Marrying a US citizen

[dawn05]

hi everyone
i have a cousin who wants to get his MD in US. he already has a MBBS from india and has passed the USMLE step 1 already. my question is, will marrying the US girl help him with the process any? for example make it easier for him to get a residency here? i know it will help with the visa situation but as far as making it to the US program is concerned, will it help in anyway? I appreciate any help.
thanks

 

[hadron]

Marrying a US citizen BEFORE you come to the US is the BEST way to get a residency. If your citizen spouse files the paperwork in time, you can enter the US holding a temporary green-card. Having the green-card puts you at a great advantage over all us poor saps who had to get visas.
The programs prefer people without visa issues over everybody else. They don't have to worry that there are delays in the processing and they know that if you are good they can hire you after you finish. Also, many residency directors (and members of the public) have a problem with training physicians who will return to their home country (you know, the US goverment spends about $100.000 per resident per year for the training expenses)

If the marriage is legit, they call you and your spouse for an interview after 2 years. They try to figure out whether you are married just for the GC by asking both separately about all kinds of things pertaining to your life together. They are pretty good at weeding out the fraudulent ones, if you walk in with kids in tow and, a wedding album and your joint tax returns and copies of your joint retirement accounts it is a pure formality. If you have to provide lenghty explanations why you never lived together, don't share your financials etc they often deny the permanent green-card.

So, I would WARN your brother not to get married on paper just for the GC. This can backfire. If he plans to get married to her in order to start a family together, this is the BEST way to get your paperwork for a residency in the US.

 

[Aibolit]

Also, many residency directors (and members of the public) have a problem with training physicians who will return to their home country (you know, the US goverment spends about $100.000 per resident per year for the training expenses)
QUOTE]

Here, it is quite opposite. Any resident, regardless of their US status, is a great source of revenue for the hospital ($100,000 - $40,000 in salary/insurance = $60,000 in revenue). Compare that to hospitalists, PA's, NP's that the hospital would have to hire and pay salary and insurance to perform amount of work done by residents. That's why any program director will try to fill all the residency slots available, preferably by US applicants to avoid visa hassles.