MOSTResource.org

Resources on Muslims for the Entertainment Industry

  • Story Bank
    • Business & Technology
    • Entertainment
    • Culture & Lifestyle
    • Medical
    • National
    • Faith
    • Sports
    • Women
    • World
  • Resources
    • Faces & Places
    • Statistics
    • Infographics
    • Research / Reports
    • Quick Takes
  • Perspectives
  • Events
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Staff
    • Parent Organization
    • Videos
  • Story Bank
  • Business & Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Culture & Lifestyle
  • Medical
  • National
  • Faith
  • Sports
  • Women
  • World
mostresource storybank video

Explored Our Story Bank Yet?

Our curated collection of thousands of stories has helped top Hollywood writers, producers, and creatives. Watch our brief video to learn more.

Medical — August 21, 2017   

Pakistani Doctors Denied Visas to Practice In The U.S.

Original article by Maryam Saleh published in the Intercept on 08/17/2017

Photo Credit: Intercept
Photo Credit: Intercept

So take this factoid in — about a quarter of all doctors in America are foreign-born which means they have had to secure a J-1 visa. A J-1 is a non-immigrant exchange visa conditioned on an individual’s return to their home country for at least two years at the conclusion of the program. According to Shahzad Iqbal, a Pakistani-American physician in New York, in the wake of Trump’s Muslim ban, dozens of Pakistani physicians had their J-1 applications denied this year. According to the Intercept, without these doctors, our “healthcare system would simply collapse, with the pain felt most acutely in rural areas. U.S. medical schools don’t produce anywhere near enough graduates to meet the needs of the country, particularly in places where people are reluctant to move to.”

“This year, we had about 34 J-1 refusals that were reported to us. This is kind of a historic number,” said Mr. Iqbal who chairs the Committee on Young Physicians (which is a part of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America). Activists say there is little way to separate the emerging Pakistani physician ban with Trump’s Muslim ban and other severe immigration policies. “It would be hard to escape the conclusion,” states immigration attorney Jan Pederson.

Pakistan is one of the top suppliers of foreign doctors to the U.S. According to the U.S. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in 2015, 12,125 doctors of Pakistani descent were practicing medicine in the U.S., second only to India’s 46,137 doctors.

While the state department states that “there have been no significant changes specific to the J-1 visa application process this year,” many say that what is happening to Pakistani doctors is likely an indirect outcome of the White House’s immigration policies, specifically an increase with vetting. “[Pakistan] is not on the travel ban list, but in general there’s a lot of fear in the Pakistani community over changes that have been happening,” says Greg Siskind, an immigration attorney who also works with the International Medical Graduate Taskforce.

Mr. Iqbal fears what happened this year will impact Pakistani physicians in the future. “It’s scary for medical graduates because it is a ripple effect… Now, for next year, the program directors will be reluctant to take the Pakistani physicians there.”

Read more ...

Our Experts Are Here To Help

Want to start a conversation with our experts for help with your project?

Related Articles

  • M Film Lab Now Accepting Applications for Screenwriting Program
  • American Eid – Interview with Director Aqsa Altaf
  • Post vaccine, Muslim travelers are heading to… Israel

More From The Story Bank

Post vaccine, Muslim travelers...

Last year the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. This marked a public normalization of relations not seen in decades. And with this new … [Read More...]

Meet the first Muslim head...

As new head coach for the New York Jets, Robert Saleh is making history as the first Muslim American to lead a team in the National Football League. The Lebanese American is also the third Arab … [Read More...]

Meet American’s Youngest...

According to The Hill, Bushra Amiwala "is part of a new generation stepping into politics." In 2019, she was elected to the Skokie Board of Education in Illinois, making this Pakistani-American … [Read More...]

Riz Ahmed Is Oscars’ First...

Riz Ahmed has become the first Muslim nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards for Sound of Metal, not long after Mahershala Ali made his own history with two Best Supporting … [Read More...]

More Women Study Physics in...

A recent report from Physics magazine finds that physics departments in many western universities have a "significant gender disparity, with far fewer women than men taking up the subject." However, … [Read More...]

Enter your email to receive periodic updates

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy© 2002–2023 MOST ResourceMOST Resource globe


We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and to collect anonymous data to enable us to manage our website. Our Privacy Policy is a complete disclosure of our data collection policies, including the choices you have to control information we might collect. Your use of this site represents your consent to our Privacy Policy.