A recent NBC 5 Responds survey found Chicago-area residents are struggling to get face time with their providers.
The American Medical Association says visa restrictions could worsen the problem.
A recent non- scientific survey of NBC Chicago viewers found:
67% of respondents struggled to schedule an appointment with their primary doctor in the past year. 76% of respondents struggled to schedule an appointment with a specialty doctor in the past year.Some industry experts warn new visa restrictions impacting doctors coming into the United States could worsen the strain.
The visa restrictions impact people applying for H-1B visas. This type of visa allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for specialty occupations in fields such as IT, engineering, or science. It offers an initial three-year stay and requires employer sponsorship, according to U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In September 2025, the president signed a proclamation increasing the employer sponsorship fee from roughly $2,000 to $5,000 to a $100,000 fee. The proclamation is in effect for a 12-month period, ending in September 2026, unless it is extended for a longer stretch of time. The rules don’t impact physicians who are already in the United States with a valid status.
So how could this impact patient care in the United States?
The American Hospital Association says its recent survey of member hospitals found “nearly 65% of survey respondents who utilize the H-1B program report pausing, delaying or limiting recruitment as a result of the new H-1B visa fee.”
According to the AHA, of the almost 400,000 H-1B petitions approved in fiscal year 2024, 4.2% were for medical and health occupations.
The president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Bobby Mukkala, said the change is causing concern across the medical community.
A report from the AMA and the Association of Medical Colleges indicates the United States is on track to see a shortage of up to 86,000 doctors by 2036. Dr. Mukkala told NBC 5 Responds, “International medical graduates are critical to kind of filling that gap in care when we already have a physician shortage”.
A possible solution is a bill sponsored by the AMA to exempt physicians and health care professionals from the $100,000 filing fee. Mukkala said the bill, which is still in its early stages, is essential to preserving access to the medical care in America’s rural communities.
“The rural and underserved areas are the ones that tend to go unfilled if we rely just on U.S. graduates. And so, to help the health of those communities requires international medical graduates.”
Research from the AMA says doctors on H-1B visas are nearly twice as likely to work in rural areas than cities.
Mukkala is concerned the new visa policy could be a deterrent for foreign-born doctors.
“Those international medical graduates have to make a decision. Do I come here and risk having that fee not be paid and then losing this opportunity versus going somewhere else in the world that could use them,” Mukkala said.
To view the results of our NBC 5 Responds doctor appointment survey, click here.
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