Hundreds of young doctors trained abroad who have secured placements in US residency programmes may not be able to start their positions, as the Trump administration has suspended all new visa processing.
The move has left thousands of students, trainees, teachers, and exchange visitors in limbo after the State Department halted new visa appointments last week while it implements new social media screening procedures for applicants.
For internationally trained doctors who are yet to secure appointments, the timing is critical. Most residency programmes formally begin on 1 July, with orientation sessions starting in June. Without the required visas, many of these doctors may miss their start dates, putting their positions at risk and leaving hospitals short-staffed — as first-year residents, or PGY1s, play a crucial role in delivering hands-on patient care under the supervision of senior doctors.
According to the American Medical Association, roughly one in four practising doctors in the US were educated abroad, and the country faces a worsening shortage of physicians. Completing a US residency is a mandatory step for foreign-trained doctors to obtain medical licences in the States, making these programmes essential for maintaining the healthcare workforce.
In March’s main residency match, 37,677 graduates of US medical schools and osteopathic programmes secured first-year placements. Among them were 6,653 foreign-born graduates of non-US medical schools, according to the National Resident Matching Programme (NRMP). A further 3,108 US citizens also graduated from overseas medical schools. These figures do not include 2,374 initially unfilled positions, of which around 300 were later filled by internationally trained graduates.
“There’s a misconception that foreign doctors take spots away from US graduates,” says Sebastian Arruarana, a resident physician at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Centre in Brooklyn, New York. “But that’s not the case — there are more available positions than there are domestic graduates.”
Most foreign graduates (who are not US citizens) enter the country on J-1 visas, reserved for exchange participants engaged in teaching, research, and specialised training. While many incoming residents have already secured visa appointments, approximately 5% — more than 300 doctors — have yet to do so, estimates Zain Abdin, a Chicago-based physician and international graduate.
Arruarana, also a social media influencer focusing on issues faced by international medical graduates, says she has received messages from some of these stranded doctors.
“We are stuck and helpless,” wrote one graduate who had secured a residency at a Texas medical centre but whose orientation began early on 3 June. “I don’t know what to do.”
Another wrote: “I was only matched on 23 May after overcoming so many challenges. My programme has just started the process of sponsoring my J-1 visa, and I haven’t even been scheduled for an interview yet.”
Residencies that begin later in the year — primarily in September — may be more severely affected by the freeze, according to Abdin.
Major states such as New York and Florida host the largest numbers of international medical residents — with 1,592 and 698 graduates placed there this March, respectively, according to NRMP data. However, international doctors make up only 24% of New York’s and 19% of Florida’s resident doctors.
Less populated states, such as North Dakota, Wyoming, and Arkansas — all of which voted for Trump in the last election — rely even more heavily on foreign-trained residents, with international graduates comprising 38%, 33%, and 32% of new residents in these states.
The current suspension affects all types of student visas, including F-1 visas for undergraduate and postgraduate study and M-1 visas for vocational training, such as aviation programmes.
A State Department memo indicated the freeze will remain in place pending further guidance “in the coming days,” as reported by Politico last week.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) — the primary body facilitating the entry of foreign medical graduates to the US — is lobbying for an exemption for doctors, according to Arruarana, who says she spoke with a staff member there.
An email from ECFMG has advised current residents needing to renew visas not to leave the US until the freeze is lifted. ECFMG did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
