Hey

I have a couple of questions concerning the J1 visa application process for a Canadian citizen obtaining an undergraduate medical education abroad. Primarily if I am sincerely interested in returning home to British Columbia after completing a family practice residency program in the United States how do I ensure that the Collage of Familly Physicians of Canada recognizes the specific program I am interested in? I can not find the information any where on the collage web site.

Also of concern to me is the time frame involved in the application process. As stated on the health Canada web site I need to apply for and be denied a family practice residency position in my home province of British Columbia prior to being eligible for the J1 visa. Will this process of applying first to carms or another provincial program delay my statement of need application by an entire year in the event that my application to carms or another provincial program is not successful? Or can I apply to both carms and nrms in the simultaneously?

Finally due to the limited eligibility to receive a statement of need in support of family practice is an applicant more likely to receive the statement of need if they peruse a different line of postgraduate training Internal Medicine for example. In other words am I unlikely to receive the statement of need in support of family practice because there is a limited number of letters dispensed each year and they are general dispensed to applications in support of medical specialties in need in Canada.

Thanks for your input!

Can you just write the Step 3 and apply for an H visa instead?

We are not the people to ask about this. You should probably contact an immigration lawyer who specializes in this area. And see if you can contact the college directly (I know, easier said than done, especially as a IMG.).

As for family practice, it is one of the specialties that is in demand across Canada, so if you make the quota, you should have no problems demonstrating need.

Good luck.

Why don't you just apply to CARMS? FM should be easy enough to get somewhere in Canada. After residency you'll have no problems returning to BC.

Keep in mind that next year's 1st iteration of CARMS match is Mar 14. The US match is Mar 20. The 2nd iteration of the CARMS match is Apr 13. So, if you don't match 1st iter. and match to a US program, you'll be denied the statement of need, and you're SOL.

Also, see here for more info...
Requirements for Obtaining a Statement of Need from the Government of Canada for Medical Graduates Seeking Postgraduate Training in the United States - Postgraduate Training Programs in Family Medicine Commencing in 2007

Why would he be denied the Statement of Need? Do they deny it to people who apply for both CaRMS and NRMP matches?

Yeah, sorry, it's gibberish on my part... I think what I was trying to say is that they'll be denied a statement of need if they want to do FM residency in the US and they're from BC.