U.S. Doctor Shortage Deepens as Trump Immigration Freeze Pushes Foreign Physicians Out of Hospitals

Hundreds of foreign-trained physicians across the United States have been barred from treating patients following a Trump administration immigration policy that froze visa renewals, work permits and green card processing for citizens of 39 countries, deepening an already critical shortage of doctors in rural and underserved communities.

The policy, which took effect in January following a December travel ban, has affected doctors from nations predominantly in Africa and the Middle East. Those with pending immigration cases at the time the freeze was announced have been unable to continue working, leaving hospitals short-staffed and thousands of patients without care.

Among those affected is a Nigerian surgeon who had been performing knee and hip replacement surgeries at a New York teaching hospital as part of a fellowship. His work permit was not renewed in February, forcing him off the job despite a pending appointment at a university hospital serving an underserved community. Efforts by the office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to expedite his case were unsuccessful, with immigration authorities citing the processing freeze.

A Venezuelan family physician, Ezequiel Veliz, who was named resident of the year at a Texas health institution in 2025, has been unable to see patients for months. His former supervisor described him as a compassionate and outstanding doctor whose absence has directly harmed patients in the Rio Grande Valley.

An Iranian ophthalmologist who completed training in the United States can no longer perform eye surgeries in Arkansas, while a Libyan pulmonologist in rural Indiana — who trained at the Mayo Clinic and cares for nearly 1,000 patients including military veterans — faces losing his work authorization when his visa expires in September. He has filed a lawsuit to compel the government to process his green card application.

The American Medical Association has urged federal authorities to exempt physicians from the immigration freeze, warning that the policy is causing measurable harm to patient care. In a letter to the secretaries of Homeland Security and State, the AMA’s chief executive noted that 900 patients in one rural area were left without adequate medical care after a physician was removed.

The United States currently faces a shortage of approximately 65,000 physicians, a figure expected to grow significantly over the next decade as the population ages and more doctors retire. Foreign-trained physicians make up about a quarter of all practicing doctors in the country, with more than 60 percent of them working in primary care fields that American medical graduates tend to avoid due to demanding workloads and comparatively lower salaries.

Medical institutions warn that restricting the pipeline of international doctors will have severe consequences. At one Florida community health network serving around 100,000 patients annually, half the physicians are foreign-born — including some from countries covered by the ban. Officials there warned that losing those doctors would overwhelm emergency rooms and place unsustainable pressure on the broader healthcare system.

For the residency intake starting this July, there were approximately 41,000 available positions but only 32,000 applicants from American medical schools, leaving around 7,000 spots to be filled by international graduates who undergo rigorous examinations and background checks before being admitted.