Opportunity Overview
Texas DSHS is currently accepting FFY2027 Conrad 30 J-1 visa waiver applications during the September 1–15, 2026 priority application window. The program allows Texas to recommend up to 30 international medical graduates each year for waiver of the J-1 two-year home-country residence requirement in exchange for qualifying physician service in underserved Texas communities.
What the Program Provides
This is a non-cash physician workforce and immigration benefit, not a conventional grant. A successful Texas recommendation can enable a qualifying J-1 physician to remain in the United States and practice in Texas rather than completing the otherwise applicable two-year foreign-residence requirement. Submission does not guarantee recommendation or federal waiver approval.
Current FFY2027 Timing
The primary application period runs September 1 through September 15, 2026. If Texas receives more than 30 complete and eligible applications during that period, DSHS ranks applications under the current policy. Applications received after September 15 may still be considered for any remaining slots, but only on a first-come, first-served basis.
Physician and Practice-Site Eligibility
Physicians must hold a full Texas medical license or provide proof that they have applied for one; a Physician-in-Training license is not accepted. All physician specialties that provide direct patient care may be eligible. Texas gives the highest ranking to primary care and mental-health specialties, including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics, addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry and general psychiatry.
For FFY2027, qualifying practice locations generally must be in an eligible Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) or Medically Underserved Area (MUA), or at an eligible automatically designated facility such as an FQHC, RHC or IHS/Tribal clinic. Texas specifically states that a Medically Underserved Population designation alone does not satisfy the State-law requirement. MUAs must have been updated within four years of the September 15, 2026 cycle close.
Population HPSA Control
A practice site located in a population HPSA must obtain DSHS eligibility verification before the application is submitted. The site must accept Medicaid or CHIP and have at least 30% of prior-year patient visits paid by Medicaid or CHIP, paid on a sliding-fee scale, or treated as indigent or charity care. The DSHS verification email must be included in the final application packet.
No FFY2027 Flex Slots
Although federal Conrad 30 rules can permit up to ten Flex slots for physicians outside a designated underserved area, Texas law limits its Flex use to counties meeting a specific reportable-disease exposure test. DSHS determined that no Texas counties meet that test for FFY2027, so applicants should not build a 2027 strategy around a Flex waiver.
Employment Commitment
The signed employment contract must require at least 40 hours of patient care per week for three years at the eligible site or sites, with work beginning within 90 days after USCIS waiver and employment authorization. The contract must state the physician specialty, salary at no less than prevailing wage, benefits, weekly hours at each site and practice-site information. It may not contain a non-compete clause or liquidated-damages clause.
Texas also clarifies an important telehealth limitation: patient-care hours above the required 40-hour weekly minimum at the eligible physical site or sites may be performed remotely. That creates workforce flexibility, but it does not convert Conrad 30 into a telehealth funding program.
Application and Fee
The application packet must be submitted as a PDF by email to the Texas Conrad 30 Program. Texas charges a $3,000 application fee, and an application is not complete until DSHS has received both the application packet and fee. The healthcare facility must already be operational when the application is submitted, the employing entity must be established as a legal entity in Texas, and employers are limited to three FTEs per county per year.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 95/100. This is a high-value physician recruitment and retention pathway for Texas hospitals, FQHCs, RHCs, health systems, primary-care practices, behavioral-health organizations, Tribal/IHS clinics and other qualified employers serving shortage areas. The September 1–15 priority window materially affects competitive positioning, and population-HPSA applicants face an additional pre-submission verification gate.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. Conrad 30 provides immigration-waiver sponsorship rather than cash, equipment or contracted-clinician funding. The policy allows remote patient-care hours only above the mandatory 40 hours per week at eligible physical sites; Atlas therefore does not manufacture a Dr. Miltie technology or physician-services procurement pathway.
Next Action
Immediately confirm the physician’s Texas-license status, specialty and J-1 eligibility; validate the proposed site’s HPSA or MUA pathway; obtain advance DSHS verification for any population-HPSA site; finalize a compliant three-year employment contract; assemble the complete FFY2027 packet and $3,000 fee; and complete submission during the September 1–15 priority window whenever possible. Applications submitted after September 15 should be treated as contingent on slots remaining.
Official sources: Texas DSHS — Texas Conrad 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program and FFY2027 Texas Conrad 30 Policy Manual.