H1 or J1 research in relation to prospects for H1 clinical next year

P

prasad_39

New Member
Hi Friends,
I am a postgraduate in Pediatrics from Bombay and have scores of 89 and 84 in step 1 and 2 and ecfmg certified last week. I have not got any interview calls this match cause got my step 2 yesult in end of jan , so am hoping for post match.
In the meanwhile I have an apportunity to be sponsored as research assistant in a good university by a professor. I am not sure if he can sponsor me H1 research or J1, he himself is not sure.
1) What do u think is my best bet so that I can get an H1 clinical next year.
2) Should I accept J1 research if he can only sponsor J1 research.
3) what procedure is involved for a professor to sponsor an ECFMG certified doc for H1 research. Is it a difficult process? Is it upto the professor or does he have to follow the university or departmental policy.


cheers

Prasad
 
My best advise would be not to take J-1 in any case if you plan to join residency on H-1...take step-3 and apply next year!!
 
prasad_39 said:
Hi Friends,
I am a postgraduate in Pediatrics from Bombay and have scores of 89 and 84 in step 1 and 2 and ecfmg certified last week. I have not got any interview calls this match cause got my step 2 yesult in end of jan , so am hoping for post match.
In the meanwhile I have an apportunity to be sponsored as research assistant in a good university by a professor. I am not sure if he can sponsor me H1 research or J1, he himself is not sure.
1) What do u think is my best bet so that I can get an H1 clinical next year.
2) Should I accept J1 research if he can only sponsor J1 research.
3) what procedure is involved for a professor to sponsor an ECFMG certified doc for H1 research. Is it a difficult process? Is it upto the professor or does he have to follow the university or departmental policy.


cheers

Prasad
Click to expand...

I know a couple of friends who came here on J1 research visa (from AIIMS)and by Jan of the year they were planning to start residency, they switched to H1 research. Apparently the process is very easy..switching from J1 research to H1 research. One advantage of having an H1 research, is that if you do interview for the residency position later with the hospital with which you will be working, they in all likelihood will give you H1 clinical also.
Be adviced though that H1 research visa will not guarantee an H1 residency. While US research experience will make some difference, as will your PG in pediatrics, scores of 89 and 84 will mean that you will have to try a lot harder than the other IMGs and you may be forced to take a J for residency. I have been deeply involved in the process this year and the past year, and my experience is that even small community hospitals are becoming very competitive when it comes to interviewing IMGs and scores of 90 each are not uncommon.
Universities should be able to sponsor H1 research without problems, specially if they are non-cap universities. Hiring professors, if they don't know much about the process tend to follow university policies, and some universities like to start you on J research, though they can easily give you an H research.
 
Thanks Mithya and doc in USA and friends,

can u guys guide me to a website where there is a write up on
requirements of H1 research. Also does H1 research fall under a H1 cap?.
If so how do I know if the univ which is gonna sponser me falls under the cap or not?

thanks

Prasad
 
J1 research to H1

mithya said:
I know a couple of friends who came here on J1 research visa (from AIIMS)and by Jan of the year they were planning to start residency, they switched to H1 research. Apparently the process is very easy..switching from J1 research to H1 research...........
Click to expand...
No. Not exactly true. Few things:

- There is nothing like an *H1 research* visa. either it is H1 or it is not H1. period.
- you just MAY NOT switch from J1 research to H1B just like that. In most cases, J1 visa comes with a 2 year Home Residency Requirement (HRR) and you will need a *waiver* of HRR if you don't want to go back to your home country. Once you get a J1 waiver, then you may switch to H1B or any other visa type.

how to get a waiver? here -
* For J1 research scholars - it is simple - involves getting a No objection certificate) from the home country govt. for india, this NOC is known as NORI (no objection to return to india).
* for J1 physicians in residency training - it is difficult - either you go back or work in underserved area for 3 years or apply for asylum based on persecution.
* for some special category J1 researchers: there may not be any HRR and these people may switch from J1 to H1b directly. What are these jobs?
If,
(a) the job was NOT sponsored by US govt or your home country, rather via Private funding; and
(b) the job description does NOT fall under the specialty occupation list of DOS

then you may not need a J1 waiver and may directly switch to H1B.
Even then, you will need to get an *advisory opinion* from DOS regarding the HRR. only then, you will say that you do not a waiver. Till that time, you will always be in suspense wondering ... "do i need a waiver or not?"
.
 
J1victim said:
No. Not exactly true. Few things:

- There is nothing like an *H1 research* visa. either it is H1 or it is not H1. period.
- you just MAY NOT switch from J1 research to H1B just like that. In most cases, J1 visa comes with a 2 year Home Residency Requirement (HRR) and you will need a *waiver* of HRR if you don't want to go back to your home country. Once you get a J1 waiver, then you may switch to H1B or any other visa type.

how to get a waiver? here -
* For J1 research scholars - it is simple - involves getting a No objection certificate) from the home country govt. for india, this NOC is known as NORI (no objection to return to india).
* for J1 physicians in residency training - it is difficult - either you go back or work in underserved area for 3 years or apply for asylum based on persecution.
* for some special category J1 researchers: there may not be any HRR and these people may switch from J1 to H1b directly. What are these jobs?
If,
(a) the job was NOT sponsored by US govt or your home country, rather via Private funding; and
(b) the job description does NOT fall under the specialty occupation list of DOS

then you may not need a J1 waiver and may directly switch to H1B.
Even then, you will need to get an *advisory opinion* from DOS regarding the HRR. only then, you will say that you do not a waiver. Till that time, you will always be in suspense wondering ... "do i need a waiver or not?"
.
Click to expand...

