foreign citizenship but graduating from a US vet school?

[bluesails]

Hi!
I'm currently pre-vet, but haven't been able to find much information on my current situation.

I'm currently an undergraduate student in the US and if my family situation stays the same I am fortunate enough to be able to go to vet school in the US too. I am an international student though - my citizenship is Filipino - and I hold an F1 visa.

I have no definite plans of where I want to eventually end up but I know I want to practice in the US for some years even if I do return to the Philippines in the end. I hope to complete at least an internship and maybe a residency.

Has anyone else graduated and become a vet through this same path? Does anyone have information for me about what kind of visa / residency requirements I would have to hold / what requirements I would have for licensure? Would all of these be very similar or very different compared to foreign veterinary graduates?

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Bill59]

You need to check with an immigration attorney. I don't think you can work as a veterinarian with a student visa, you need something like an H1B.

Internships and residencies will also generally require an H1B, since you are employed. This can be a problem for internships because by the time the match is completed, you often don't have enough time to get the visa processed in time for the start date. You can pay extra for an expedited process but I'm not sure how long those take these days.

Licensing is done at the state level so you need to check with the specific state. But the states I'm familiar usually require some proof that you are legally able to live in the US, such as visa status. Most of this information is usually available at the state board's website.

 

[bluesails]

You need to check with an immigration attorney. I don't think you can work as a veterinarian with a student visa, you need something like an H1B.

Yup I'm aware of this. Was just talking about what kind of visa I hold right now. Thanks for your help 🙂

 

[Minnerbelle]

Yup I'm aware of this. Was just talking about what kind of visa I hold right now. Thanks for your help 🙂

I'm not sure if this is what you're asking, but I'm pretty sure that you just need an F-1 visa to attend vet school. I think a lot of residencies/internships also go the F-1 visa route rather than an H-1B (since that costs a lot to the school, and frankly, interns especially aren't worth that much to them).

If you're thinking about taking time off between UG and vet school, you can risk it by applying for an OPT. Prob with that is that you're kind of screwed if you need to apply multiple times. And you'd be using it up before vet school, and if I understand it correctly, you won't be able to use it again after vet school. I'm not sure if vet med counts in the STEM program list that allows for an extension of the OPT, and whether or not you're allowed to have that extension after vet school if you used up your OPT before vet school.

I'm guessing when you say that you are in the fortunate position to be able to go to vet school stateside, that you mean that you have the financial means to do so. I hope that's the case, because hotdamn, otherwise you're going to have a hard time getting the loans to go to vet school.

If you do go to vet school in the states, I think the difference for you compared to other foreign vet graduates is that you shouldn't need to take anything other than the NAVLE since you will have graduated from an accredited US school. I'm not sure if there are any residency/visa requirements to sit for licensure. It may/may not be more problematic for state licensure... but even if it is, maybe an academic license will allow you to circumvent that (obviously i dunno much about this. just tossing out ideas here). Seeing as some schools have residents on F-1 visas, I have a feeling it's not that big a deal if you're just staying for internship/residency. But if there was a requirement, and you want to actually practice here, I'm pretty sure you'd need an employer to support your H-1B visa. Depending on the field you go into, I'm not sure how easy it will be to find an employer that will do that for you. I have a feeling most private practices won't be happy about that. Industry/academia/government will probably be more amenable.

But then again, I'm not an immigration lawyer either, and only know a couple people in academia who are foreign graduates, so take what I say with a grain of salt. When I went in for my interviews, a couple of the interviewers who didn't see on my file that I was a perm resident (just saw my nationality), seemed very concerned and started grilling me about it, so I'm not sure how admissions sees foreign students.

 

[bluesails]

If you're thinking about taking time off between UG and vet school, you can risk it by applying for an OPT. Prob with that is that you're kind of screwed if you need to apply multiple times. And you'd be using it up before vet school, and if I understand it correctly, you won't be able to use it again after vet school. I'm not sure if vet med counts in the STEM program list that allows for an extension of the OPT, and whether or not you're allowed to have that extension after vet school if you used up your OPT before vet school.

Definitely not taking time off if I can control that. I'm gonna try my best to get in first cycle. If I don't, I'm going to spend at least half my gap outside the US instead of using up all the OPT. But I don't think I can use OPT after vet school whether or not I use it that time or not... I might be wrong about this, but I'll look into it, thanks for pointing that out.

But if there was a requirement, and you want to actually practice here, I'm pretty sure you'd need an employer to support your H-1B visa. Depending on the field you go into, I'm not sure how easy it will be to find an employer that will do that for you. I have a feeling most private practices won't be happy about that. Industry/academia/government will probably be more amenable.

