Whats the Deal with H1b Visa?

[Blitz2006]

I was reading on the forums, and I came across a statement saying that you can only complete USMLE Step 3 after you graudate from medical school? And in order to get a H1b Visa you need Step 3..

So does that mean that after graduating from a UK/Irish Medical school, anyone who wants to return to U.S on H1b is screwed over an entire year? I find this hard to believe...

Thanks.

P.S. This post is with regards to the medical being a Canadian citizen, not American.

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[medgirl20]

If you want the H1B visa you need to have completed step 3 which you can only do after you graduate so you need an extra year after graduation to complete all the requirements. You could go to the US straight away after graduation on a J1 visa but with that you have to return to your country for 2 years following completion of your residency or sign up for an underserved population programmes. You can get more info on http://www.internationaldoc.com the website of an RCSI graduate.

 

[Blitz2006]

Hmmm, thanks for the post.

So lets say I finish my 5 year MBBS (in England). Then after that, can I just do 1 year of Foundation in UK while I'm applying to residency programs in the U.S? Or do I have to do both (Foundation Year 1 and 2).

Basically, I want to get back to U.S ASAP....

Which leads to my follow-up question then...does that mean that all IMGs (who are non U.S citizens) who want H1b visa (from wherever, ie. carribean, australia, UK, etc.) lose one year?

Thanks.

 

[medgirl20]

Yeah you can do as much or as little of the foundation year as you want but you need to confirm with your college that the training will be accepted for full registration with the GMC it's normally just a formality though. I think Australians may be able to get away without losing a year because of their different timetable but if you want the H1b visa everyone has to go through the same process.

 

[leorl]

thread closed, double post. Please refer to the one in the general international forum.