Visa Delays Could Force Hundreds Of Doctors To Leave US

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hundreds of foreign-trained doctors could be forced to leave the United States because of delays in processing J-1 visa waivers, worsening physician shortages in rural communities, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, has warned.

In a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Gillibrand said an administrative backlog within the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Global Affairs is preventing hundreds of foreign-trained physicians from beginning work.

The issue could have particular significance for India, one of the largest sources of international medical graduates working in the United States.

According to Gillibrand, international medical graduates account for more than one-third of New York’s physician workforce, a higher proportion than in nearly every other state.

Many hospitals in rural and federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas depend on the J-1 visa waiver program, which allows foreign physicians to remain in the United States if they agree to work in underserved communities.

The senator warned that many physicians completing residency programs face a July 30 deadline to secure their waivers or risk being required to return to their home countries.

“If their waivers are not recommended by HHS in time for subsequent processing by the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, these doctors may be forced to leave the country and New Yorkers will bear the consequences,” she wrote.

Gillibrand said HHS informed her office in April that the Office of Global Affairs was processing a large volume of applications while implementing procedural improvements, but had not provided a timetable for resolving the backlog.

She asked HHS to provide answers by June 15 on the number of pending applications, processing times, and whether expedited reviews would be considered for physicians with contracts in high-need communities. (IANS)