Sorry if my earlier post was not clear. when I said 'easy' switch from J1 research, I meant setting here getting an NOC from Indian Govt which takes a couple of months and is fairly routine. Ofcourse if it is J1 physician in residency then more complicated.
While there is only 1 H1B, the job profiles in H1B will be different, for a university researcher and a residency physician. In other words even if you are on H1B doing research, you will need to file for a new H1B for doing residency. Typically if you are going to do it with the same university, it should not be an issue. However if you move from a non-cap university to one that comes under cap, it counts as a new H1
 
prasad_39 said:
Thanks Mithya and doc in USA and friends,

can u guys guide me to a website where there is a write up on
requirements of H1 research. Also does H1 research fall under a H1 cap?.
If so how do I know if the univ which is gonna sponser me falls under the cap or not?

thanks

Prasad
Click to expand...

As far as I know cap/non cap visas depend on the type of organization and not the activity.. but could be wrong.... you can check with the International Scholar Office, or its equivalent, of the particular university and they will know for sure..
 
J1 research

I have recently been offered a research associate position at a neuropsychiatry lab in a prestigious university. They are now willing to sponsor a J1 visa for me. However, I am in a dilemma as I wish to pursue residency next year. I am a Canadian permanent resident and have heard that it is difficult to get a Statement of Need in most of the specialties other than Family Medicine.
My questions are:
1. Is the J1 'research' subject to the 2 yr Home Return Requirement?
2. If it is would it be easy to get a J1 waiver inorder to start residency on H1?
3. Else, would it be easy to transfer to a J1 residency program?
4. I am currently on a B1/B2 visa. Can I continue to work as a volunteer research associate?
 
Is it easy to get a no objection from the Canadian authority for the J1 waiver? I couldn't find Canada on the Exchange visitor Skills List, any idea?
 
Try to stay away from anything labelled 'J1' if you can. As someone pointed out, you might be slapped with a HRR (foreign residency requirement) even if you are not aware of it. And this is how it happens:

scenario 1
You get your research J1 sponsored through the university. Some well meaning secretary fills out the paperwork and hands it to the institutional official to be signed. Now, she looks up your job description, checks it with the 'skills list' and doesn't find it. As a result, she will put a mark on the 'Not subject to the two year residency requirement' box in the lower left corner of the DS 2019. One year later, when you try to switch to H1, you are asked for an 'advisory opinion' from the department of state. And big suprise, they look at your job title and shoehorn it into a job description on the 'skills list'. And suddenly you are faced with a HRR and you need to scramble to get your NORI and your waiver of this HRR.

scenario 2
You get your research J1 through the university and by involvement of your attorney it is made sure that your job description doesn't match anything on the skills list. Your financing is from a nongovermental source and you are sailing smoothly. Some time into your research job, your well-meaning PI nominates you for a NIH travel grant to go to a conference. Because your PI has lots of pull, you get the travel grant. You never hear about this, all you see is that your travel reimbursement form gets approved without a problem. A year later, when you get your advisory opinion, somehow this goverment funding with your name on it pops up and BINGO, you have an HRR (yes this happens. I know a geoscientist on year 8 of his O-1 sitting out an HRR he bought himself with a $500 Fulbright grant. And no, paying the money back doesn't get you out of an HRR. It's like being 'a little bit pregnant' or having 'a mild case of AIDS'. It sticks with you until you either die or serve out your sentence in Liberty, KS).

The problem wil be to get a H1b for your research job. While universities are exempt from the 65k cap, they are usually very unwilling to do H1bs. Your PI might be all happy and say 'whatever we have to file for you, no problem'. The university administration will look at the $2500 filing fees and deny it for such a short assignment.
The advantage of a H1b for your research is the following: When you are talking to residency programs for pre-match post-match or other out-of-match positions, you are in a better position if you can tell them that they 'just have to continue the sponsorship for your H1b'. This makes it a bit easier than having to sell yourself to them as someone needing a fresh H1b. (I believe that H1b transfers are pretty straightforward. If I am not mistaken, you can start working the new job even before the approval for the new H1b is through, with the old I129 and the filing receipt for the new one. The H1b experts can tell you more about that and I might be completely wrong in that respect)

So I repeat myself here (sorry about the yelling):

H1B OR NOT TO BE !!
H1B OR NOT TO BE !!
H1B OR NOT TO BE !!


Oh, one more thing:

I noticed your scores. With 84 and 89 and a postgraduate degree from india, you are pretty competitive for pediatrics (no, I am not kidding). Contact all the programs you initially applied for an tell them that you are now certified and still looking. Some other FMG's might have trouble getting their visas or backed out of the slots they matched into. You might be able to start a peds residency on July1st or maybe a month later when your paperwork is through. Just call them, fax them, mail them (multimodal assault). Be polite, get through to the program directors, you there are allways a couple of primary care slots floating around.
Other option is to go for a prelim medicine position on H1b. Yes, it is a year in the valley of suffering. But it will make you a better pediatrician and give you a basis to work from in your campaign for a good peds position next year.

Oh, and get your step3 ASAP.
 
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