Visa Lawyer Blog
The Trump administration has quietly reversed a policy that threatened the jobs and immigration status of thousands of foreign doctors working in the United States.
Doctors from countries impacted by the administration’s expanded travel ban will once again be allowed to continue processing visa applications, work permits, and green card cases.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security implemented a freeze on immigration benefits for nationals from 39 countries. The policy placed many foreign physicians in legal limbo, forcing some hospitals to place doctors on administrative leave while others faced the possibility of losing their ability to work entirely.
The administration has now confirmed that applications associated with medical physicians will continue processing, exempting doctors from the immigration freeze. The change was made quietly, without a formal public announcement.
The update appeared on the USCIS webpage outlining its enhanced screening and vetting procedures which now indicates doctors are no longer subject to adjudicative processing holds:
“Internal Review Process
USCIS established an internal process for lifting holds on individual or group cases, requiring comprehensive review by multiple offices. Holds have been lifted for aliens vetted through Operation PARRIS, certain petitions filed by U.S. citizens, intercountry adoption forms, certain rescheduled oath ceremonies, statutory and regulatory decision issuance, refugee registrations for South African citizens/nationals, certain special immigrant visa petitions, certain employment authorization documents, and asylum applications from non high-risk countries, and applications associated with medical physicians….”