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Potential Impact of the Federal Pause on Immigrant Visas From 75 Countries on the U.S. Health Care Workforce
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Potential Impact of the Federal Pause on Immigrant Visas From 75 Countries on the U.S. Health Care Workforce Print Email Copy LinkAs part of broader efforts to reduce immigration, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently announced that it will pause issuance of all immigrant visas for individuals from 75 countries.
The pause will likely reduce the supply of workers and particularly health care workers in the U.S., which could exacerbate existing health care worker shortages.
The pause went into effect on January 21, 2026, for nationals from the 75 countries applying for immigrant visas.
A little over half (55%) of health care workers from these countries are employed in health care support occupations such as home health aides and nursing aides, and the remaining 45% are in health care practitioner and technical occupations such as physicians, surgeons, and nurses.
Among foreign-born workers from the 69 countries, those from Haiti (13%), Jamaica (10%), and Nigeria (9%) made up the highest shares of health care workers.