Patients Face Longer Wait Times as $100,000 H-1B Fee Looms

(UNITED STATES) The Trump administration’s plan to impose a new $100,000 H-1B visa fee—announced as a 2025 policy and expected to take effect in the coming weeks—has set off alarms across the U.S. healthcare system. International medical graduates fill thousands of residency roles each year, and the proposed fee would apply to each H-1B, including visas used by hospitals to employ foreign medical residents and physicians.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the fee will apply to each H-1B and signaled tighter vetting and compliance checks will accompany the change. Teaching hospitals, medical schools, and lawmakers warn the move could deepen the nation’s doctor shortage by making sponsorship costs unworkable, leading to longer patient wait times and fewer providers—especially in rural and underserved areas.

Implementation status and core details

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing implementation but has not finalized whether the fee will be collected upfront or annually.
• H-1B validity remains at three years, renewable once for a total of six years.
• The numerical caps remain: a 65,000 regular cap plus 20,000 extra for U.S. advanced degree holders.
• The new fee is the central change: its scale, not quota alterations, is the flashpoint—because the fee could far exceed resident salaries and upend staffing models that rely on international doctors.

Financial pressure on teaching hospitals and residency programs

Teaching hospitals typically pay residents about $55,000 per year. Many administrators warn they cannot absorb an H-1B visa fee nearly double that amount per trainee.

• If the policy proceeds, hospitals expect to stop sponsoring H-1Bs for residents and junior doctors almost immediately, which would leave some residency slots vacant.
• Because residency is required for medical licensure, fewer filled slots today translate to fewer practicing doctors in future years.

Administrators describe stark choices: leave residency slots empty, reduce services, or shift costs elsewhere—none of which solve the underlying physician shortage caused by retirements and rising demand.

Administration rationale and supporters’ argument

Howard Lutnick framed the policy as a labor-market reset:

“No longer will you put trainees on an H-1B visa — it’s just not economic anymore. If you’re going to train people, you’re going to train Americans.”

Supporters argue the fee will:
– Push hospitals to recruit more U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
– Reserve H-1Bs for only the highest-value roles.
– Curtail misuse and reduce dependence on foreign labor by adding financial and compliance barriers.

Counterarguments from hospitals, educators, and advocates

Hospitals, medical educators, and immigration advocates counter that the U.S. pipeline cannot replace international talent at this scale or speed.

• International medical graduates (IMGs) make up >30% of U.S. medical residents.
• An estimated 10,000 of roughly 43,000 residency positions are filled by H-1B holders each year.
• IMGs are disproportionately represented in primary care and psychiatry, and commonly staff high-need clinics and off-hour coverage.

Critics say the fee will:
– Reduce applicant pools for residency programs.
– Create unfilled slots especially in rural programs.
– Increase appointment backlogs and divert routine care to emergency departments.
– Produce a “lost cohort” effect: a resident who doesn’t start in 2026 won’t be ready to practice independently in 2029–2030.

Political and economic reactions

• Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi called the policy “reckless,” warning it could cut the country off from high-skilled talent central to innovation and care.
• Ajay Bhutoria, a former advisor to President Biden, cautioned a six-figure H-1B fee could “crush” small businesses and startups, driving skilled workers to Canada or Europe and weakening U.S. competitiveness.

Hospitals emphasize that patients will be the most affected—particularly those already struggling to see a doctor in underserved communities.

Analysis and projections

• VisaVerge.com analysis suggests hospitals are likely to freeze H-1B sponsorship for residents and junior doctors as soon as the rule takes effect; existing H-1B holders may face higher renewal costs.
• The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortfall that could reach 124,000 physicians by 2034—a gap critics say could widen if fewer IMGs enter residency in coming cycles.

Practical effects and timelines

• Immediate operational consequences may include:
  1. Shrinking residency applicant pools.
  2. Canceled interviews late in the match season.
  3. Program closures or reduced services in rural and high-need areas.
• The timeline matters: a policy adopted in 2025 can limit physician supply for several years because of the multi-year training pipeline.

Comparison: Canada and international competition

• Canada is moving in the opposite direction with targeted pathways for foreign-trained physicians.
  • Quebec plans a single-permit system for foreign doctors starting July 31, 2025, to cut paperwork and delays.
  • National projections in Canada call for 19,500 more family doctors by 2031 and provinces are running fast-track recruitment programs.
• The U.S. risk: the proposed fee may push IMGs to Canada, the UK, and Australia, worsening U.S. shortages.

Hospital strategies and short-term responses

Hospitals and program directors are preparing contingency plans:

• Reviewing service lines dependent on IMG residents.
• Shifting some lower-acuity care to nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
• Partnering with telehealth providers.

None of these measures is a full substitute for a trained physician; they may alleviate strain temporarily but not replace lost residency-trained clinicians.

Policy changes overview

Impact on applicants and patients

• Prospective IMG residents face difficult choices: pivot to other countries, delay residency, or try to match under increased employer cost pressure.
• Current H-1B holders worry about renewal costs if the fee applies at extension.
• Patients are likely to see the effects first in fragile settings: rural counties, low-income urban clinics, and community mental health centers.
  • Consequences include fewer clinic days, more diverted patients, longer wait times for procedures and screenings, later diagnoses, and worse outcomes.

Legal, legislative, and administrative outlook

• As of September 22, 2025, there has been no formal court action blocking the policy.
• Hospital associations and advocacy groups are weighing legal and legislative options, but immediate focus is on advising programs and staff.
• Employers seeking official information can consult the USCIS H-1B program page: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations

Key takeaway: The proposed H-1B visa fee stands to reshape the residency pipeline and the nation’s already strained supply of doctors. The next few weeks will indicate whether hospitals can absorb the cost—or whether patients will face even longer waits to see a physician.