A federal court has blocked the $100,000 H-1B visa fee that would have applied to physicians seeking to practice in the U.S., drawing praise from the American Medical Association in a June 8 news release.
AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, called the ruling a victory for patients. “At a time when communities across the country face physician shortages and growing barriers to care, we should be removing obstacles — not creating new ones — to attract talented physicians and other highly skilled professionals,” he said in the release.
The fee, imposed by the Trump administration in September 2025, raised the cost of a new H-1B visa application to $100,000 from roughly $3,500. The AMA and other national healthcare organizations had spent months advocating for a healthcare-specific exemption, arguing the fee would deepen physician shortages — particularly in rural and underserved communities where international medical graduates often serve as the primary source of care.
International medical graduates make up approximately 25% of all practicing physicians in the U.S. and are disproportionately concentrated in areas where access to care is already limited.
The AMA also supports the “H-1Bs for the Physicians and Healthcare Workforce Act,” legislation that would formally exempt physicians and other healthcare professionals from the fee on new H-1B petitions.
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