- Joined
- Feb 21, 2016
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 32
I’m a current MS4 @ a Midwest school applying into IR and DR + gen surgery prelim this upcoming cycle. I’m a Canadian citizen, unmarried, no super strong family ties to the US. Won't be applying CaRMS for radiology because there are very limited spots across Canada (50 total vs ~20 amongst my home programs alone). n
I know the general pros/cons of the H1B (institution has to pay but can stick around after residency) and J1 (less $, but have to return to home country or get waiver for rural/underserved service for 2 years) visas. I’m also relatively familiar with the F1-OPT process and will have that status for intern year.
An H1B would obviously be ideal but given the current political climate + economic struggles, I’m worried that hospitals might be more restrictive when it comes to offering them. On the flip side, I don’t know what going back to Canada would look like (particularly if I need to do fellowship for IR) nor do I know what “rural/underserved” means in the context of the waiver. I wouldn’t mind living a couple hours from a large city but would rather not go to rural West Virginia.
My main questions are:
1) How easy/difficult was it to get an H1B visa from a residency program?
2) At what point in the interview process should it you communicate that you'll need an H1b visa?
3) If you went the J1 route, what is the process for navigating the waiver and the transitioning to an H1b later?
4) Is one path easier than other for getting eventual green card status?
Any and all insight would be super appreciated!
I know the general pros/cons of the H1B (institution has to pay but can stick around after residency) and J1 (less $, but have to return to home country or get waiver for rural/underserved service for 2 years) visas. I’m also relatively familiar with the F1-OPT process and will have that status for intern year.
An H1B would obviously be ideal but given the current political climate + economic struggles, I’m worried that hospitals might be more restrictive when it comes to offering them. On the flip side, I don’t know what going back to Canada would look like (particularly if I need to do fellowship for IR) nor do I know what “rural/underserved” means in the context of the waiver. I wouldn’t mind living a couple hours from a large city but would rather not go to rural West Virginia.
My main questions are:
1) How easy/difficult was it to get an H1B visa from a residency program?
2) At what point in the interview process should it you communicate that you'll need an H1b visa?
3) If you went the J1 route, what is the process for navigating the waiver and the transitioning to an H1b later?
4) Is one path easier than other for getting eventual green card status?
Any and all insight would be super appreciated!