AHA Urges Health Care Personnel Exemptions for H-1B Visa Changes

The American Hospital Association sent a letter requesting the Trump administration exempt health care personnel from changes to the H-1B visa program. The administration is increasing the fee to $100,000 for new H-1B petitions filed by employers and implementing other restrictions on certain nonimmigrant workers. In fiscal year 2024, 16,937 of approved H-1B petitions, or 4.2%, were for medicine and health occupations, and half of those approved petitions were for physicians. While most foreign nurses have EB-3 permanent visas, advanced practice and other highly skilled nurses qualify for H-1B visas. Nurse applications for these visas have been rising in recent years. AONL supports the health care personnel exemptions and the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (H.R. 5283/S. 2759) to recapture previously authorized visas for foreign-trained nurses to support medically underserved areas. (AHA letter, 9/29/25)