US Residency as a Canadian

[shakram]

Hi,

I had a quick question regarding obtaining US residency as a Canadian citizen with a US green card. I tried searching other threads, but I noticed that most of them deal with Canadian citizens trying to get into US residency without a green card or citizenship.

So my question is, if I am a Candian citizen with US green card and I do my undergrad and med school in Canada, is my chance of obtaining a US residency hindered in anyway (despite the fact that I have a US green card)? I've read different threads discussing how the Canadian med schools are not well known in the states and therefore wouldn't really be considered favourably when you are trying to obtain a US residency position. Would my chance of obtaining US residency be improved by getting into a US med school instead? I would rather be in a Canadian med school at this point, so if my chances of US residency isn't hindered with my green card, I would like to stay put in Canada. Thank you in advance.🙂

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[Knight_MD]

Hi,

I had a quick question regarding obtaining US residency as a Canadian citizen with a US green card. I tried searching other threads, but I noticed that most of them deal with Canadian citizens trying to get into US residency without a green card or citizenship.

So my question is, if I am a Candian citizen with US green card and I do my undergrad and med school in Canada, is my chance of obtaining a US residency hindered in anyway (despite the fact that I have a US green card)? I've read different threads discussing how the Canadian med schools are not well known in the states and therefore wouldn't really be considered favourably when you are trying to obtain a US residency position. Would my chance of obtaining US residency be improved by getting into a US med school instead? I would rather be in a Canadian med school at this point, so if my chances of US residency isn't hindered with my green card, I would like to stay put in Canada. Thank you in advance.🙂

No. Don't worry.
Here's the order of preference based SOLELY on your citizenship/visa status:

1) US medical school grads.
2) Canadian medical school grads.
3) International medical school US citizen grads. (IMGs)
4) International medical school Foreign grads with GC (FMGs)
5) International medical school Foreign grads requiring J1 visa (FMGs)
6) International medical school Foreign grads requiring H1b (FMGs)

And at the end, it's really about your entire application/personality...etc.

 

[shakram]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. So I'm assuming that you would just be considered a Canadian medical school grad if you went through med school in Canada. Does this mean that having a US green card doesn't improve your chance of being accepted into US residency in any way if you are a Candian med school grad? Well, maybe other than the fact that you won't need to worry about visa issues? This is just a little confusing for me because that would imply that a Canadian citizen graduating from a US medical school would have a better chance of obtaining a US residency than a US green card holder graduating from a Canadian medical school (if I understood you correctly).

Thanks again!

 

[Treg]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. So I'm assuming that you would just be considered a Canadian medical school grad if you went through med school in Canada. Does this mean that having a US green card doesn't improve your chance of being accepted into US residency in any way if you are a Candian med school grad? Well, maybe other than the fact that you won't need to worry about visa issues? This is just a little confusing for me because that would imply that a Canadian citizen graduating from a US medical school would have a better chance of obtaining a US residency than a US green card holder graduating from a Canadian medical school (if I understood you correctly).

Thanks again!

I am a US and Canadian dual citizen, at a Canadian medical school, in the current US match cycle applying in surgery. Some places rarely have Canadian applicants, so they are unfamiliar with us and incorrectly think of us as IMGs. Other places consider us equally with US grads. As mentioned above, it depends on your whole app (Step 1, LORs, grades, AOA, research, etc). I have felt like my app is a bit hindered by our Dean's letter, which does not include class rank, and our marking scheme, which doesn't have grades on clinical rotations. My school also got rid of AOA for lack of interest. So the absence of those things puts more weight on your step 1, for example. Also, I think it probably helps a lot to have some US clinical experience and LORs from US MD's that can comment on your performance, especially in relation to US students. I did a rotation in the US, got a couple of extra LORs, and all together now I have been offered interviews at 10/23 programs I applied to.

So you would probably be considered equivalent to a US graduate in general, with some exceptions as mentioned above. I have heard that the US programs in the Northeast get Canadian applications frequently (i.e. McGill) so they are used to seeing them and consider them the same as a US grad. There is no hard and fast rule like you have listed. Not requiring a visa helps. Also, another interesting thing is that as a Canadian applicant you are 'independent', which means you qualify for a pre-match spot (sign a contract before the end of Jan and withdraw from the match).

Treg