A sigh of relief is what Nigerian doctors are experiencing today as they are set to benefit from a policy reversal by the United States (US), which allows physicians to resume visa applications and processing.
Recall that earlier this year, the US slapped a blanket visa ban on multiple countries, including Nigeria, citing national security concerns.
The policy affected foreign doctors, including many Nigerians, who formed a major number as the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) withheld visa renewals.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 25.6 percent of active physicians are international medical graduates.
A 2024 global health workforce database captured Nigerians as the sixth largest group of foreign doctors in the US on the J-1 visa. H-1B visa holders were not added to the list.
In a back track last week, the USCIS updated its website, without a formal announcement, to indicate that physicians are no longer subject to the processing hold.
“Applications associated with medical physicians will continue processing,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a separate statement made available to The New York Times.
The AAMC stated that the US faces a shortage of about 65,000 physicians, noting that the deficit is expected to rise over the next decade as Americans live longer and more doctors retire.
On April 8, several doctor associations, including the American Academies of Family Physicians, Neurology and Paediatrics, signed a letter to the secretaries of state and homeland security, expressing “urgent concern” about barriers preventing “qualified, vetted physicians” from entering and remaining in the US.
They called for a national-interest exemption from the policy as well as expedited processing of their cases.
