SAN DIEGO -- The work of a doctor at UCSD might be cut short due to deportation.

Pediatrician Victor Vargas came to the United States from his home country of Columbia. He's put in more than 15 years of school and training to be a medical doctor. But now he's hit a roadblock.

"We are not able to find a way for me to finish the training," he said.

He has one more year left in his three-year fellowship program at UCSD. The program allows him to specialize in intensive care for babies. But he may have to leave the country before he's done.

Vargas is in the United States on an H-1 work visa that expires this October.

Vargas' collegue Dr. Anya Freedman can't believe Vargas may be deported right before his dreams are fulfilled.

"If you're going to allow people to come to your country and train. If you're going to accept them and your government says, 'yes, you can come here when you do that,' you have an obligation to allow them to finish their training," Freedman said

There are more than 300 scholars at UCSD who carry H-1 visas. Freedman believes Vargas is not alone.

When 10News reporter Charisse Yu asked Vargas if he knew his visa would expire before his fellowship was done, he said he did.

"Yes," he said. "I knew it was going to be finishing before."

Vargas said he had hoped he would be given an extension. Freedman said UCSD shouldn't have granted him a 3-year fellowship if they knew his visa was going to expire.

"If they're going to hire you then they're committing to keeping you for the full three years," Freedman said. "So somebody dropped the ball. Somebody did... "

Yu asked the university how this could happen.

A spokeswoman said Vargas has been on an H-1 visa for six years, the maximum a foreigner can stay on this type of visa under federal law.

UCSD said it's the employee's responsibility to make sure their immigration status is valid.

Vargas and Freedman says there's an obvious disconnect between the United States Citizenship And Immigration Services and sponsors.

"There won't be anything on paper and I won't finish my training... " Vargas said.