J1 Visa Waiver for Radiologists

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phant

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Hi there

I am a newly graduated doctor completing my Internship in South Africa. I am planning to join a Radiology residency programme in Maine in 2006. My question is about eligibility for a J1 visa (2 year home residence) waiver. Do only primary care physicians qualify for such waivers or would a diagnostic radiologist also be able to have his home-residence requirement waived?

Thanks for your help! :)
 
H1B OR NOT TO BE !

Try to get an H1b, but you might not have a choice. Take rads on J1 over medicine on H1b.

Specialists can get a waiver through:

#1 the Veterans administration
#2 the state 'Conrad 30' program. Many states, mostly rural ones, sponsor specialists these days (see my posting on the extension of the program).
#3 the 'Delta Regional Authority'

US Dept. of Health (HHS) and 'Appalachian Regional Commission' won't sponsor radiologists. (I believe the HHS program is on hold anyway)

If the radiology workforce shortage continues, you won't have any difficulty finding a rads waiver job. The problem with radiolgy used to be that the 'census tract' the hospital is located in is frequently not considered to be underserved, even if the entire region around it is. But that problem has been fixed in the newest version of the law.
 
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H1B or J1? This may seem like a silly question, but what exactly are the benefits of having an H1B rather than a J1. Isn't it so that you have to return to your home country after 6 years on an H1B anyway? Can you start the H1B to Green Card process earlier as a first-time H1B holder?

:rolleyes:
 
J1 blocks you from immigration into the US by ANY route for 2 years after you finish the visa (if you do radiology that means 8years).

If you meet somebody here an get married, you are still stuck with the J1. If you win the lottery, an attending in residency who owns a practice can help you out with a green card etc.

Also, on an H1b you can get extensions after the 6 years if you have an immigration case pending. On J1, you can't get that.

Overall, H1b leaves you many more options in regards to staying here. It costs more money and you might not be able to get it at many institutions. But if you have any choice, go for the H1b.

Now, currently the job market in radiology is so crazy, you can find 'market rate' private practice jobs that get you a J1 waiver. Also, as there are hardly any foreign grads in radiology, the veterans administration has plenty of waiver jobs open. So, in rads a J1 is not the same death sentence as it is in internal medicine or especially peds.
 
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Hi again

Thanks for your help! One more thing - what exactly would my options be if I win a DV in the lottery whilst on a J1 in the US? Would one be issued a green card (which would waive your home residency requirement) or is it more complicatied than that?
:rolleyes:
 
> what exactly would my options be if I win a DV in the lottery

Your options are:
- banging your head against the wall in desperation
- whining to your friends and family how unfair the US goverment is
- drink until you loose the ability to speak in your native language

Entering the US on a physicians J1 makes you ineligible for a GC until you have either:

- finished a 3 year 'waiver job' in an underserved area or with the veterans administration
- obtained a waiver of the home residency requirement (HRR) based on political persecution (hard, very hard)
- obtained a waiver based on hardship to a US citizen (very hard, only possible if you have a disabled US citizen child that needs medical care in the US)
- returned to your home country for 2 years (no, you can't winter out in Canada)

> whilst on a J1 in the US? Would one be issued a
> green card

No. Beeing on a J1 is pretty much the only way how you can loose a DV lottery related GC. The problem is that you have to enter or adjust on a DV visa within a set 12 month period. Due to the J1 trouble you loose this window.
 
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Green Card on J1

Hi,
I am switching specialties on J1 (from Peds to Radiology). Since I already did the internship year, I will have a one year gap to start the actual radiology residency.
My question is, if I go back to my country for this extra year, would I be considered "off of J1" and qualify to enter the GC lottery?Or would the 2 year rule still apply to be eligible for that.
I would really appreciate your input!
 
> I am switching specialties on J1 (from Peds to Radiology).

You have seen the light !!

One year off J1 won't help you. When you apply for your immigration visa, you have to proove that you fulfilled your HRR or obtained a waiver.
 
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