Senators from 10 states are cosponsoring a bill that would make a limited number of green cards available to qualified physicians and nurses.
The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would allow unused green cards that have not been used in previous years to be allotted to foreign-born clinicians, according to a Sept. 10 news release from Sen. Kevin Cramer’s office. It would allot up to 25,000 immigrant visas to nurses and up to 15,000 to physicians. The new law does not authorize any new visas.
The bill would also mandate that employers attest that immigrants who receive these visas would not displace an American worker, and that immigrant medical professionals meet licensing requirements, pay filing fees and clear national security and criminal history background checks.
The bill was introduced shortly before President Donald Trump issued a proclamation imposing a $100,000 payment to accompany any new H-1B visa petitions starting Sept. 21. Federal officials said the decision was made to address “systemic abuse” of the visa program they say has disadvantaged American workers.
On Sept. 23, the Trump administration reportedly began considering exempting physicians and medical residents from the fee after healthcare industry groups raised concerns. On Sept. 25, the Department of Homeland Security released a proposed rule for H-1B visa applicants that would change the current process of conducting random selections to a weighted selection process.
