In South Dakota, rural schools are facing a staffing crisis, particularly among teachers, which has been exacerbated by the new $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B visa applications. As highlighted by Rob Coverdale, superintendent of the K-12 Crow Creek Tribal School, the school had previously struggled to fill 15 teaching positions, ultimately resulting in the hiring of primarily Filipino teachers under H-1B visas. We’ve hired the H-1B teachers because we quite simply didn’t have other applicants for those positions, Coverdale noted.
With the new fee, many rural communities are threatened with an even greater staffing crisis as they historically rely on immigrant professionals to fill critical vacancies in education and healthcare. The fee's implications are especially severe given that one in eight public school positions remains unfilled or occupied by less qualified teachers. This situation is set against a backdrop of a projected shortage of 87,000 physicians in the next decade, underlining the necessity for international medical graduates.
Many rural areas, including Crow Creek, struggle with geographical isolation and low wages, making them less attractive for local applicants. As Coverdale described, The more remote you are, the more challenging it is for your staff members to get to your school and serve your kids. This sense of isolation leads to critical reliance on immigrants, such as Mary Joy Ponce-Torres, who has transitioned from teaching abroad to the realities of a rural school environment in South Dakota.
In response to the fee's potential negative impact, a coalition of educators and health care providers has already taken legal action, stating it could harm schools and hospitals that depend on immigrant workers. According to Melissa Sadorf, executive director of the National Rural Education Association, for many rural budgets, the cost associated with hiring teachers can become unmanageable when high fees are applicable, eliminating opportunities for these necessary hires.
Healthcare organizations echo these sentiments, arguing that the increased fees could impair recruitment efforts and further deteriorate patient care in underserved areas. The American Hospital Association has pointed out that failing to exempt healthcare workers from the fee could force rural health providers to cut services significantly, exacerbating the already concerning healthcare access in these regions.
