Hey Doctor: Your Burnout’s About To Get A Whole Lot Worse

What H1B visa restrictions mean for your burnout

On September 19th, the President of the United States signed an executive order, one that effectively guts the immigration of many high-skilled workers* into the US—including in healthcare.

Specifically, the executive order says

The entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), is restricted, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000.

In other words, unless an employer is willing to foot an extra hundred grand, no one can come into the US to work in a “specialty occupation” —including healthcare.

For those of us in healthcare, this is going to hit.

Hard.

One million dollars (Source)

American Health Relies On Immigrants

First, let’s get clear on some facts:

• 29% of all hospital maintenance workers are immigrants.
• So are 27% of all doctors working in US hospitals
• 22% of all nursing assistants, and