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I am studying Med in England and i come from Hong Kong. I would like to do residency in US. Can the resiency program or the hospital promote or guarantee a permanent resident for me?
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does residency promote a permanent resident?
- Thread starter mrslulu
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No, getting a post-graduate residency does not guarantee that you will be given permenant residence in the US. I think most non-US IMG's are allowed to train here on a visa that permits them only to stay for the length of their course after which they must return to their native country for some time. What happens after this I don't know, but even then I highly doubt permanent residence is guaranteed.
Basically there has been a change in policy since the 1960's-1970's when alot of foreign notionals entered the country for post-grad training, but then stayed permanently because the visa they came in on allowed then to apply for a green card. This is why a second visa was introduced that prohibited this. This is also now the visa that most foreign IMG's are given to train with. As I said in another post, it certainly looks right now as though number of training visas handed out is going to be cut, so if you plan on trying to get into the US, now is probably the best time.
Check out <a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=000779" target="_blank">residency for non-US citizen</a> as it has more specific info. on the visas.
Basically there has been a change in policy since the 1960's-1970's when alot of foreign notionals entered the country for post-grad training, but then stayed permanently because the visa they came in on allowed then to apply for a green card. This is why a second visa was introduced that prohibited this. This is also now the visa that most foreign IMG's are given to train with. As I said in another post, it certainly looks right now as though number of training visas handed out is going to be cut, so if you plan on trying to get into the US, now is probably the best time.
Check out <a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=12;t=000779" target="_blank">residency for non-US citizen</a> as it has more specific info. on the visas.
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A residency program cannot sponsor permanent residency (green card status). There are 2 major types of Visas used by physicians studying in the U.S., the J-1 Visa which allows you to study in an U.S. residency or fellowship program but then requires you to return to your home country for two years before being admitted to the U.S., or an H-1B Visa where you are working as a technical specialist.
H-1B Visas are very difficult to get for residency programs. Usually only Canadians manage to get them because of the similarity of medical education and licensing in the U.S. and Canada.
J-1 Visas are much easier to get. The tricky part is that J-1 Visas can't be converted into other types of Visas under ordinary circumstances, so you need to be prepared for the 2 year home residency requirement. However, every year there are a limited number of waivers granted for the 2 year home residency requirement.
Waivers are not easy to get. You must have a job offer from a facility that is elligible to sponsor a waiver, (generally a Health Provider Shortage Area)and then you need to submit an application which must be approved first by the state department of health, and then the U.S. department of State, and finally the I.N.S. And then, even after your waiver is approved, you will still need to get an H-1B waiver.
The company I work for has a team of specialists that assists with the entire J-1 waiver process - from matching you with an eligible employer, preparing your application, and tracking it through the administrative maze to approval.
Right now, there isn't a lot of information on this on our website, but the newly designed site is scheduled to launch on Friday. You might want to check it out some time after that. We are at
<a href="http://www.practice.org" target="_blank">www.practice.org</a>
As far as qualifying for a U.S. residency program and the J-1, there is a lot of information at
<a href="http://www.ecfmg.org" target="_blank">www.ecfmg.org</a> That's really the place to start.
Good luck in your process!
H-1B Visas are very difficult to get for residency programs. Usually only Canadians manage to get them because of the similarity of medical education and licensing in the U.S. and Canada.
J-1 Visas are much easier to get. The tricky part is that J-1 Visas can't be converted into other types of Visas under ordinary circumstances, so you need to be prepared for the 2 year home residency requirement. However, every year there are a limited number of waivers granted for the 2 year home residency requirement.
Waivers are not easy to get. You must have a job offer from a facility that is elligible to sponsor a waiver, (generally a Health Provider Shortage Area)and then you need to submit an application which must be approved first by the state department of health, and then the U.S. department of State, and finally the I.N.S. And then, even after your waiver is approved, you will still need to get an H-1B waiver.
The company I work for has a team of specialists that assists with the entire J-1 waiver process - from matching you with an eligible employer, preparing your application, and tracking it through the administrative maze to approval.
Right now, there isn't a lot of information on this on our website, but the newly designed site is scheduled to launch on Friday. You might want to check it out some time after that. We are at
<a href="http://www.practice.org" target="_blank">www.practice.org</a>
As far as qualifying for a U.S. residency program and the J-1, there is a lot of information at
<a href="http://www.ecfmg.org" target="_blank">www.ecfmg.org</a> That's really the place to start.
Good luck in your process!
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You may be missing the point slightly. Education and training (in any field) in the US is no longer a means by which a foreign national can obtain permanent residence. There are exceptions in unusually extraordinary circumstances, but by and large medical students seeking residency don't generally qualify as this. The INS is the agency responsible for visas and immigration issues while post-grad residency programs individually control the people they allow into their respective programs. These two entities are completely independant of each other and getting "admittance" from one does not guanrantee anything from the other.