This is what is worrying me the most, and I was trying to see if anyone else had overcome this problem and gone into private practice. So far I'm hoping to go into the equine field. Worst case I definitely would not mind going back home, especially because I think with a US education I can help the field in my country - but I don't want to close any doors.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Definitely not taking time off if I can control that. I'm gonna try my best to get in first cycle. If I don't, I'm going to spend at least half my gap outside the US instead of using up all the OPT. But I don't think I can use OPT after vet school whether or not I use it that time or not... I might be wrong about this, but I'll look into it, thanks for pointing that out.

yeah, I have no idea about after vet school. I was basing the above post on foreign post-doctorate grads I know in other fields. The last time I spoke with my ex who just finished his PhD in neuroscience, he was griping about how he's having issues being considered for the STEM extension because the gov't was confused about whether "brain & cognitive sciences" count.

This is what is worrying me the most, and I was trying to see if anyone else had overcome this problem and gone into private practice. So far I'm hoping to go into the equine field. Worst case I definitely would not mind going back home, especially because I think with a US education I can help the field in my country - but I don't want to close any doors.

yea... I would think that prospects in private practice would be pretty bleak... If it's true that there is an oversupply of qualified new grads (and vets in general) in the job market, I don't see why any private practice would have even a slight incentive to support a visa. Esp in equine, where it seems like most people go for post-DVM training so you wouldn't be unique in that regard. I would say that your best bet if you want to go into private practice is marriage with a US citizen. Sounds so unromantic saying it that way, but I guess that's how it is. If you're a single male, and I'm a spinster by the time you graduate vet school, hit me up 😉. I'd totally consider becoming a citizen to support your conditional green card if we get along 😛. I'd need to become a citizen at some point if I want to collect social security (that I've been paying into, though I doubt they'll be any left for me anyhow), and to avoid estate taxes for when I die (though I'm sure I won't have much to even worry about such taxes).

 

[Bill59]

This is what is worrying me the most, and I was trying to see if anyone else had overcome this problem and gone into private practice.

I know several non-US citizens working as private practice veterinarians in the US. I'm not sure what all was involved but it's possible.

 

[bluesails]

Thanks for all the help. My mom and I joke around all the time about just marrying someone and getting it over with haha. I guess since I know I want to do an internship anyway - which is on a J1 visa, easier to get - I'll see where my path takes me. 🙂

 

[PetPony]

Have you ever tried getting a greencard? I know it's expensive and take a long time, but if you're pre-vet now, you should be able to get it before graduating from vet school. I don't know if that'll help with everything, but it would be a start?

(I hope that would be all, cause that's all I have.. lol But I'm allowed to work in the US since we hit a certain point in the application process and now that I got my greencard I have not had any trouble with jobs, school etc.)

 

[havockid]

Hi!
I'm currently pre-vet, but haven't been able to find much information on my current situation.

I'm currently an undergraduate student in the US and if my family situation stays the same I am fortunate enough to be able to go to vet school in the US too. I am an international student though - my citizenship is Filipino - and I hold an F1 visa.

I have no definite plans of where I want to eventually end up but I know I want to practice in the US for some years even if I do return to the Philippines in the end. I hope to complete at least an internship and maybe a residency.

Has anyone else graduated and become a vet through this same path? Does anyone have information for me about what kind of visa / residency requirements I would have to hold / what requirements I would have for licensure? Would all of these be very similar or very different compared to foreign veterinary graduates?

Thanks!

This is the exact situation I am looking into now! though I am slightly different. I currently hold both Singapore and US citizenship and have to drop one and am trying to decide which to drop given employment options. I am entering vet school this fall too. any updates on what you have done or any research you have done? is it too hard to get employed in the US without a US citizenship?

 

[havockid]

I know several non-US citizens working as private practice veterinarians in the US. I'm not sure what all was involved but it's possible.

Would it be possible to contact there non US citizen private practice vets you talk about? how difficult is it to do that? even with a US Vet school degree?

 

[bluesails]

This is the exact situation I am looking into now! though I am slightly different. I currently hold both Singapore and US citizenship and have to drop one and am trying to decide which to drop given employment options. I am entering vet school this fall too. any updates on what you have done or any research you have done? is it too hard to get employed in the US without a US citizenship?

I'm starting vet school in the fall but if I were in your position I would 100% keep US citizenship. It is just miles easier in terms of traveling anywhere in the world, working in both the US and Asia, etc.

Working in the US as a foreign national requires the H1B work visa. Unfortunately, it's extremely hard to get one because there are a limited number of visas released every year and so you effectively enter a lottery to get one - that is, IF your job and application even qualify in the first place. Most of my friends who have successfully secured a work visa have very stable, pretty lucrative office-type jobs (software, finance, etc etc). I will say that the vet I worked for last year said he got an H1B - so at least it's not impossible - but I get the feeling that not a lot of veterinarians have successfully gotten one. The visa application requires you to already be certified in the state you want to work in, so you have to have a job offer AND have already passed the boards by the time you apply. So... it's hard to time everything.

I would 100% keep US citizenship. On the other hand, if you have personal reasons for not wanting to nationalize to the US, I completely understand that as well (my brother went through a similar conflict). Nationality can be a huge part of one's identity and I recognize that.

P.S. love Singapore, haven't been in years, wanna go back so bad. the aquarium on Sentosa is one of my favorites in the world.