ACP: Delay, Denial of H-1B Visas Disruptive to Training, Patient Care

The American College of Physicians, in conjunction with the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and others have penned a letter to US Citizen and Immigration Services voicing their concern about the “imminent healthcare repercussions of delays in H-1B visa processing.”

The delay in visa processing is due to “increased scrutiny of prevailing wage data for incoming non-US international medical graduates.” The letter notes that applications using previously acceptable resident stipend data are being denied.

Concerned organizations point out that graduate medical education programs begin on or before July 1, and that the denial or delay of visas for international students is disruptive to both the training program and to patient care, particularly at teaching hospitals who rely on residents as a part of their physician workforce.

“We urge you to expedite review of pending H-1B applications by non-US [international medical graduates] who have been accepted to postgraduate training programs in order to avoid unnecessary delays and uncertainty affecting their timely entry,” the letter concluded. “We understand that the US has a legitimate public interest in conducting careful reviews of applications for visas from foreign nationals, and non-US [international medical graduates] cannot be automatically assumed to be exempt from such scrutiny.”

The letter is available to view on the American College of Physicians website.

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Reference

American College of Physicians. Letter to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. https://www.acponline.org/acp_policy/letters/. Published May 30, 2018. Accessed May 30, 2018.

This article originally appeared on Medical Bag