![Hon. Festus Keyamo SAN arrives MMIA past 11:50 p.m. Feb 23 to lead oversight of Terminal 1 fire. Joined FAAN MD & team actively managing situation. Directed morning inspection Tuesday to guide restoration & confirm safety standards. Reaffirmed focus on passenger safety. Story: [link] #KeyamoMMIA #FireIncident #FAAN](https://fullcliphq.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mym-150x150.jpg "MMIA Fire: Keyamo Inspects Lagos Airport After Terminal 1 Blaze Disrupts Flights")
The Trump administration has quietly reversed a controversial policy that had frozen visa processing for physicians from countries subject to a broad travel ban, allowing foreign doctors already working in the United States to remain in their positions and continue serving patients.
The change, confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security after an update to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website late last week, exempts medical professionals from restrictions that had threatened to disrupt healthcare services in many underserved communities across the country. The policy reversal addresses a situation that had left numerous foreign-trained doctors at risk of losing their jobs or legal status.
Under the earlier measures linked to the expanded travel ban covering 39 countries, decisions on visa extensions, work permits and green cards were effectively halted, forcing some hospitals to place affected physicians on administrative leave. Foreign doctors make up about 25 percent of all physicians practising in the United States. Many specialise in primary care fields such as family medicine, internal medicine and paediatrics – areas often avoided by American doctors due to demanding workloads and relatively lower compensation.
The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates the country already faces a shortage of around 65,000 physicians, a gap projected to widen significantly over the next decade as the population ages and more doctors retire.
One high-profile case involved Ezequiel Veliz, a family doctor from Venezuela, who was detained by federal agents in Texas on April 6 after falling out of legal status while awaiting processing of his new visa application. He was released after 10 days.
The adjustment follows growing pressure from the medical community. On April 8, more than 20 physician associations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Pediatrics, wrote to the secretaries of state and homeland security urging a national-interest exemption and expedited processing for affected doctors.
Sebastian Arruarana, founder of Project IMG, which represents thousands of international medical graduates, welcomed the development. He noted that roughly 1,000 doctors completing residencies and fellowships next month had been at risk of losing placements in federally designated underserved areas, while hundreds more accepted into programmes starting in July had been left in uncertainty.
Dr Rebecca Andrews, chair of the Board of Regents for the American College of Physicians, said the exemption was a positive step. “We need to recruit the most skilled doctors no matter where they are from,” she stated.
The travel ban, first introduced in June last year and expanded in January, had mirrored elements of a similar policy from President Trump’s first term. While the earlier version primarily blocked new entries, the latest measures affected individuals already living and working in the United States, creating widespread disruption in the healthcare sector.
Curtis Morrison, an immigration lawyer who filed multiple lawsuits to compel processing of applications, described the exemption for physicians as “a great development for physicians and health care in the US.” The quiet policy shift via website update, without a formal public announcement, has been viewed by some as an acknowledgement of the critical role foreign-trained doctors play in maintaining healthcare access, particularly in rural and low-income communities.
Physicians from Africa, the Middle East and Venezuela were among those most affected by the earlier restrictions. Many had been vetted and were contributing directly to patient care when the freeze took effect.
The reversal comes as the United States grapples with growing demand for medical services. With an ageing population and persistent shortages in certain specialties and geographic areas, reliance on internationally trained physicians has become increasingly important.
While the exemption resolves immediate concerns for many doctors already in the system, questions remain about the broader impact of the travel ban on future recruitment of medical talent. Hospitals and residency programmes continue to monitor the situation closely.
