US exempts foreign doctors from travel ban visa freeze

The reversal comes after hospitals placed doctors on administrative leave and many faced the threat of losing their jobs

Foreign doctors will be able to continue receiving visas to practice in the United States after the Trump administration quietly exempted them from a travel ban that had frozen visa processing for citizens of 39 countries.

According to a New York Times article published on May 3, 2026, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its website late last week, without a formal announcement, to indicate that physicians are no longer subject to the processing hold.

In response to questions from The Times, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that "Applications associated with medical physicians will continue processing," meaning the agency will resume issuing visas and work permits for the group.

Doctors faced job losses under the freeze

A Department of Homeland Security policy stemming from the travel ban put in place in January had frozen decisions on visa extensions, work permits, and green cards for citizens of 39 countries. As reported by The Times last month, some physicians were placed on administrative leave by hospitals, while many others faced the imminent threat of being forced to stop working.

Physicians from Africa, the Middle East, and Venezuela were among those displaced from their jobs.

Curtis Morrison, a lawyer who has filed about a dozen lawsuits in federal court to compel the government to process applications, described the exemption as "a great development for physicians and health care in the US."

US faces major physician shortage

The United States faces a shortage of approximately 65,000 physicians, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The deficit is expected to grow significantly over the next decade as Americans live longer and more doctors retire.

Foreign physicians make up 25% of all doctors working in the United States. More than 60% of them practice primary care, including family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics, specialties that many American doctors avoid due to demanding workloads and lower pay compared to other fields.

History of the travel ban

President Trump issued a travel ban covering 19 countries last June. An expanded order affecting 39 countries went into effect in January. The action mirrored a ban from his first term, which denied entry to people from several majority-Muslim countries. However, that earlier version did not apply to people already living and working in the country.