ACP says ruling against visa fees will help protect access to care

Statement attributable to:
Jan K. Carney, MD, MPH, MACP
President, American College of Physicians

WASHINGTON June 8, 2026- The American College of Physicians is relieved by a federal judge's decision to immediately stop the $100,000 fee that the Trump administration had imposed on H1-B visa applications, starting on Sept. 21, 2025, calling its implementation unlawful. The sudden imposition of this dramatically increased visa fee has been very difficult for employers of noncitizen medical residents and other international medical graduates to meet. International medical graduates are critical to providing care to patients across the United States, making up approximately 25 percent of the U.S. physician workforce. Immigration policies and fees that do not consider the significant need in the U.S. for these physicians have the potential to dramatically harm access to care for patients. International medical graduates are particularly important in providing primary care services, especially in rural and underserved areas in the U.S. Ensuring a stable physician workforce and protecting access to essential health care requires immigration policies that recognize the benefits that noncitizen physicians and medical trainees provide to the health of the American public. ACP urges the administration to heed the court's decision and cease the implementation of the $100,000 H1-B application fee. We will continue to monitor this case for potential appeal by the administration.

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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 172 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 163,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.

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