What's the proportion of IMG residents with H1B visa?

[donaldtang]

I am a non-US citizen studying in an international medical school.
As far as I know, IMG have to provide a "statement of need" from the ministry of health of their home contry in order to be eligible for J1 visa.
However, the ministry of health in my country refuse to provide this "statement of need"
Then my only option is getting H1B visa

So, does anybody know what's the proportion of IMG that enter US residency programs with H1B visa, out of all IMG(and non-US citizen) active applicants in recent years??
Or in other words:
(number of IMG who matched with H1B)/(total number of IMG applicants)=? (for recent years)
Or does anybody know where can I find this information?
Thanks in advance! Need your help very much!

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[Winged Scapula]

I don't know the number but its low. Many residency programs refuse to offer/sponsor H1B visas because of all the paperwork involved; many FMGs cannot afford to get an H1B visa. The vast majority are here on J1s.

See this thread for more information: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=450230

 

[buckley]

Not that I would ever doubt Winged's words of wisdom...but here are my 2cents...

I have the same problem as you and I did not want to deal with my government's red tape. Though it is much easier to get a J1 visa slot ( I had to take out a lot of places), there are a couple of H1b places there. It will depend on which specialty you choose (easiest for IM/peds/fammed/psych) and where you are willing to go (midwest/inner city). You'll find that al ot of places will offer you an H1B to entice you to come over. Do i regret my choice of going for the visa? To be honest, sometimes I do. But then, that's why it's called a choice. You weigh the merits and you choose. Now I want to do fellowship in a place that only offers J1...so I don't know. I figure if I go for that then my residency on H1 would have been for naught...decisions, decisions...

But to answer your question---there's a huge pool of IMGs out there on H1B. I personally know at least 75. And I don't know that many residents here in the US. Good luck!

 

[sam1999]

It used to be rare to find FMG residents on H1b visa 10 + years ago. Now many hospitals esp. low tier realized that's what most FMG want. That's why you see most of these hospitals offer pre-match plus H1b and that's how they snatch very good pool of potential residents.

Opposite to these low tier is top University hospitals and they don't care about visa because they do you have world class visa office any way. Most of them want good residents so they don't make big visa sponsor issues. It is very rare to get into these hospitals. It cost hospital little more for H1b so they try to sponsor only J1.

On the other hand many FMGs don't care about these things and go for match and J1. It depends upon your personal situation, credentials, and finances. It can cost easily $20K on USMLE, travel, ERAS, and 1 interview cycle. It does not include legal cost if you have to pay for own attorney and visa processing fees. I think these days it case easily cost like $5000 to do that. For many folks it is kind of life time savings in third world countries.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

The answer to your question is published each year, in JAMA, as part of the GME census. The reference to the last issue is JAMA. 2009;302(12):1357-1372. The link will require paid access to JAMA.

Table 7 lists visa types. For IMG's, about half were citizens/PR or otherwise don't need a visa. H and B visas were about even at 16% and 14% respectively.

 

[Buzz Me]

So, does anybody know what's the proportion of IMG that enter US residency programs with H1B visa, out of all IMG(and non-US citizen) active applicants in recent years??

Does it really matter? If a J1 visa is not a possibility for you, aren't you then obligated to go for an H1B? And if so, what does it matter how easy (or tough) it is for FMGs to obtain residency spots in the US? You're going to apply anyway, right?

 

[donaldtang]

First of all, thanks for the imput from everyone!

The answer to your question is published each year, in JAMA, as part of the GME census. The reference to the last issue is JAMA. 2009;302(12):1357-1372. The link will require paid access to JAMA.

Table 7 lists visa types. For IMG's, about half were citizens/PR or otherwise don't need a visa. H and B visas were about even at 16% and 14% respectively.

B visa? It seems that B visa is not applicable for resident training.
Furthermore, "about half"+16%+14% is still 20% from 100%? Anything wrong with this data? I'm sorry that I can't get access to JAMA now, so anyone can check this information for me? Thanks very much!

 

[donaldtang]

Does it really matter? If a J1 visa is not a possibility for you, aren't you then obligated to go for an H1B? And if so, what does it matter how easy (or tough) it is for FMGs to obtain residency spots in the US? You're going to apply anyway, right?

Yes, it really matter. The data can help me assess the risk associated with resident match. If it is too risky, then I will probably apply for PhD program in USA and then apply for residency training after graduation (from PhD program). In this way, even if I fail to enter any resident program, I can still get a job of research. However, since most resident programs dislike applicants who have graduated from medical school for more than 5 years, this pathway is not my first choice.
On the contrary, if it is not that risky, then I'll match directly after graduation (come to USA with B visa), so I will began to prepare for USMLE and US clinical experience from now on. In this way, however, I will have no time to take part in any research practice in my medical school, which will put me at disadvantage for applying PhD programs. Therefore, probably I have no option if I fail to enter resident program.
That's why I think the information is critical for me, and also critical for many other international medical students who intend to receive postgraduate training in US.

 

[sunset823]

First of all, thanks for the imput from everyone!



B visa? It seems that B visa is not applicable for resident training.
Furthermore, "about half"+16%+14% is still 20% from 100%? Anything wrong with this data? I'm sorry that I can't get access to JAMA now, so anyone can check this information for me? Thanks very much!

To the OP, I was able to obtain the JAMA article, here's the full information. Since it's kinda hard to read, here's the summary (IMGs should be treated as a separate column, but I couldn't make a table)
Greencard (20.2%) > H1-Visa (16.2%) > Native US Citizen (PR/Carib, etc.) (14.8%) > J1 Visa = Unknown (Foreign born) (14.1%) > Naturalized US Citizen = Unknown (Unknown Country) (9.2%)

Appendix II, Table 7. Citizenship/Visa Status of All Resident Physicians and IMGs on Duty in ACGME-Accredited and in Combined Specialty Programs, December 1, 2008

Citizenship/Visa Status
Native US citizen: Total 69 740 (64.5); IMG 4366 (14.8)
Naturalized US citizen: Total 9408 (8.7); IMG 2705 (9.2)
Permanent resident (greencard): Total 8620 (8.0); IMG 5965 (20.2)
B-1, B-2 temporary visitor: Total 126 (0.1); IMG 122 (0.4)
F-1 student: Total 305 (0.3); IMG 23 (<0.1)
H-1, H-1B, H-2, H-3; Total: 4984 (4.6); IMG 4777 (16.2)
J-1, J-2 exchange visitor; Total 4280 (4.0); IMG 4152 (14.1)
Refugee/asylee/displaced person; Total 89 (<0.1); IMG 84 (0.3)
Other: Total: 534 (0.5); IMG 437 (1.5)
Unknown citizenship/foreign born: Total 6009 (5.6); IMG 4152 (14.1)
Unknown citizenship/country: Total 4081 (3.8); IMG 2705 (9.2)
Total 108 176 (100.0)
Total IMG: 29 488 (100.0)
Abbreviations: ACGME, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; IMG, international medical graduate.
a Includes resident physicians on duty as of December 1, 2008, reported through the 2008 National GME Census. A total of 181 programs (2.1%) did not provide updated information
on residents by March 1, 2009. For these nonresponding programs, resident physicians reported from the last received survey were moved into their next year in the
program or graduated, and new residents were added from the 2008 National Resident Matching Program when available.

 

[donaldtang]

Sunset823, thank you very much!

 

[NotAProgDirector]

B visa? It seems that B visa is not applicable for resident training.

Total typo. Meant J. Should have simply cpoied the whole table rather than trying to summarize....