~1 Percent of U.S. Docs Sponsored for H-1B Visas in Fiscal Year 2024

FRIDAY, Oct. 31, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- About 1 percent of U.S. physicians were sponsored for H-1B visas in fiscal year 2024, according to a study published online Oct. 29 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.Michael Liu, M.D., from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the percentage of U.S. health care professionals (HCPs) sponsored for H-1B visas in fiscal year 2024 across occupation groups and county characteristics.The researchers found that H-1B-sponsored HCPs accounted for 0.97, 0.02, 0.40, and 0.07 percent of physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), dentists, and other health care workers (OHCWs), respectively, in fiscal year 2024. Counties with the highest versus the lowest poverty level had a significantly higher percentage of H-1B-sponsored physicians (2.0 versus 0.54 percent). Patterns were similar for APPs and OHCWs. The percentage of H-1B-sponsored physicians was also higher for rural versus urban counties (1.6 versus 0.95 percent). In rural counties, the percentage of sponsored OHCWs was higher, while the percentage of sponsored APPs was slightly lower. Relative to Midwestern, Southern, and Western counties, Northeastern counties had a higher percentage of H-1B-sponsored physicians (1.4 versus 1.2, 0.82, and 0.53 percent); the findings were similar for APPs, dentists, and OHCWs."Our findings suggest that the most socioeconomically vulnerable communities will be hit hardest in terms of health care worker supply and care access by the recent visa application policy change," Liu said in a statement. "Foreign health care workers fill critical gaps in health systems such as primary care and rural health, and millions of Americans depend on them to receive timely and high-quality health care."One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

~1 Percent of U.S. Docs Sponsored for H-1B Visas in Fiscal Year 2024

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