Policy Stories for Kidney News

Assignment: Report on policy-related topics for the magazine of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney News, and its sister publication, Kidney News Online.

Pandemic Underscores Urgent Need for Kidney Care Innovation

​Minority Kidney Patients at Increased Risk for COVID-19 Due to Longstanding Structural Inequities

​Research Crucial to Combatting Effects of COVID-19 on Kidneys, Kidney Patients

​Visa Issues Could Sideline Some Nephrologists, Critical During COVID-19

​COVID-19 Placed Kidney Disease in the Limelight. Will That Attract More Physicians to the Specialty?​

Visa Issues Could Sideline Some Nephrologists, Critical During COVID-19

April 10, 2020

Every physician is critical in the battle against COVID-19, but some may soon find themselves sidelined—not by the illness but by the complexities of a U.S. visa process, which can leave applicants in limbo as they transition from one legal status to another.

In a March 2020 letter, ASN asked congressional leaders to encourage the administration to enact policies to make sure no law-abiding physician or medical resident who wants to come to or remain in the United States is prevented from doing so. The letter called for:

• Extending visas and other protected status for physicians and medical residents throughout the COVID-19 national emergency,
• Expediting approval of visa extensions and changes of status,
• Continuing the H-1b premium processing option, which turns around visa applications in 15 days,
• Establishing visa processing at embassies and consulates worldwide during the health emergency, and​
• Allowing physicians and residents with J-1 and H-1b visas to be redeployed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Typically, international medical graduates (IMGs) who enter the United States on a J-1 visa to study or conduct research must return to their home countries for two years before they can apply for an H-1b employment visa or a green card. The requirement can be waived for a finite number of physicians, typically those who agree to work in a medically underserved area for three years through the Conrad 30 Program. Some waivers are also granted on the basis of persecution or exceptional hardship or at the request of a federal agency. With all parts of the government under strain at present, physician groups are concerned about the ability of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office to grant and renew physician visas so the country can benefit from this indispensable workforce.“We are facing a very critical time,” said Javier A. Neyra, MD, assistant professor of medicine and director of Acute Care Nephrology & CRRT Program at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. “In July, a lot of foreign graduates come to start their training in residency. My impression is, academic medical centers will do everything they can to be sure the immigration process is completed so these individuals can arrive at the desired time, but we don’t know how this is going to work out. I know individuals who are outside the U.S. who have been told there is no guarantee their visa will be sponsored in time.”