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In a reversal, the Trump administration has exempted foreign physicians from a visa application freeze that was pushing many out of jobs in underserved areas.
Miriam Jordan is a national immigration correspondent.
Foreign doctors will be able to receive visas allowing them to practice in the United States, after the Trump administration quietly changed a policy to exempt them from a travel ban.
A Department of Homeland Security policy stemming from a travel ban that was put in place in January had frozen decisions on visa extensions, work permits and green cards for citizens of 39 countries. As The New York Times reported last month, some physicians were subsequently placed on administrative leave by hospitals, and many others faced the imminent threat of being forced to stop working.
Late last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its website, without a formal announcement, to indicate that physicians are no longer subject to the processing hold. In response to questions from The Times, D.H.S. confirmed in a statement that “Applications associated with medical physicians will continue processing,” meaning that the agency will resume issuing visas and work permits for the group.
The United States faces a shortage of about 65,000 physicians, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the deficit is expected to surge over the next decade as Americans live longer and more doctors retire.
More than 60 percent of foreign physicians practice primary care, including family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics, which many American doctors shun because of grueling workloads and lower pay compared with other specialties.
“I am glad that the administration took measures to ensure that we can keep our dedicated international physicians,” said Dr. Rebecca Andrews, chair of the Board of Regents for the American College of Physicians, which represents internists, the primary care doctors who treat adults.
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