Thanks to Trump's Extortionist Immigration Policies, Rural America Won't Have Enough Doctors

"Brad Smith/ISI Photos//Getty Images Among its more obvious faultsand there is no bigger one than the vicious clowns the president has appointed to run itthe administration's toxic spitball approach to immigration is almost completely incoherent. This administration is deliberately oblivious to consequences anyway, be they intended or unintended. However, its policies on H-1B visas is doing real world damage in many different places."

"The overworked kidney doctors in this small town were supposed to get reinforcement this fall with the arrival of a new colleague from India. Patients already had appointments scheduled with the incoming nephrologist. Then the Trump administration demanded that companies pay a $100,000 visa fee to bring highly skilled workers from abroad, including doctors and medical professionals urgently needed in health care deserts."

"After President Donald Trump signed the executive order restricting H-1B visas in September, soaring costs are roiling rural health care facilities that have long struggled to find staff. The fee increase for visa applicants, coupled with broader crackdowns on legal pathways for foreign-born workers, threatens a growing industry and jeopardizes patients who need timely care, according to labor experts and immigration lawyers."

The administration increased H-1B visa costs and tightened legal pathways, imposing a $100,000 fee that prevents many employers from sponsoring skilled foreign workers. Rural medical practices that rely on internationally trained specialists have lost incoming hires and remain unable to recruit suitable American replacements. The fee surge and broader crackdowns are increasing costs for already strained rural health facilities, disrupting patient appointments and eroding service capacity in health care deserts. Labor experts warn the measures threaten a growing industry of legal foreign professionals and jeopardize patients who require timely, specialized care in underserved communities.

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