Nigerian and other foreign physicians will now be able to obtain and renew visas to practice in the United States after the Trump administration reversed a policy that had effectively blocked many of them from continuing their work under a travel ban-related processing freeze.

The Department of Homeland Security had earlier implemented a measure tied to a January travel ban covering citizens from 39 countries, which halted decisions on visa extensions, work permits and green cards.

The policy left many international medical professionals in limbo, with some placed on administrative leave and others at risk of losing their jobs in already strained health systems.

However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its website late last week, without formal announcement, indicating that physicians are now exempt from the processing suspension. The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed the change.

In a statement, DHS said that “Applications associated with medical physicians will continue processing,” signalling that visa and work permit adjudications for doctors would resume.

The reversal comes as the United States continues to face a significant shortage of medical professionals.

The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a deficit of about 65,000 physicians, a gap expected to widen as demand for healthcare increases and older doctors retire.

Foreign-trained doctors play a major role in filling that gap. More than 60 per cent of them work in primary care fields such as family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics—areas often avoided by U.S.-trained physicians due to demanding workloads and comparatively lower pay.