BILLINGS Billings Clinic is keeping watch on a new federal H-1B nonimmigrant visa requirement, which mandates foreign workers who applied for the visa after Sept. 21 pay a $100,000 fee through their U.S. employer.President Donal d Trump issued the proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers Sept. 19. Workers who can apply for the visa include physicians, scientists and engineers.Watch the report: Billings Clinic eyeing new visa requirements for healthcare workersThe proclamation has created concern across the country about how it will affect the healthcare industry, but no workers at Billings Clinic have seen a $100,000 fee yet.The clinic has 25 foreign healthcare workers who have applied for the visa.According to Dr. Ryan Schwanke at Billings Clinic, the hospital may avoid fees through the Conrad 30 Waiver Program, which allows foreign workers to stay in the U.S. after their J-1 visa expires. If workers have a waiver and do not return to their home country after their J-1 visa expires, they can bypass the $100,000 payment.Those waivers are limited to 30 per state."I think that's always a concern because, depending on how the rules and the laws pan out, it could shift again," said Schwanke.Schwanke said hospitals are already facing a labor shortage. Were looking at about a 65,000 shortage of physicians in general. And so, we need all the help we can to take care of our population, he said.An Association of American Medical Colleges report projects the U.S. will have a physician shortage of 86,000 by 2036.It's kind of the perfect storm of the Baby Boomer generation hitting their significant healthcare needs as they age, added Schwanke.Nationwide, concern is growing that the new H-1B visa fee will exacerbate the shortage of physicians.If a U.S. employer finds top talent and would like to hire that talent, but the person is outside of the United States and they would like to bring them in they're going to run into this $100,000 fee, said Eileen King English, New Jersey immigration attorney.This is really impacting hospitals across the country, she added. ...read more read less