group, noted that IMGs make up a significant portion of APA membership, and many of them work in rural and other physician-shortage areas of the country, or in public service hospitals. (IMGs currently make up approximately 29.2% of APA membership, according to APA staff.)

Marwaha is vice chair of education and faculty development and psychiatry residency training director at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. He echoed Madaan’s observation that immigrant status is a constant source of anxiety for physicians already dealing with the challenges of training or early-career concerns. He said the IMG Resource Guide was created by the work group to provide information on residency applications, observerships, professional growth and awards opportunities, mentorship, and visa/immigration issues.

Magardichian and Corigliano say they have fielded approximately 10 calls each since the service began and have reported similar themes. “Questions ranged from what visa options there are before starting residency to how to get a green card,” Magardichian told Psychiatric News. “Some in J-1 status have asked about potential waivers and green cards. Another client completing a J-1 waiver inquired about transferring jobs. Others who are abroad were asking about self-sponsored green card options.”

Many IMG trainees are on J-1 (or exchange) visas, which require the trainee to return to their country of origin for two years after training. Others may have a J-1 waiver that mandates that the trainee must serve two years in a federally designated physician-shortage area in the United States. ■