In the quest to protect the tech sector, one may find themselves under the threat of a bug. Donald Trump could learn this lesson as he approaches the midterm elections scheduled for November.
Last September, the American president decided to significantly increase the price of the H-1B visa for skilled workers, raising it from $5,000 to $100,000. The Republican billionaire justified this decision by explaining that this visa was being used by tech companies to hire foreigners at the expense of Americans, going as far as to label them in his executive order as “threats to internal security,” accusing them of taking jobs away from his fellow citizens.
Although tech is the primary sector utilizing the H-1B visa (65% of the 442,000 visa holders in 2025), it is not the only one. The healthcare sector also relies on this visa, granting 5,600 foreign workers “temporary permission to work in the United States in jobs that require specialized skills or knowledge.” By multiplying its cost by twenty, Donald Trump is preventing many rural hospitals from recruiting qualified specialists who are essential in American medical deserts.
“The rural regions of the United States are often referred to as ‘professionally underserved areas’ because about two-thirds of these fragile sectors are found there,” explained Carrie Cochran-McClain, director of policy for the National Rural Health Association. “To fill these gaps, we need to recruit from abroad. The percentage of doctors benefiting from the H-1B program is nearly twice as high in rural counties as in urban counties.”
According to the American Hospital Association, doctors represent nearly half of the H-1B visas in healthcare. However, they can try to “circumvent” the problem by applying for another visa, the J1. This is a more challenging practice for other healthcare professionals such as nurses, respiratory therapists, and radiology technologists, pointing out the negative impact of this arbitrary policy on the healthcare sector.
Context:
- The article discusses the implications of Donald Trump’s decision to increase the price of the H-1B visa and its impact on the healthcare sector and rural hospitals.
Fact Check:
- It is mentioned that Donald Trump won 93% of rural counties in the 2024 presidential election, but there is an error in the year mentioned as the presidential election in 2024 is a hypothetical event.
