steps/tricks to get a H1 for RESIDENCY

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rajmash

Registered Users (C)
hi
just wanted to know some details as iam new to this forum

I am a canadian citizen. And I am graduating in a canadian university. Would like to do my resiedncy in states.

how easy or tough is it to get a H1 (not J-1) visa in US.
and which states are better against others. and what is the procedure.
will be good to hear good/bad experiences from people who had tried applying for h-1.

thinking to get in boston area or in southern california???

any info is helpful
thanks
 
> I am a canadian citizen. And I am graduating in a canadian university.
> Would like to do my resiedncy in states.

Why ??

With a canadian residency, LMCC and RCPSC you can practice in 41+ states in the US without any further ado (for the other states you would need the USMLE's in addition).
If you come down here for your residency, you will have to jump through some hoops to make your way back up north.

> how easy or tough is it to get a H1 (not J-1) visa in US.

Depends on the specialty and what quality of program you are shooting for. For a crappy IM or FP program (and believe me, there are enough of them), it is fairly straightforward.
If you want to go into the more competitive specialties and institutions, it is harder. Many of the universities have explicit policies against sponsoring H1b (they don't want any other residents to get the idea that they are actually employees with 'workers rights'. On J1, they can keep up the farce that you are a 'trainee' and therefore expected to be thankful to work 80+ hour weeks)

> and which states are better against others.

It depends on the institution, not the state it is in (this is different from getting a green-card, there it makes a heck of a difference where you are.)

> and what is the procedure.

1. find residency
2. have hospital/university file form I129
3. once approved (3wks-9months), go to the consulate and get your visa stamp.

> will be good to hear good/bad experiences from people who had
> tried applying for h-1.

H1B OR NOT TO BE.

That said, from canada it wouldn't be THAT bad to have a J1. You wouldn't be forced to return to some civil war-torn third world dictatorship. But you definitely would want to have the option to stay in the US, without having to contend with the troubles of a J1 visa. (however, getting the J1 sponsorship from health canada seems to be tricky in the first place.)

I don't think residencies qualify for the TN visa ;-((

> thinking to get in boston area or in southern california???

Well, good luck then. Boston is hard bc many of the programs are in the upper tiers. SoCal is SoCal. Top grads of US medschools will have other applicants whacked by the mob to jockey themselves into a better position for a spot in San Diego.
 
thanks for the reply

if i were to decide to do 3 years residency in canada and would want to go to US for fellowship..... will that prove to be an option with NO hassle

...iam thinking Internal Medicine - gastroenterology


my boyfriend is in US and has a green card...... finding the best - quickest way to go to US :)
 
> if i were to decide to do 3 years residency in canada and would want
> to go to US for fellowship..... will that prove to be an option with NO
> hassle

Once you have finished your residency in canada, you can compete for fellowships in the US.

> ...iam thinking Internal Medicine - gastroenterology

gastro is next to cards the most competitive IM fellowship in the US (reason: $$$ after graduation)
If you are shooting for gastro fellowship, be sure to do a good IM residency. (Mt St Elsewhere community hospital, the more typical H1b sponsor, won't cut it). You might even be better off to do your residency at a 'name' canadian program, one that folks here recognize.

> my boyfriend is in US and has a green card...... finding the best -
> quickest way to go to US

I guess that is a motivation. But boyfriends come and go, your US immigration status is there to stay. Don't make your professional future dependent on such minor issues as a boyfriend.

One tip in this regard: While talking to any US consular officer REVEAL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES THAT YOU HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IN THE US. A boyfriend/fiancee in the US can be construed as 'immigration intent' barring you from re-entry with anything but a 'dual intent' (e.g. H1b) or immigrant visa. Canadian citizens don't usually need visas for regular travel, but having that 'immigration intent' flag on the USCIS computer can hamper your future plans significantly.
Stay in canada for your residency, wait for him to become a citizen, have him get a GC for you and use that to do your fellowship without ANY paperwork worries.
 
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thanks
but i think i can decide my future for myself.
now sticking to the main point of this forum..........

what kind of visa do one need for doing fellowship in US after completing

3 years as a resident in canada?????
 
> what kind of visa do one need for doing fellowship in US after
> completing 3 years as a resident in canada?????

