Hi, can any Canadian briefly explain how to obtain a visa prior to starting rotations. I understand I have to contact the US embassy for it. Does anyone know how long it takes to obtain the visa?

I've already requested a "visa letter of support" from the school but haven't received it yet.

it is a B1 visa and you get it at the border when you cross over. No need to contact an embassy prior to entry (as long as you are a Canadian citizen, if people from other countries are reading this, I don't know how your process works). DO NOT agree to go through without this visa, a few of my classmates had to go back to Canada to get the B1 after the stupid immigration officers said the visa wasn't necessary. You only really need the Letter of Support from the school, but my hospital also sent me a letter stating I would be going there specifically. If they give you a hard time, ask to speak with their supervisor.

Small tips:

You will fill out an information card at the border when you go through, that's all you need to do other than presenting the support letter.

The reason we cannot get the F1 visa (the US student visa) is that Grenada is an offshore school, and therefore NOT eligible to support the F1. This is why we need the B1.

If they tell you to just go in as a visitor, press the issue and say that for future residency requirements in the USA, we need to have trained under the B1 visa in the US and you do not want to jeopardize your immigration status as a doctor to the US in later years (even if you secretly want to go back to Canada).

Breathe and relax.....a few of my friends just let the visa issue go because they didn't want to seem like they were giving the immigration officers "trouble". You're Canadian, whatever colour you are, ask for the supervisor if the agent is not familiar with the visa process.

And once again, I'm not surprised that good ole SGU is not helping students out with this simple information, a nice standardized e-mail would be great to send out to all the kids from different countries .....any more questions, feel free to ask. cheers

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edit ............

...and there is of course a small fee...

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SGU Class of '08

incorrect, there is NO fee for the B1 visa......if you ever had to pay for this visa there was some shady dealings going on

J1 and H1B visa's are a different matter, however.....

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I called the consulate near me and they said there's associated fee with the application which is about 130$. I think you only have to pay the fee if you try to book an appointment with the consulate/embassy instead of getting your visa at the border.

The consulates are busy though and I was not able to get an appointment nothing is available for atleast 8 weeks.

I guess i'll have to take my chances at the border hopefully, I will not have a problem.

just do it at the border, there should be no problem, remember, the only reason people don't get the visa at the border is because they cave in when the agent says they don't need it for entry....all the supervisors will be familiar with this process.

where will you be entering from?

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Hey Kananaskis_girl, thanks for all the info. Quick Q, if you don't mind. I'm going to be moving back to live with my wife (currently on F1 visa in the States) in May. As a Canadian, do you think they'll issue me a B1 visa without the letters of support from the school (all I'll have is my provisional placement and registration in Kaplan/USMLE1, but not the final placement letter)? Also, how long is the B1 visa issued for? I've heard both 6mo and 1yr. Finally, can it be renewed by mail or must you leave the country and reapply at the border every time? I keep finding contradictory information on the net, and it's hard to find Canada-specific info, imho.

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EHJJ:

Came across your thread a few days ago. Held off on commenting. After your last post though, this is worth a read: http://www.valuemd.com/ross-universi...raduate-2.html

PS: 6 mos went out the door a while ago for these guys. Their modus operandi now for us Carib Grads is 3 months. Best of luck, and bottom line advice: you need a strong letter, preferably Immigration Lawyer's.

PPS: I did manage to secure a 6 month I-94 a couple of iterations ago, but that was after the Customs Officer stamped me for 3 months, after reading my Lawyers letter, and I had to beg him for 6 months, as it was an expensive hassle to do over again in 3 months as explained. Not a pretty scenario, and if you want to avoid it, ask your Lawyer to stipulate 6 months in his/her letter, such that there is no begging/pleading/beration.

probably not, you'll most likely require the letter of support from the school. You can get this prior to your permanent placement at one of the hospitals, just e-mail ClinEd, tell them that you are entering the US and need the letter and they'll e-mail it to you. It's obviously a form letter so it should take them all of 2 sec to send it off. My first B1 was issued for 1 year, but I just renewed it and was surprised that it was only good for 3 months (but, to be fair, the immigration officer asked when I was next leaving the country and I told him one month from the time I was entering, so he knew I could get renewed again when I came back through). Cephalon is correct in the new standard being 3 months, the easiest thing to do is cross the border to renew it rather than making an appointment in the US. The next time I'm coming through, I will see if I can get an extension for at least 6 months, I think it depends on the immigration officer, etc, etc, how willing they will be to listen to your situation.

Contrary to Cephalon, I DO NOT recommend getting an immigration lawyer for the B1 visa. I'm currently dealing with one now for my residency visa's and they are expensive. You only need the letter of support from the school (unless you're not a Canadian citizen, if anyone is from another country and on a visa to live in Canada, I know nothing of how your visa issue will go with the US, my disclaimer is that I was born and raised in Canada.....). It's ot really that expensive for us to go and renew these visa's, our clinicals are mainly based in NY/NJ and the Canadian border is only a couple of hours drive away. Find a friend with a car (or rent one), pile in a bunch of Canadians who need to renew their visa's as well and have a fun road trip for the day....

DO NOT get the I-94 for clinicals......B1 only, no matter how many times I say this, people still mess it up.

And sorry Cephalon, I'm not too sure why the Ross thread you linked has any significance here (there is one post regarding the B1 issue and I had to sift through a clot of crap to find that one itself)....sorry to hear about your problems at the border, it seems quite inappropriate by the customs agents. I haven't heard of any people from SGU having these kinds of issues.

EhJJ, any more questions, you know I'm here...cheers

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