Lawmakers Urge DHS to Exempt Healthcare from H‑1B Fee

Last week, Representatives Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) and Michael Lawler (R-NY) led a bipartisan letter urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to exempt healthcare workers from the new $100,000 H-1B visa application fee. The letter, addressed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, was signed by 98 of their colleagues and endorsed by many medical and healthcare associations.

“Worsening workforce shortages across all healthcare professions are significantly diminishing access to care in rural and urban communities across the nation,” the letter writers stated. “According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, nearly 87 million Americans live in areas Federally designated as lacking enough medical professionals to address the community’s healthcare needs. Physician demand could exceed supply by up to 86,000 in the next decade, and clinical laboratory science programs are educating less than half the number of clinical laboratory professionals needed. These shortages cannot be filled by the domestic workforce alone, and projections will worsen if health care employers cannot continue to recruit and retain international health care workers.”

Furthermore, the lawmakers highlighted, “Imposing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions will exacerbate hospitals’ existing staffing challenges and could push chronically underfunded hospitals to their financial brink. If these hospitals cannot petition for new H-1B visas to address their staffing needs without also having to pay this fee, it will further damage their financial viability. Critically needed open positions will simply go unfilled, leaving rural and high-poverty urban areas without adequate access to Care. We strongly urge you to exempt the healthcare sector from this burdensome fee.”

“The AAMC knows that restricting access to H1-B visas will worsen the nation’s existing physician shortage, put strains on the healthcare workforce and ultimately jeopardize patient access to care, and we simply can’t let any of those things happen,” said Danielle Turnipseed, chief public policy officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges, in a statement.

On Monday, February 16, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) issued a press statement praising the letter. “Medical group practices, particularly in rural and underserved areas, rely on international health professionals—including physicians, nurses, therapists, laboratory personnel, and other specialized clinicians—to meet essential patient-care needs. Imposing a $100,000 fee on employers petitioning for H-1B workers further strains healthcare workforce shortages and recruitment challenges, leaving critical positions unfilled, placing additional pressure on remaining staff, and contributing to burnout,” MGMA stated. “MGMA joins these important members of Congress in urging DHS to swiftly provide a clear exemption for healthcare workers to protect patients' access to timely, high‑quality care and to support medical practices already struggling to fill critical staffing gaps."