“We are physicians trained at top U.S. institutions,” said Dr. Kura, who has been in the United States for 19 years. “People like me are not able to go to help
Varun Malayalah, an internal medicine hospitalist who practices in rural Delaware, said that he had been inundated with calls, texts and emails from recruiters representing hospitals that are grappling with the contagion.
“I would be there tomorrow, if it were possible,” said Dr. Malayalah.
He is 35, single and has a staggered schedule, one week on and the next off, the norm for hospitalists, or doctors who exclusively treat patients in hospitals.
“In the last month, instead of sitting home when I was off, I could have gone and worked where they needed me,” he said, were it not for the visa restrictions.
Representatives Tony Cárdenas and Zoe Lofgren of California sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chad F. Wolf, the acting homeland security secretary, urging their departments to allow foreign-born physicians and health care workers to practice freely during the crisis. The letter, sent April 6, was signed by 63 members of Congress.
“Many of these workers stand ready to serve our country but are unable to do so because of a lack of flexibility in their visa categories and other limitations in our immigration system,” the letter said.
It called on immigration-related agencies to expedite visa applications and provide emergency processing or other accommodations for some 4,000 foreign physicians scheduled to start residencies in the United States on July 1.