> I am helping my sister-in-law, who is a Sri Lankan citizen and
> who graduated at a Russian university with her MD,
Talk about an interesting combination. The first thing she should make sure to have is to know the exact contact in her russian medical school for the US authorities to verify her credentials. I know of some folks who went to russian schools who had to go back to find the right person just to get some piece of paper stamped.
> gain all the information she needs to become qualified to practice
> medicine in the United States and eventually participate in the
> Phycisians waiver process.
Actually, the waiver process is sort of the last step in a long journey.
> By the way, I am a US Citizen.
The BEST thing you can do for her is to hook her up with a green-card before she even comes here. This can be through some friend who has a business and able to sponsor her as 'specialty cook sri lankan' or something like that. The biggest obstacle for FMG's is to get into a US residency. Chances are a lot better if you have permanent resident status.
> Should she pass the first stages of the exam, does she need to
> come to the US for the third stage?
USMLE step1: can be taken abroad, definitely in russia, probably in sri lanka
USMLE step2 ck: I believe can be taken abroad
USMLE step2 CS: this is sort of an oral exam with encounters with actor-patients. This has to be taken in the US (Phili, Atlanta, LA)
USMLE step3 : has to be taken in the US (many different cities)
> If so, would she need to obtain a student visa to participate in the exam?
B1/B2 visitors visa will do for the exam itself. Quite frequently, people take classes with e.g. the Kaplan company. This company can sponsor the FMG for a F1 student visa which gives her enough time to study, take the exams and interview for positions. The courses are fairly expensive, but if she can afford it it is better than mad dashes back and forth on the brief stays that a visitor visa allows.
> Any advice is greatly appreciated. I have tried to research this
> information myself, but it seems a little difficult to understand, as
> I am outside the medical community.
It is daunting.
One word of unsolicited advice:
Unless she can get a GC, she will need a visa to do her residency training. They come in two flavors: Good and Ugly
Good:
H1b temporary qualified worker. In order to be eligible for this visa, she will have to pass step3. Also, it costs some money and many hospitals are reluctant to sponsor a resident physician for it. It usually takes some armtwisting to get a hospital to sponsor an H1b.
Key advantage: If she marries a citizen or finds an employer to sponsor her for a GC she can go right ahead.
Ugly:
J1 exchange visitor visa. The upside is that most hospitals will sponsor this type of visa because it doesn't cost them a penny. The other 'advantage' is that you don't need step3. BUT, the BIG DISADVANTAGE is the fact that she will have to return to the last country she stayed in before coming to the US for two years. This is where the waiver process comes in. If you read around here you will notice how undesireable this is.
I wish her luck in this plan. If you guys have more questions, feel free to post them here.
