and nebraska. all right, young lady. so i have patients who have traveled hundreds of miles to come see me. and there are many patients who i travel to go see. we also use airplanes to get physicians out into those rural communities when the distance is significant. reporter: but there s one place al nafal is hesitant to fly to. out of the u.s. to see relatives. president trump s executive order bars citizens of seven muslim maurgeity countries, including syria, from entering into the united states. with that order in legal limbo, he is afraid he may be forced to leave his patients behind if he travels abroad and can t get back into the u.s. that s because he s not a u.s. citizen. he is here on a special j-1 visa waiver. a specific but important program that allows about 1500 international physicians each year to temporarily work in underserved areas of the country.
from those countries who are living and working in the u.s. right now? like syrian doctor allah al nafal. he s in this country on a special j-1 visa waiver that allows 1500 physicians to come from overseas each year to this country to temporarily work in underserved parts of the country. christine romans has his story. south dakota is considered an underserved area where there s shortage of physicians. that s why international physicians are welcome here. reporter: it s winter in sioux falls, south dakota. i was born and raised in damascus, syria. i went to medical school back home in damascus. graduated in 2008 and came to continue my education here in the united states. reporter: today dr. nafal is a pediatric endocrinologist at the medical clenic serving patients from north dakota and south dakota, minnesota, iowa