hey, im an img who is also a canadian citizen, studying for my usmles right now. does anyone know what kind of visa i should be applying for, or can work permits be issued in my case?I appreciate any type of information, thank you in advance.....

You can apply for J1 or H1b visa. J1 is an exchange visa sponsered by ECFMG - you have to take Part I of MCCQE. The advantage of J1 is that you can apply to quite a number of university programs since they do sponser J1 visa. The disadvantage is that you would have to return back to Canada for 2 years before you can apply to work in USA again. Canadians have gotten around that by applying for J1 waiver - you would have to work in underserviced areas. I heard that it's harder to get J1 waiver but people have gotten it. Also, you can be on J1 visa for 7 years - so you can always go for the residency program and hope that you get into fellowship. If you are looking into a competitive fellowship, then J1 may be better b/c being part of a university program is better and a lot of fellowships sponser J1 visa rather than H1B. I heard that once you are on J1, you can't switch to H1B later.

H1B visa - you would have to write your Step III to apply for it. The advantage is that you don't have to return to Canada for 2 years and you can apply for green card. Majority of the community hospitals sponser H1B. The disadvantage is that you may loose out on a good university program to go to community program. Of course, there are always people who beat the odds and get into fellowships with community programs but it's quite a challenge.

I found ths J1 waiver site posting on ValueMD which is very resourceful. It was posted by maggsman
Newbie

Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2


Take a look at this resource for J1 Physicians looking for potential waiver sites:

http://hpsadirectory.com


Hope this helps.

You don't have to take the MCCQE to get the J1, just the LMCC (qualifying exam).

Hey i really appreciate all your help, this whole proccess is really confusing, i read somewhere that if your a canadian its better to get the H-1b because you wont be able to get a waiver for the J1. But,St med, your saying some ppl do get the waiver, which is bascially the no objections certificate, right? When are you suppose to apply for the NOC? Do you guys know of any official website, that clearly states all these things regarding visas options for canadians? Thankyou so much in advance?

i'm a canadian cit, applying for US residency, 2008. i'm wondering what type of response you are all getting this year? is it a tough season, or what?


i've applied to alot of programs, haven't heard from about half, got about 20-30 rejections and only a handful of interviews. is this normal?


i'm going for the h1b

The J1 waiver is apparently difficult to get but I really have no idea how difficult it is. I applied for H1b-sponsering hospitals b/c I don't want to deal with the headache 3 years down the road. But there is a compromise - majority of the university programs don't sponser so I loose out on that great opportunity.

I hope someone else on J1 visa can you help you out further. Good Luck!

I heard from an immigration lawyer that as a Canadian, the two year post J-1 requirement is for living, not necessarily working. It is evidently possible for Canadians to finish their residencies in the US, move to a Canadian border town, get a regular H visa, and commute accros the border into the US to work.

thats a good idea, i mean if worse comes to worse and you cant get a waiver, at least there is still that option right? Thank you so much, i will look into that further

To get your J1 VISA you have to pass the MCCEE and only that exam.

__________________
"Remember your Hippopotamus Oath."
-H. Simpson