Ah, but factor in you're in NJ where the cost of living is high! Though it is also true that the state hospital system is offering about 200K/year plus great benefits.
Possibly, but from last year's numbers, the # of applicants from US schools did not go up. The increased competitiveness is from a dramatic increase in the # of FMGs applying for psychiatry.
I don't know why the FMGs are being drawn to psychiatry. In most other countries where I see FMGs come from (several from the middle east, eastern Asia) mental health is not as high a priority as physical health. In fact it's often times shunned. Another thing I don't understand is psychiatry is the one profession where you must be very fluent in the language you practice, which if anything IMHO push non-native English speakers away from psychiatry.
In any case, it is what it is.