Doctors from countries with travel bans won’t have to leave the U.S. as Trump eases rules.
Donald Trump’s administration quietly lifted travel bans on some 39 countries and secretly allowed doctors from those countries to work and reside in the United States. The New York Times reported that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its website late last week, without any formal announcement, saying doctors were no longer subject to processing holds. “Physician-related applications will continue to be processed,” the Department of Homeland Security told The New York Times.With the government announcing a travel ban on 39 countries, all immigration work for applicants from these countries has been suspended. This includes all types of visas, work permits, green cards, etc. Doctors already working in the United States were placed on administrative leave by the hospital while they were reviewed.Since foreign doctors account for 25% of all doctors in the United States, which is gradually leading to a health care crisis in the United States, the government has only lifted the ban on doctors, but also includes those already in the United States. Doctors from Africa, the Middle East and Venezuela are also among the unemployed.The travel ban affects existing foreign doctors in more ways than one. For example, Ezequiel Veliz, a family physician from Venezuela, was detained by federal agents at a checkpoint in Texas on April 6. Due to the travel ban, his visa renewal was not processed and he lost his legal status. He was released 10 days later.On April 8, several physician associations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Academy of Neurology, and the Academy of Pediatrics, signed a letter to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security expressing “urgent concern” about barriers that prevent “qualified, vetted physicians” from entering and remaining in the United States and calling for national interest exemptions from the policy and expedited processing of their cases.“Affected physicians have not yet been notified of any changes to the visa process, but we are hopeful after seeing this update,” said Sebastian Arruarana, founder of IMG, an organization representing thousands of international medical graduates in the United States.Can doctors from these travel ban countries come to the United States from abroad?According to experts, this is not appropriate for doctors from these countries who are not currently in the United States. This also does not apply to incoming residents outside the United States, as the foreign travel ban remains in effect. Experts explain that this only applies to doctors already in the United States.
