For Pathology residents and fellows on J1

[raindrop8687]

How has the job search been? How difficult it is to find a waiver job?

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[fgd]

Pathology waiver jobs are hard to come by from what I have heard but I was wondering if anyone could shed light on the prospects of finding an employer willing to sponsor H1 visa after 2 year home country residency bond. If he/she wants to return to the US to practice pathology how difficult or easy would it be?

 

[raindrop8687]

It would be great if any of the seniors can shed some light on this. Is it possible at all to get a pathology waiver job after 1 or 2 fellowships? How many of the pathologists on J1 return to their home country?

 

[fgd]

Yes, waiver jobs, especially in the academic path, are possible but it is very difficult to obtain in comparison to other specialties. From what I have gathered the majority of people on J1 return to their home country and return back when they find an employer who would sponsor them for H1.

 

[raindrop8687]

Yes, waiver jobs, especially in the academic path, are possible but it is very difficult to obtain in comparison to other specialties. From what I have gathered the majority of people on J1 return to their home country and return back when they find an employer who would sponsor them for H1.

Thanks.

 

[Unty]

I know a bunch of foreign grads I trained with who are still here in the US for jobs, meaning they haven’t left back to their home country.

 

[raindrop8687]

I know a bunch of foreign grads I trained with who are still here in the US for jobs, meaning they haven’t left back to their home country.

That's great news! Are you sure that they did their J1 waiver here in US? Do you know what makes the profile more desirable for such jobs. For an IMG on J1 in a midtier residency program what is the best strategy to get a waiver job?

 

[AZpath]

The O1 Visa is easy to get but only lasts 5 years max and there is no path to a greens card. So you can stay after residency but that clock runs out.

There are about 30 J1 wavier spots per state as a perment route to a green card.
About 2/3-3/4 are given to primary care in rural areas. Allocations of the 30 spots are set by the states

I know couple people trying to go the J1 route.
One pathologist that I know got real lucky and found a J1 spot after search for three years.
The spouse is a clinician is and is still looking.

I don't know how IMG folks manage to stay with out returning.

 

[Unty]

That's great news! Are you sure that they did their J1 waiver here in US? Do you know what makes the profile more desirable for such jobs. For an IMG on J1 in a midtier residency program what is the best strategy to get a waiver job?

Sorry I don’t know their situation. I just know they are foreign grads and are currently working in academics.

 

[Iceman24]

How has the job search been? How difficult it is to find a waiver job?

Sorry, it is nearly impossible, regardless of the fellowship(s) combination.

The O1 Visa is easy to get but only lasts 5 years max

Unfortunately, I have to disagree with your first statement, and your second statement is definitely wrong.

 

[AZpath]

I am happy to be corrected. My knowledge is limited to a couple examples.
Please tell us more.

Thanks

 

[raindrop8687]

Sorry, it is nearly impossible, regardless of the fellowship(s) combination.


Unfortunately, I have to disagree with your first statement, and your second statement is definitely wrong.

Thanks.

 

[raindrop8687]

The O1 Visa is easy to get but only lasts 5 years max and there is no path to a greens card. So you can stay after residency but that clock runs out.

There are about 30 J1 wavier spots per state as a perment route to a green card.
About 2/3-3/4 are given to primary care in rural areas. Allocations of the 30 spots are set by the states

I know couple people trying to go the J1 route.
One pathologist that I know got real lucky and found a J1 spot after search for three years.
The spouse is a clinician is and is still looking.

I don't know how IMG folks manage to stay with out returning.

Thanks.

 

[raindrop8687]

I recently came across a Pathologist doing J1 waiver job in a small college town (>100,000 population). So guess, it is possible ( though might be difficult).

 

[path_spouse]

I recently met a pathologist in a J1 waiver job in a relatively desirable suburban mid-Atlantic location. He did say he had tremendous difficulty in finding the job (though I believe he only did one fellowship).

 

[Iceman24]

I am happy to be corrected. My knowledge is limited to a couple examples.
Please tell us more.

Thanks

Well, if you read the official definition and qualification criteria for O1 visa, it seems obvious that say something like "easy to get" is not really applicable here. It is originally designed for people like Olympic medalists, Oscar and Nobel Prize winners. If you are not one of them then you have to show that during your life you accomplished something so you are very close to the level mentioned above. You need recommendation letters from the international experts, participation in the international committees, research papers, and much more. From my point of few, by definition, very few fresh residency graduates will meet these criteria. I'm not saying it is not possible but definitely hard and I personally know few people who were able to get O1 visa in pathology and I'd say it's way easier to get O1 visa then J1 waiver job in pathology.

I recently met a pathologist in a J1 waiver job in a relatively desirable suburban mid-Atlantic location. He did say he had tremendous difficulty in finding the job (though I believe he only did one fellowship).

I don't think it has something to do with the number of fellowships done, it is just the matter of connections.

 

[rirriri]

I recently met a pathologist in a J1 waiver job in a relatively desirable suburban mid-Atlantic location. He did say he had tremendous difficulty in finding the job (though I believe he only did one fellowship).

Number of fellowships has literally nothing to do with finding a job, visa situation or not.

This is a common
myth propagated by the paranoid. In fact the person having difficulty finding a job with 1 fellowship will also have difficulty finding a job with 3.