The same options. H1, J1, green-card.

The problem is, that only very few fellowship programs are willing to sponsor H1b (far less than residencies). Compounding the problem is the fact that the second and third years of many IM and peds fellowships are funded through NIH and other research grants. Some of these grants are restricted to benefit citizens and permanent residents only.

There are a number of people stuck in the dilemma that they would have to switch from H1b to J1 for a desireable fellowship. Not pretty if you ask me.
 
Do one has to go through the match process only for getting into residency in US...... or is it feasible to get a h-1 b thru a hospital without going thru the match??

(for a canadian citizen...guess it does not matter!!)

and also if one has to go thru the j-1 visa......... the j-1 is for only 3 year residnecy or is it for 3year residency + 3 year fellowship after which u have to go back to ur home country for 2 years ????
 
> Do one has to go through the match process only for getting into
> residency in US...... or is it feasible to get a h-1 b thru a hospital
> without going thru the match??

US seniors have to go through the match. FMG's don't. I don't know how canadians are treated in this regard.

> and also if one has to go thru the j-1 visa......... the j-1 is for only 3
> year residnecy or is it for 3year residency + 3 year fellowship after
> which u have to go back to ur home country for 2 years ????

Max of 7 years (with few exceptions).

You either have to go back or you have to find a job in a medically underserved area and go through a whole paperwork nightmare to get a 'waiver of the foreign residency requirement INA 212e)
 
so i guess what u r saying is one can get a j-1 visa and without any problems do a 3 year residency and a 3 year fellowship.


and the one i did not get answer is:

for an international student (canadian) is it possible that a prematch offer could be got from a hospital and in turn the student does NOT have to go thru the match process?

And even if one is resigned to work in an underserved area.....
is it for the same 2 year duration after which the person can go anywhere he/she likes?

and i assume even if a underserved area is interested in you it still invovles a lot of paerwork...............but atleast the endresult is u get to stay and work in underserved area
 
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> so i guess what u r saying is one can get a j-1 visa and without
> any problems do a 3 year residency and a 3 year fellowship.

This is what most people do. You can change specialties once on a J1 visa, and that is a max of 2 years into training (a fellowship doesn't count as change of specialty)

> for an international student (canadian) is it possible that a prematch
> offer could be got from a hospital and in turn the student does
> NOT have to go thru the match process?

Check out the NRMP website. There are some special rules for you folks, as you have the priviledge of participating in the first round of the CARMS, if you match you have to drop out of the NRMP, if you don't you can stay in.

You actually HAVE to withdraw from the match once you have a pre-match offer. The program making the offer won't allow you to sign a contract until you have submitted a copy of your 'withdrawal from the NRMP' form. (If you stayed in the match, you would be contractually bound to take the position you matched for and they could get cited for a match violation)

> And even if one is resigned to work in an underserved area....
> is it for the same 2 year duration after which the person can go
> anywhere he/she likes?

It is a 3 year time period you have to serve in 'health care personnel shortage area' HPSA or a 'medically underserved area' MUA. Look around here on this forum to see the trials and tribulations of people stuck in this situation. Especially for internal medicine and peds docs, finding a good job in a HPSA/MUA can be extremely difficult. Paradoxically, the better trained you are, the harder it is to get a job. Most of the waiver jobs are primary care positions, once you have finished your GI fellowship your 'marketability' for these jobs decreases !!

> and i assume even if a underserved area is interested in you it still
> invovles a lot of paerwork...............

It is a multistep process costing several $1000 in filing fees and attorney expenses. It takes between 6 months and 1 year to complete and the outcome is not entirely certain.

> but atleast the endresult is u get to stay and work in underserved area

Well, most of these areas are underserved for a reason. The US has an oversupply of physicians, most of the HPSA/MUA locations have some problem why nobody wants to set up shop there. Either they are in inner-city areas where the proportion of uninsured or marginally insured patients is very high. Or they are in rural areas where the population density is just not high enough to support a profitable practice (I don't know where in canada you are located, but most of your provinces have exactly the same problem with their rural areas)
Many docs who work in these areas for a waiver job move on to a better position/area 3 years and 1 day after their committment is up.
 
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