Following a temporary delay, the Trump administration will resume issuing visas to international medical graduates to allow them to complete their residency training in the U.S., according to Forbes.
The Association of American Medical Colleges, which represents 151 U.S. medical schools and 400 teaching hospitals and health systems nationwide, said it has received word from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services that "USCIS will resume accepting AAMC resident stipend data for H-1B prevailing wage," indicating H-1B visas may be on their way for accepted residents, the report states.
The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians and five other medical organizations issued a letter to USCIS in May indicating the Trump administration's scrutiny of international medical school graduates already accepted into U.S. residency programs has led to significant delays and the outright denial of visas for some 4,000 residents, Forbes reports.
Most medical residencies at U.S. hospitals begin July 1.
A USCIS spokesperson said in a June 10 statement to Forbes: "USCIS recognizes the use of valid private wage surveys by petitioners to establish the prevailing wage for an H-1B petition, however, USCIS will continue to issue RFEs or denials, if appropriate, when officers determine that the petitioner has not established eligibility for the benefit sought.
"In keeping with the law as directed by the President's Buy America, Hire America Executive Order as well as the intention of Congress, ensuring that H-1B employers are complying with all eligibility requirements serves to safeguard the integrity of the program to protect the wages, working conditions, and jobs of U.S. workers."