When I interview people as prospective hires; I actually give preference to 1 fellowship candidates. Shows much more focus and confidence.

I wouldn’t hire someone with 3.

 

[Benignoma]

Hello everyone , does any body Know if after residency on J1, if we join the job on O1 and later decide to do fellowship on J1 again- will ECFMG allows J1 sponsorship again in that case for fellowship after transitioning from O1?

 

[Iceman24]

Hello everyone , does any body Know if after residency on J1, if we join the job on O1 and later decide to do fellowship on J1 again- will ECFMG allows J1 sponsorship again in that case for fellowship after transitioning from O1?

Just ask ECFMG directly.

 

[DoctorCancer]

Hello everyone , does any body Know if after residency on J1, if we join the job on O1 and later decide to do fellowship on J1 again- will ECFMG allows J1 sponsorship again in that case for fellowship after transitioning from O1?

Why are you doing this to yourself? Listen to me: It's not worth all this. Just go home to your parents and be around them in their last days Your children will cry for a few days but they will get used to it.

To answer your question: Every new J1 is independent of the old J1/O1 statuses. You may have to do the interview again and it carries a slight risk of initial rejection as your visa history would be: Took B1/B2 then took J1 visa then took O1 visa, now again applying for a J1 visa.

Remember you are a cattle/dog in the US embassy. Sorry, I should not have said dog, those are loved and wanted more than immigrants here They can brand that "rejected" tag on your passport anytime. Other than that I do not see any problem as long as your government is on board and renews your statement of need.

The problem arises if you want a new immigrant visa like H1/L1. For that, you have to first finish the home country bond.

That being said, all this is anecdotal information. I agree with Iceman24 that the only way to reliably find out is by talking to your EVSP representative over the phone. Good luck getting a straight answer if you are planning on emailing.

Sorry, I am just dead inside

 

[Unty]

Number of fellowships has literally nothing to do with finding a job, visa situation or not.

This is a common
myth propagated by the paranoid. In fact the person having difficulty finding a job with 1 fellowship will also have difficulty finding a job with 3.

When I interview people as prospective hires; I actually give preference to 1 fellowship candidates. Shows much more focus and confidence.

I wouldn’t hire someone with 3.

Some residency programs suck so you have to do hemepath or cytopath fellowships to compensate for the weak training in residency. if you do two fellowships and you can do the work competently I could care less. Just make sure you can do the work efficiently.

 

[path_spouse]

Number of fellowships has literally nothing to do with finding a job, visa situation or not.

This is a common
myth propagated by the paranoid.

I'm not paranoid...they're just out to get me—FLEE PATHOLOGY NOW.

More seriously, my husband was pinned by my career to a city with a tight pathology job market. It wasn't until his second year as a fellow that a local opportunity came up. So at least in that indirect sense, his finding a job required two fellowships.

It seems to me that pathology is a niche field. If you need a J1 waiver, I'd think that constraint would be similar to a geographic restriction—it would severely limit the number of jobs you could apply for, and it could take more than a single year before a job opened that was a match.

That said, I'm not a pathologist, I'm a scientist with an interest in the pathology job market. So please tell me what I'm missing.

I know a bunch of foreign grads I trained with who are still here in the US for jobs, meaning they haven’t left back to their home country.

Most of the immigrant pathologists I know are not on J1 visas. Some arrived via greencard lottery. Some obtained J1 hardship waivers via US citizen spouse/kids. Some married US citizens before training.

Of the J1 folks in my husband’s residency cohort, about half did go back home.

 

[The Baron]

Hi everyone, sorry to resurrect an old post.

I'm in the final few months of residency and will begin the job search soon, but I'm just wondering why J1 waiver jobs seem so difficult to get? It looks as though most states still have plenty of J1 spots available even in March. (March 2021 - Conrad 30 - J-1 Waiver Updates - Physician Immigration — Irvine Legal),

Is it really that difficult, or is it just easier now that the HHS visa waiver program has been expanded for primary care physicians? (HHS Expands Clinical Waiver Program to “All Facilities” in HPSA 07 or Higher | Berardi Immigration Law)

 

[Laika72]

The O1 Visa is easy to get but only lasts 5 years max and there is no path to a greens card. So you can stay after residency but that clock runs out.

In case anyone comes across this thread looking for O-1 info:
-The visa is not easy to get, but it is certainly possible to obtain it straight out of a fellowship. Successful applicants typically have a number of publications, strong reference letters, etc.
-The initial O-1 visa lasts for 3 years, but it can be renewed annually after the initial one expires. People have apparently stayed in the US for decades on an O-1 which is renewed each year.

 

[Iceman24]

Hi everyone, sorry to resurrect an old post.

I'm in the final few months of residency and will begin the job search soon, but I'm just wondering why J1 waiver jobs seem so difficult to get? It looks as though most states still have plenty of J1 spots available even in March. (March 2021 - Conrad 30 - J-1 Waiver Updates - Physician Immigration — Irvine Legal),

Is it really that difficult, or is it just easier now that the HHS visa waiver program has been expanded for primary care physicians? (HHS Expands Clinical Waiver Program to “All Facilities” in HPSA 07 or Higher | Berardi Immigration Law)

it is so difficult to get because an employer has to pay for it. It is another ~15K on top of existing expenses associated with hiring new physician, plus additional paperwork.