Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), and Sanford Bishop (D-GA), have introduced legislation — the H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act (H.R. 7961) — that would exempt health care professionals from the $100,000 H-1B petition fee which stems from a Proclamation issued by President Trump on Sept. 19, 2025.
The Proclamation provides no exception for physicians, although the Secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to grant exceptions to the fee in “extraordinarily rare” circumstances.
In a press release accompanying introduction of the bill, Rep. Salazar stated, “As our nation faces a growing physician shortage, we must ensure that steep fees do not stand in the way of hospitals bringing in the medical talent American patients depend on.”
Last September, ASGE joined more than 50 organizations in sending a letter to then-Secretary Kristi Noem asking to exempt all physicians from the fee.