Trump administration exempts foreign doctors from 39-country travel ban

The change was made without any formal announcement. It comes as the U.S. faces a major doctor shortage. The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates a shortage of more than 113,000 doctors by 2028, ticking up to more than 141,000 by 2038.

The policy change will only affect foreign medical workers applying from outside the country, not those already in the country, whose immigration status may also be in limbo.

A total of 39 countries face either a partial or full ban on traveling to the U.S. 

Trump first imposed a travel ban on seven countries in 2017. The travel ban was expanded late last year following a shooting targeting National Guard members near the White House while on assignment as part of the president’s anti-crime initiative.

The suspect was arrested and identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a citizen of Afghanistan who worked with the CIA during the war and was airlifted out of Kabul by U.S. forces in 2021. He was granted asylum in 2025.

Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in December that a forthcoming travel ban extension could include more than 30 countries, beyond the nearly 20 countries already on the list at the time.

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The full travel ban is in effect against Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and for individuals with Palestinian Authority documents.

The partial ban affects citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.