AHA urges State Department to prioritize visas for nurses

To solve the backlog of immigrant visas for eligible foreign-trained nurses, the American Hospital Association (AHA) urged the State Department to give foreign-trained nurses seeking immigrant visas priority for processing. “There has never been a more urgent need for the care that foreign-trained nurses provide than during the current COVID-19 pandemic and its looming aftermath,” AHA wrote in a June 30 letter. “These professionals play critical roles in ensuring the health of the communities we serve. … Foreign-trained nurses do not displace American workers. At the same time, the demand for nurses continues to grow. Many foreign-trained nurses are recruited to rural and inner-city hospitals, locations that find it more difficult to recruit domestically.” (AHA letter, 6/30/21)