Visa restrictions pose threat to foreign-educated nurses

The U.S. government’s extension of a pause on processing visa applications for international nurses in June could worsen existing nursing workforce shortages, given the increasing role of foreign-educated nurses in hospitals, according to a KFF analysis of data from the American Hospital Association’s annual survey. Overall, 32% of hospitals accounting for 45% of all hospital beds say they hired foreign-born RNs in 2022. Between 2010 and 2022, the share of hospitals saying they hired more foreign-educated nurses to fill RN vacancies compared to the previous year increased from 2% of hospitals representing 3% of hospital beds to 14% of hospitals representing 22% of hospital beds. The government is currently processing applications submitted on or before December 2021. (KFF article, 7/10/24)