F1 to Residency ,Advice wanted

M

mailstapedius

New Member
Hi ,
I am doin my Masters at the moment.I wanna know if it wil be helpful for me to complete my masters course before i get in to residency.(in future)if not i wanna drop it in the middle.and also can anyone tell me why j1 visa is so not preffered,plz advice me regarding this.
Thanks.
 
mailstapedius said:
Hi ,
I am doin my Masters at the moment.I wanna know if it wil be helpful for me to complete my masters course before i get in to residency.(in future)if not i wanna drop it in the middle.and also can anyone tell me why j1 visa is so not preffered,plz advice me regarding this.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

The easier question first. J1 visa holders are subject to 2 year home country requirement. For physicians, this cannot ba waived unless you either have to go back to your country of origin for 2 years or work in a "J1 waiver" area for 3-5 years (usually 3). So do not start on a J1 if you can help it. Do your USMLE III and get a H1.

Second, it depends what you are doing your masters in. If you have research or academic aspirations, it may help if your masters will be in a related field.
 
Thanks fr the reply

hI,
Thanks arizona fr ur reply.
I have one more doubt...what i actually wanted to know was students who complete their masters dont fall under h1b cap and they have a quota number of visas.so will there be any advantage or that i can ask when i go fr my interview??And also
Thanks fr your time and reply.
 
3 reasons why it is a good idea to finish the masters:

- it looks good on your CV and gives you a slight edge when looking for a residency
- you might fall under the cap-exempt 20.000 quota for graduates of US universities. Yes, most hospitals that have residency programs are non-profits, but still some people have cap issues so it is good to be in the extra quota.
- you might be able to get an OPT work permit once you graduate. You can start your internship on that and don't have to nibble off you 6 years of H1b time.

If you can at all, do your residency on H1b. Depending on your specialty, the supply of waiver positions for J1 can be very scarce. Also, if you have an H1b, you can pursue a green-card, even during residency (e.g. by someone sponsoring you for a masters level job.)
 
The GC sponsor does hot have to sponsor him for a masters level job. After the residency he will be a licensed physician. Those jobs pay better and are not difficult to find.
 
> The GC sponsor does hot have to sponsor him for a masters level job.
> After the residency he will be a licensed physician. Those jobs pay
> better and are not difficult to find.

For a GC it is sometimes better to get sponsored for a job that is as lowly paid as possible. The sponsor has to show that he can pay the offered salary, and with a small corporation it is easier to proove a $45k profit, rather than a $135k profit. Also, as a physician you can only get sponsored once you have fulfilled the requirements for the job. E.g. for 'physician general practice' you have to be past your first year of residency. For 'internist' you have to finish 3 years of residency. So, given the time constraints of H1b visas and the sometimes unpredictable timing of LC and I140s, it is advisable to get an early start (keyword retrogression). So finding someone to sponsor you for a position as 'research associate' requiring a MPH or statistics degree might be a faster ticket to a green-card than your medical license.

(It is bizarre. I came to this country with $250k worth of medical education. I pay in taxes alone what most people getting a GC these days make per year. Still, from a pure immigration standpoint I would be better off if I was a 'specialty cook chinese' making a buck over minimum wage.)
 
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thanks a lot for ur advice hadron

thanks a lot for ur advice hadron..hmm now will think over to complete my masters.. :)
"its a single damn descision that changes the whole life"
thanks again.
 
How much longer do you have left until you are done with the masters (is it an MPH ?) ?

If you apply in this years match, it would be for positions in July 06 anyway. So, no matter what, you still have almost a year lead-time.
 
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