Potential Impact of the Federal Pause on Immigrant Visas From 75 Countries on the U.S. Health Care Workforce

Data source: These findings are based on KFF analysis of the 2025 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS-ASEC). The CPS is a nationally representative U.S. household survey sponsored jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is the “primary source of labor force statistics for the population of the United States”.

Identifying foreign-born workers from impacted countries in CPS-ASEC: Foreign-born workers are identified as those between ages 19 and 64 who report their citizenship group as either “foreign born, US cit by naturalization” or “foreign born, not a US citizen”. Those who further indicate their country of birth as being one of the 75 countries impacted by the DOS visa pause (listed below) are included in the sample of foreign-born workers from countries subject to the visa pause. Of note, CPS does not include country of birth data separately for 6 of the 75 countries impacted by the DOS visa pause, namely The Gambia, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyztan), Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tunisia.

List of impacted countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen(Source: DOS).

Identifying health care workers in CPS-ASEC: Health care workers are identified as those whose detailed occupation in CPS-ASEC is reported as either “healthcare practitioner and technical occupations” or “healthcare support occupations”.