State Department prioritizes immigrant visas for HCPs

This week, the State Department instructed U.S. embassies and consulates to prioritize “as emergencies on a case-by-case basis the immigrant visa cases of certain health care professionals (HCPs) who will work at a facility engaged in pandemic response.” The application process for health professionals seeking U.S. visas is described on the department’s website. In June, the American Hospital Association (AHA) urged the State Department to give foreign-trained nurses seeking immigrant visas priority. “There has never been a more urgent need for the care that foreign-trained nurses provide than during the current COVID-19 pandemic and its looming aftermath,” the AHA wrote. “Many foreign-trained nurses are recruited to rural and inner-city hospitals, locations that find it more difficult to recruit domestically.” (AHA News article, 9/1/21)