AHA asks DHS to make healthcare workers exempt from proposed H-1B visa fee subject to statutory caps

The AHA Sept. 23 recommended the Department of Homeland Security make healthcare workers exempt from its proposed H-1B visa fee of $103,265 for petitions subject to statutory caps. In a letter to DHS on the proposal, the AHA said it is concerned that the fee would hinder hospitals and health systems' ability to use the H-1B program to address healthcare worker shortages and would particularly have adverse impacts on hospitals in rural and underserved communities. The AHA also urged DHS to mitigate potential impacts on foreign-trained physicians with a waiver of the home-country physical presence obligation provided through the Conrad 30 Waiver Program. The proposed fee from DHS is separate from the $100,000 H-1B visa fee issued by the administration through a presidential proclamation Sept. 18.