New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- As tech workers brace for the impact of Donald Trump's prohibitive H-1B work visa fees, another category of highly skilled Indian professionals awaits clarity: healthcare professionals.

Thousands of medical and paramedical workers, as well as researchers in the life sciences and space, work in the US through H-1B visas. Indian physicians, physical therapists and medical researchers eyeing employment in the US are now left in limbo as the order does not clarify whether they are covered under the new rules. Some are exploring different pathways, such as the H-4 dependent or J-1 visa. All these people did not wish to be quoted.

"Unlike the pandemic-related travel ban, when the US government had indicated what visas a...