H4 student pursuing medicine

[LakshmiBala07]

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Hi All,
My daughter is in her 11th grade and wants to pursue medicine. But I’m in H1 and she is in H4. Could you please provide your expert advice if she can pursue medicine in the US? She has 4.0 GPA and we are in NC state. Most of my friends say that in h4 visa it’s difficult to do medicine and costs a lot. Kindly guide us.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

You're asking a very complicated question, and the answer can change at any time depending on the administration's wishes.

First, in the US you (mostly) can't go directly from high school to medicine. You need to first do a 4 year college program. There's no specific degree you need to get, there are pre-requisites for medical school including the basic sciences (Biology, chemistry, and physics) and usually some math requirements. Then, getting into medical school requires that the student do well in college, score well on the MCAT exam, and otherwise meet criteria to get admitted which varies by school. This usually requires volunteering, shadowing physicians, and sometimes research.

Which leads to the first hurdle -- getting into college on an H4. There are several challenges. First, your daughter will be considered an international applicant. Schools treat international applicants differently and often have a limited number of spots available. Second, students on H4 do not qualify for educational loans. Paying for college (and medical school) will require private loans (which can be very difficult to get and/or very expensive), scholarships (many of which may not be open to international applicants), or just plain family wealth. H4 students usually cannot work at all (*** See below for exception), so any type of work/study is out. Many colleges see their international applicants as good sources of tuition as they often pay full price in cash.

Assuming that all goes well, then your daughter would need to get into medical school. All the same problems apply -- international student, lack of loans, no employment, etc. Only a few medical schools consider international applicants at all.

If all of that happens, then after medical school comes a medical residency. This is a job -- you get paid, don't pay tuition. But, again, H4 students usually can't work. So, your daughter would now likely need her own H1b visa. At present, these cost $100K per visa, and it's highly unlikely any program would be willing to pay that. She would not qualify for an F1/OPT visa, nor a J visa (the other types of work visas that residents might be on).

Of course, lots of things could change over time:
* If the person with the H1b loses their job, the H4 evaporates. They might be able to switch to a student visa, or might just get terminated.
* If the person with the H1b is in the process of getting a green card, then the H4 holder can get an EAD and work on the H4.
* The H4 holder might be able to switch to an F-1 student visa. This seems possible, and if so opens more options. In fact, it appears that a child can only be on an H1 until age 21, so once they are over that they will need a new visa status.
* The rules about H or J visas could change at any time, for the better or worse.

 

[LakshmiBala07]

You're asking a very complicated question, and the answer can change at any time depending on the administration's wishes.

First, in the US you (mostly) can't go directly from high school to medicine. You need to first do a 4 year college program. There's no specific degree you need to get, there are pre-requisites for medical school including the basic sciences (Biology, chemistry, and physics) and usually some math requirements. Then, getting into medical school requires that the student do well in college, score well on the MCAT exam, and otherwise meet criteria to get admitted which varies by school. This usually requires volunteering, shadowing physicians, and sometimes research.

Which leads to the first hurdle -- getting into college on an H4. There are several challenges. First, your daughter will be considered an international applicant. Schools treat international applicants differently and often have a limited number of spots available. Second, students on H4 do not qualify for educational loans. Paying for college (and medical school) will require private loans (which can be very difficult to get and/or very expensive), scholarships (many of which may not be open to international applicants), or just plain family wealth. H4 students usually cannot work at all (*** See below for exception), so any type of work/study is out. Many colleges see their international applicants as good sources of tuition as they often pay full price in cash.

Assuming that all goes well, then your daughter would need to get into medical school. All the same problems apply -- international student, lack of loans, no employment, etc. Only a few medical schools consider international applicants at all.

If all of that happens, then after medical school comes a medical residency. This is a job -- you get paid, don't pay tuition. But, again, H4 students usually can't work. So, your daughter would now likely need her own H1b visa. At present, these cost $100K per visa, and it's highly unlikely any program would be willing to pay that. She would not qualify for an F1/OPT visa, nor a J visa (the other types of work visas that residents might be on).

Of course, lots of things could change over time:
* If the person with the H1b loses their job, the H4 evaporates. They might be able to switch to a student visa, or might just get terminated.
* If the person with the H1b is in the process of getting a green card, then the H4 holder can get an EAD and work on the H4.
* The H4 holder might be able to switch to an F-1 student visa. This seems possible, and if so opens more options. In fact, it appears that a child can only be on an H1 until age 21, so once they are over that they will need a new visa status.
* The rules about H or J visas could change at any time, for the better or worse.

Thank you for the quick response and good insights . We will not get GC anytime soon i think. Our priority date is 2017. We will convert her to F1 before she turns 21 as you had mentioned. Could you please mention alternate courses she can do after she does he premed here? Which can be similar to medical but she can do in f1 or j1 visa ?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

If she switches to an F1 for college, then she can also be on an F1 for medical school. And then she can be on an OPT for the first year of residency, followed by a J1 or H1b for residency. So visa-wise, it's all possible.

The problems she will face (summarized from above):
1. Many/most colleges and medical schools will consider her an international student, which they may not consider at all or have more strict criteria for / quota limits.
2. Educational loans will be very limited, and international students often do not qualify for scholarships (although that is school dependent).
3. Many applicants to medical school have some work experience, she will be unable to work on an F1 in any capacity. She should be able to volunteer on her F1, and she should be able to do unpaid research at her school on her F visa.
4. Some/many students require a gap year between college and medical school -- to take the MCAT, to get more experience, or simply because the process is competitive and many qualified students don't get a spot. She will have limited visa options for any gap year (although she might be able to get a 1 year employment position on an OPT visa)

In any case, it's pointless to look too far ahead. The next step is applying to college next year. That's what you (and her) should be focusing on now - figuring out which colleges she would qualify for, and how a college education would be funded. It's crazy expensive in the US, and as mentioned your funding options are limited. If you happen to have $300K+ in funds to self-pay, then she can apply anywhere. If not, you should start exploring options now so that next year you are both in the best position to know how to move forward.