Visa questions

[jane2]

I've been doing some research into the different visas which are available. My husband (a non-medic) and I hope to move to the US permanently when I start my residency. We therefore would like visas which do not require us to go back home (to England) for any period of time.

I understand that there is a J1 visa and an H1-b.

The H1-B seems much better but I've read on a few websites now, for residencies, that they don't accept these. Brown for example, say: "An H-1B1 will be considered if the IMG holds an H-1B1 visa through another institution, or is a graduate of a U.S. medical school." They want you to have a green card or a J1.

Why is this? Surely they don't wnat to train you and then have to send you home? I would have thought the H1B which would allow you to apply to stay would be far better. No?

How difficult is to apply for permanent residency at the same time as applying for residencies? Do any IMGS (from the UK, in particular, would be particularly useful!) get granted this prior to starting their residency?

How 'easy' is it to get an H1B changed into a green card?

(And, whilst we're at it, what's the proper name for a green card?)

Thanks for all the advice and information.

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[f_w]

Why is this? Surely they don't wnat to train you and then have to send you home?

Because they are cheap:
Expense for the hospital to apply for your J1: $0
Expense for the hospital to obtain your H1b: $3000

How difficult is to apply for permanent residency at the same time as applying for residencies?

What is your spouses profession ? Sometimes it is easier for physicians to obtain a green-card through the employment of their spouse.

It is not possible to obtain permanent residency (the official name for green-card) through the employment route for the purpose of residency training. Residency training is not considered 'permanent employment'.

- Physicians who come on a H1b visa for residency, typically obtain permanent residency through their first position as an attending (the employer has to demonstrate to the goverment that they couldn't find a suitably qualified citizen)
- Physicians who come on a J1 visa obtain PR either through a 5 year period of service in a medically underserved area, or through the standard employment route.
- Then there is the possibility of dumping your spouse and marrying a citizen (works only for H1)

If you plan on staying for good, you definitely want to get an H1b. Sometimes this means taking a less desireable residency, getting your GC through an attending job and then moving on to do a subspecialty fellowship or maybe a second residency.
The other route is by doing a residency on J1, work in the boonies for 3 years and then obtaining PR.
The H1 route works better for short residencies. After you used 3 years for residency, you still have 3 years to obtain a GC. If you did lets say a IM residency followed by 3 years cards fellowship and 1 year of interventional cards, your H1b time is exceeded (but it would fit into the 7 years for a J1).