There aren't many foreign nationals in medical school in the US as only a handful of the private schools even accept international students. Regardless, these foreign students would had to have completed an undergraduate degree in the United States (obviously this included the US required pre-med courses and MCAT) to even be considered at one of these few medical schools. Even having spent all of this time (4 years undergrad degree + 4 years med school) and money in the US they are still not guaranteed permanent residence as they would have been in the country on a student visa the entire time. Transferring into a US medical school is an impossibility for most foriegn nationals as the very few programs that allow transfers would also require the prospective medical student to have completed a US undergraduate degree (with pre-med courses and MCAT) and most will only accept US citizens.
Basically, education and training in the US (including medicine) is no longer a shortcut for foreign nationals to circumvent the immigration process and gain permanent residence here. And as harsh as this system may seem, it may soon get harder.
Best of luck to you.
There aren't many foreign nationals in medical school in the US as only a handful of the private schools even accept international students. Regardless, these foreign students would had to have completed an undergraduate degree in the United States (obviously this included the US required pre-med courses and MCAT) to even be considered at one of these few medical schools. Even having spent all of this time (4 years undergrad degree + 4 years med school) and money in the US they are still not guaranteed permanent residence as they would have been in the country on a student visa the entire time. Transferring into a US medical school is an impossibility for most foriegn nationals as the very few programs that allow transfers would also require the prospective medical student to have completed a US undergraduate degree (with pre-med courses and MCAT) and most will only accept US citizens.
Basically, education and training in the US (including medicine) is no longer a shortcut for foreign nationals to circumvent the immigration process and gain permanent residence here. And as harsh as this system may seem, it may soon get harder.
Best of luck to you.
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Actually--there seems to be a confusion regarding H1 visas here: previously they were indeed more difficult to get, but with the new revamped INS procedures, they are quicker to get than J1 visas (with the payment of a supplemental urgent fees, which most IMGs don't mind doing). In fact, this year the number of programs offering H1s have boomed, and the number of H1s available have also increased, since the software/IT industry, the previously major sponsor of H1s has collapsed.
A *LOT* of my colleagues and people from my college have obtained H1 visas. I was offered H1s at over half of the programs I interviewed at, some out of the Match-- I felt that the advantages of being in the program I am in now outweighed the disadvantages of the J1. This year even university programs: Wayne State, MCP Hahnemann, Michigan State, SUNY Downstate-- were offering H1s. With the cancellation of J1 waivers, I can only see the trend towards h1s continuing. After all, the programs need the IMGs to fill the slots USMGs do not want.
And yes: the H1 visa can be converted to a Green Card after residency, provided you find a sponsor.
A *LOT* of my colleagues and people from my college have obtained H1 visas. I was offered H1s at over half of the programs I interviewed at, some out of the Match-- I felt that the advantages of being in the program I am in now outweighed the disadvantages of the J1. This year even university programs: Wayne State, MCP Hahnemann, Michigan State, SUNY Downstate-- were offering H1s. With the cancellation of J1 waivers, I can only see the trend towards h1s continuing. After all, the programs need the IMGs to fill the slots USMGs do not want.
And yes: the H1 visa can be converted to a Green Card after residency, provided you find a sponsor.
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MrsLuLu
Absolutely. It is far more beneficial to have an H-1B Visa than a J-1 Visa. And since you went to medical school in the U.S., it will be easier to find a sponsor for your greencard when you graduate (there is a definate bias in the U.S. for physicians trained in the U.S.)
If for any reason you cannot obtain an H-1B Visa (which can be converted into permanent resident status once you have a sponsor,) then the J-1 Visa is a good second choice, especially (as I noted above) with the U.S. medical degree. While J-1 waivers can be difficult to get, you will have a much easier time finding an eligible employer and an interested government agency (right now, the Conrad State 20 program allows state departments of health to serve as the IGA, and there is also the ARC in the Appalaichan states.)
The permanent residency is generally granted by the INS through employment-based criteria. So you should anticipate being on a Visa status through residency.
Absolutely. It is far more beneficial to have an H-1B Visa than a J-1 Visa. And since you went to medical school in the U.S., it will be easier to find a sponsor for your greencard when you graduate (there is a definate bias in the U.S. for physicians trained in the U.S.)
If for any reason you cannot obtain an H-1B Visa (which can be converted into permanent resident status once you have a sponsor,) then the J-1 Visa is a good second choice, especially (as I noted above) with the U.S. medical degree. While J-1 waivers can be difficult to get, you will have a much easier time finding an eligible employer and an interested government agency (right now, the Conrad State 20 program allows state departments of health to serve as the IGA, and there is also the ARC in the Appalaichan states.)
The permanent residency is generally granted by the INS through employment-based criteria. So you should anticipate being on a Visa status through residency.
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