US visa changes expected to hurt healthcare workers

The US government has announced that new petitions for H-1B visa status must be accompanied by a US$100,000 payment.

The visa is heavily used by healthcare professionals, particularly from India. According to a report by newspaper India Today, over a quarter (25%) of doctors operating in the US are international medical graduates. Of those, nearly a fifth come from India – with around 5,000 Indian doctors applying for US residency positions in 2024 alone.

The requirement applies to all H-1B visa applications submitted after Sunday 21 September 2025. A statement from the US Department of State clarified that the change would not apply to “any previously issued H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to that date”. However, it will impact the hiring of new workers after that date – which will reduce the number of people working under this visa status.

What is an H-1B visa?

The H-1B visa status allows US employers to hire foreign workers for specialist occupations – typically those requiring a high level of formal qualification – or if they meet certain conditions and are engaged in Department of Defense projects.

As well as healthcare, technology firms such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are also key beneficiaries of the visa status, and the change is expected to create challenges for that sector too, due to its reliance on skilled workers from India and China.

According to Reuters, Indian citizens were the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved cases, followed by China at 11.7%. Approximately 65,000 visas are offered annually, with nearly all visa fees being paid by the prospective employers.

Slovenia recently announced plans to launch a digital nomad visa later this year.