questions

[chocolatecowboy]

Hey all,

I guess this question pertains more to Canadian students (or other non-US students), however it has been buggin' me for a while, so i'm hoping some grads on here can give some advice/experience.

Since Canadians (non-US students) have to do residency on a J1/H1B visa, and then apply for a green card/citizenship once they get the visa in order to be able to work in the USA.....how long does it take to obtain a green card once you start residency? I'm just wondering if the process is less than 3 years.....otherwise i'll be stuck in the US, not being able to work there after residency since I'm not a citizen/green card holder.

Also, when would you recommend applying for a SSN? During first year of clinicals? I have no idea how long, or even HOW to go about doing this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

~~cc

[helpfulgrad]

hey... i'm not sure of the particulars of the J1/H1b visas however I do know from my colleagues that there are ways of getting around having to go back to canada or wherever you came from. For the J1 visa, there are waiver jobs that will exempt you from having to go back and during that time u can get your green card. I'm not sure about the H1 visa but I think you have up to 6 yrs on this for post-grad training and you'll more than likely have enough time to secure a green card in this time.
visit the INS site for more details...

HG