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1 - I'm glad Business Insider wrote this story, but USCIS misled the reporter regarding a critical issue - If doctors in the US on visas die while fighting the coronavirus, their families could be forced to leave the country or face deportation https://www.businessinsider.com/foreign-doctors-roadblocks-to-helping-with-us-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-4?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter
2 - USCIS claimed that surviving spouses and children of a doctor that dies can avoid deportation and go on to getting a green card based on the petition filed by the doctor before passing away. Not so (at least for the vast majority of the families).
3 - @USCIS referred the reporter to Section 204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act which has some protections for family members. It covers some folks with approved I-140 petitions but they must continue to reside in the US legally while they wait. But they can't do that.
4 - These doctors are often in 20 year waits for green cards and they stay legally on the basis of their H-1B, O-1 or other non-immigrant status. But the moment they die, their family members become undocumented. So they can't continue to reside here. Many will get deported.
5 - Congress needs to address this by ending the scandalous waits for physician green cards & build in protections for family members in this situation. God didn't speak to Congress in 1990 and say these quotas need to be in place for all time (some in Congress seem to think so).
6 - We need physician immigration provisions (and other protections for essential immigrant workers) in an upcoming COVID bill.
7 - Bottom line - We do not have the backs of these critical health care workers and @uscis doesn't seem to care. Sure, some things Congress needs to do. But USCIS should be doing a lot more AND they need to be honest with the media about the risks doctors are facing.
