Questions on J1 waivers

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The One Who Knocks

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7+ Year Member
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Hello all,

I am currently a second year Canadian student attending a U.S. medical school. I have been thinking about my future quite a bit, and I have a few questions regarding "J1 waivers".

I have heard that people who do residency on a J1 visa and want to stay in the U.S. to work often get "J1 waiver jobs" afterwards. Is this a common/viable route to go? How hard are these "J1 waivers" to get (if you're interested in Internal Medicine, for example)? How much do you sacrifice in terms of pay/other things to do a J1 waiver job? Are they horrible? (if you're interested in a field like Internal Medicine, for example). And lastly: how does this "J1 waiver" process work? Does the "J1 waiver" job switch you to a H-1B visa and then you can apply for a green card?

Also: say you do go back to Canada for the 2 years after your training to fulfill the J1 visa requirement. After those 2 years, could you then go back to the U.S. to work afterwards? How would you do that?

Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.
 
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