Fellowship and visa status

[HariboGoldbears]

Hello colleagues,
I had difficulty finding a similar thread but given I am new to this site, I may not have been thorough enough.

I am an AMG from a mid tier med school doing a residency in a mid tier IM academic program. Low board scores (~215/~220). Decent research. Hoping for a career in a competitive subspecialty. I am also currently on a visa.

Charting the outcomes is not super helpful for me as there is no AMG requiring a visa category.

In your experiences, does a visa requirement set you back considerably (that I'd likely have very low chances of matching due to my poor boards) or does the "AMG" title hold some value (though I understand my scores are still well below average).

Thank you very much for your input.

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[Raryn]

I think this is going to depend on the type of visa.

J1 visas require minimal effort on the programs part, so my bet is if you're an AMG on a J somehow, you'll probably have similar chances to any other AMG.

H1, which if you've been in the country this long is likely the visa you want, requires significant investment of time and money from the institution you do fellowship. If that's what you're looking for, you will limit your program options some - many institutions simply refuse to consider sponsoring anyone for an H. You'll still probably have better odds than an IMG who wants an H1 visa, but less so than your typical AMG (and as I said, simply won't be considered for some programs).

 

[HariboGoldbears]

Thank you very much. I am currently on a H1 but I would consider switching to a J visa. Glad to hear a hospitalist year prior to fellowship is not required for visa status!

 

[Raryn]

Thank you very much. I am currently on a H1 but I would consider switching to a J visa. Glad to hear a hospitalist year prior to fellowship is not required for visa status!

Ask your lawyer but you may not be able to. A J is technically speaking a visa without immigration intent. It's a visa where - officially - you certify that at the end of training you plan to return to your country of origin. I mean, everyone knows that BS and the J waiver is a thing, but that means it's not so kosher transitioning from an H to a J.

The rules have changed enough times and I'm not personally involved in the process so I can't be definite - but I'd say be careful about assuming you can change.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Getting a competitive IM fellowship with weak USMLE's like that, your best assessment will be how others from your residency program have done when applying to this fellowship.

Your visa will definitely make things worse. We had a similar situation this year in GI, my fantastic resident got very few interviews, ended up matching at a great program but it was a worry.

Although you can switch from an H to a J (as mentioned above, on an H you might have immigrant intent, you can shift to a J where you do not), many programs may be wary to interview you at all knowing that all H programs will likely be ranked higher than J only programs.

Practically, you only get one chance to match. if you don't and if you want to stay in the US, you'll need to immediately start looking for employment on your H visa. Most employers, if they are going to go through the process of hiring you on an H, are going to want more than 1 year from you. Your employer can sponsor you for a GC, but most will only do so after you've worked for a few years for them. Once you get a job, it's probably best not to screw around with applying again. Ultimately you'd be able to once you have you GC, but that will be years down the road.

 

[HariboGoldbears]

Thank you kindly for your responses. I am planning on applying for 1 year fellowships as well in case I do not match. Unfortunately, my program does not match well in Cardiology so I am fighting an uphill battle in all fronts.

 

[mszzeta]

Hello colleagues,
I had difficulty finding a similar thread but given I am new to this site, I may not have been thorough enough.

I am an AMG from a mid tier med school doing a residency in a mid tier IM academic program. Low board scores (~215/~220). Decent research. Hoping for a career in a competitive subspecialty. I am also currently on a visa.

Charting the outcomes is not super helpful for me as there is no AMG requiring a visa category.

In your experiences, does a visa requirement set you back considerably (that I'd likely have very low chances of matching due to my poor boards) or does the "AMG" title hold some value (though I understand my scores are still well below average).

Thank you very much for your input.

Yes visa will be a problem, especially H1b visa. But people on H1b visa dose match to competitive fellowship. It will matter where you go or how many programs you have to apply to get sufficient number of interviews

J1 visa also matter but to a much less degree. Some highly prestigious university program will not take J1 visa due to their nature of T32 training grant

With AMG status, decent research, and I assume good residency performance and LoR, you will very likely to able to match into your desired specialty even on H1b visa

Please be extremely cautious regarding changing from H1b to J1 visa, unless you plan to return to your home country after your training. The information I got is there there will be significant limited subspeciality job availability after fellowship for J1 waver process, especially for desirable geographic locations.

 

[HariboGoldbears]

Thank you for your encouraging and informative response. My goal at this time is to pursue my dream career and I do anticipate the good portion of my next 10 years to be a mixture of clinical training and visa obtaining.

Thanks again everybody, all of your responses have been very helpful.