Administration lifts pause on visa processing, prioritizing foreign-born radiologists and other docs
The Trump administration on June 18 lifted a pause placed on new visa appointments, with an added emphasis on the processing of applications for foreign-born physicians.
The American College of Radiology shared the news with its members on Wednesday. It noted that the commission that provides certification for international medical graduates before they enter the U.S. has indicated that the U.S. Department of State is directing embassies and consulates to prioritize J-1 physicians for visa interviews.
Such docs participate in U.S. graduate medical education training programs under the J-1 Exchange Visitor visa. This allows them to come to the country for a defined period, gaining experience in their field through residencies or fellowships.
“IMGs play an essential role in filling workforce shortages in areas and specialties that struggle to recruit and retain physicians,” ACR said in a June 25 news update. “The American College of Radiology is pleased the J-1 visa pathway will remain available to these physicians to come to U.S. for residency training.”
The U.S. State Department stopped issuing visas to many foreign nationals following a June 4 White House proclamation. At the time, President Donald Trump said the executive order was aimed at protecting the country from foreign terrorists and “other national security and public safety threats.” ACR noted that this has impacted the process that enables international medical graduates to apply for visas to complete residency training in the U.S., with many often remaining here via the Conrad 30 waiver program afterward.
Travel and visa restrictions enacted by the Trump administration may threaten patient care at “hundreds” of hospitals that depend on IMGs, the New York Times reported June 19. Typically, residents begin work on July 1, with orientation programs already starting at some institutions. Hospitals may face staffing shortages if unable to employ these foreign-born physicians.
“If international medical graduates can’t start their medical residencies on time on July 1, the ramifications are so far-reaching that it is really unconscionable,” Kimberly Pierce Burke, executive director of the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers, told the newspaper.
According to the report, it is not immediately clear how many or how quickly physicians will be granted their visas after the pause ended. The process now includes “enhanced social media vetting,” the times noted, to help weed out potential security risks. In addition, the administration has banned or restricted travel to the U.S. from around 20 countries.
The U.S. medical system relies “heavily” on foreign physicians, with about 1 in 5 born and educated overseas. Last year, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates sponsored 15,500 doctors from over 150 countries to fill training spots across 770 hospitals, the Times noted.
Non-U.S. citizen international medical graduates saw a large increase in participation in the National Resident Matching Program, according to data released in March. For 2025, there were 11,464 active applicants, up 14.4% over 2024, the NRMP reported. This marked increase in participation pushed the postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) match rate down but only lightly, to 58%. More than 6,600 doctors who are not U.S. citizens were accepted into residency programs in 2025.
Non-U.S. IMGs this year matched to 7 PGY-1 positions in interventional radiology (integrated), and 9 in diagnostic radiology. PGY-2 included 6 more in interventional radiology and 77 in diagnostics, according to the latest match data. Physician (R) positions included another 5 non-U.S. citizen IMGs in diagnostic radiology. These individuals are international citizens who graduated from medical schools outside the U.S. and require visa sponsorships to train in the country.
Omer Awan, MD, MPH, an associate program director of radiology, told MedPage Today Tuesday that policy changes have had a “very palpable effect” on international medical graduates starting their residencies.
"Some IMGs told me in confidence that the administration policies influenced how they ranked programs, based on how they perceived the programs would give visas or would accept visas for IMGs," the University of Maryland MSK radiologist told MedPage Today. "In addition, many worry and fear that they will not be able to complete training in the U.S. even with visas given some of the deportations of people who are similar to them with respect to country of origin."
"This is an added stress on them, on top of an already stressful situation of learning new medical material throughout medical residency," he added. "Suffice to say many IMGs and foreign trained medical residents will face enormous challenges not just in residency, but also with the constant fear and anxiety in not knowing if they will be employed next week."
A State Department spokesperson told the website that “protecting U.S. national security is our highest priority in the visa process.” It plans to continue to prohibit entry to the U.S. by those who might pose a threat to the country while welcoming “legitimate travel.”
"The Department of State recognizes the vital role medical residents play in supporting the U.S. economy and public health," the spokesperson told MedPage. "Visas for qualified medical professionals have played an important role in helping the United States address critical healthcare shortages."
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.