Online Publication Date:
28 Oct 2020
ASN Urges ICE to Reject Changes That Will Reduce Access to Care

Nearly 50% of US nephrologists are graduates of international medical schools . These individuals provide critical care in our nation’s teaching hospitals and in areas facing critical physician shortages, fight the COVID-19 pandemic on the front lines, and conduct pioneering research in labs across the country.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published a proposed rule titled “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media” (proposed rule) on September 26, 2020 for public comment. The proposed rule would eliminate “duration of status” as an authorized period of stay for certain nonimmigrant visas (F, I, and J) and replace it with a specific end date and requirement to apply through the U.S. government each year to extend this date.
By:
Ryan Murray
Search for other papers by Ryan Murray in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Subjects:
Course of practice

 

Nearly 50% of US nephrologists are graduates of international medical schools . These individuals provide critical care in our nation’s teaching hospitals and in areas facing critical physician shortages, fight the COVID-19 pandemic on the front lines, and conduct pioneering research in labs across the country.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published a proposed rule titled “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media” (proposed rule) on September 26, 2020 for public comment. The proposed rule would eliminate “duration of status” as an authorized period of stay for certain nonimmigrant visas (F, I, and J) and replace it with a specific end date and requirement to apply through the U.S. government each year to extend this date.

“The society is deeply concerned that the proposed rule will have a chilling effect on the nephrology clinical and scientific workforce in the United States and would negatively affect access to care for the more than 37 million Americans living with kidney diseases.” – Anupam Agarwal, MD, FASN, ASN President

ASN submitted a comment letter highlighting the society’s concerns that the proposed rule will negatively impact patient care and the nation’s research capacity, and strongly requested ICE exclude J-1 clinicians and scientists from the proposed rule.

Read the ASN comment letter in its entirety.

Further ASN Advocacy on Immigration Policy

ASN has been closely monitoring developments related to immigration policy and the nephrology workforce. This is just the latest advocacy effort by ASN to ensure the millions of Americans with kidney diseases, kidney failure, and kidney transplants receive the highest-quality care possible, which requires a well-trained and diverse workforce. The following list highlights these efforts:

ASN will continue to work to remove barriers that prevent foreign-trained physicians from contributing to the nation’s health care.

Save