APTQI Joins Stakeholder Letter Urging Exemption from New $100,000 H-1B Application Fee

APTQI signed an October 16 letter to Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Joseph Edlow, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, alongside five leading healthcare organizations urging the federal government to exempt physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists from the new H-1B policy and associated fee structure under the Proclamation on “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” announced on September 19, 2025. 

In the letter, the groups emphasize that there are critical shortages of physical and occupational therapists in the U.S. due to many factors, including rising demand for care from an increasingly aging population, recent declines in the workforce, and workforce constraints. While highly skilled professionals from other countries have played a critical role in addressing these gaps, the new $100,000 H-1B application fee would create serious barriers for outpatient community-based clinics to extend employment offers at a time when the demand for care is on the rise. 

“Limiting access to internationally trained physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists with the proposed $100,000 application fee will directly reduce patient access to care, delay recovery from surgeries and injuries, and increase the burden on family caregivers,” the letter states.

The letter requests an exemption for these vital health professionals from the new H-1B fees to protect patient access to preventative and rehabilitative care that helps reduce overall health care costs by improving health outcomes and preventing complications that require high-cost interventions.

Click here to read the letter.