Trump immigration policies could turn away much-needed foreign doctors, critics say
About a quarter of U.S. doctors were trained abroad, and in fields like geriatrics that figure rises above half, even as the country faces a projected shortage of more than 141,000 physicians by 2038. The Trump administration last August raised the H-1B visa fee for employers from a few thousand dollars to $100,000, alongside a travel ban covering 39 countries and expanded State Department vetting of visa applicants' online presence.
Twenty Democratic-led states sued over the fee hike and won in federal court in June, with the administration rebuffed again in September; it has since proposed a revised $103,265 fee for a subset of applicants. A November survey found 64% of hospitals using the H-1B program had already paused or limited recruitment over the threat of the fee, and immigration attorneys say the legal back-and-forth alone is discouraging applicants who would rather avoid the uncertainty altogether.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.