Despite some significant obstacles, there are a number of opportunities available to foreign medical graduates who seek to practice medicine in the U.S. Each of these alternatives requires careful planning and a significant commitment of time and resources.
*Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Certification (ECFMG)
*Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Clinical Skills Assessment
*Exchange Visitor Sponsorship Program
*J-1 Visa Sponsorship Fact Sheet
Medical Schools listed on the International Medical Education Directory:
To be eligible for certification by ECFMG, your medical school must be listed in the International Medical Education Directory of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research. If you are a medical school student and you want to apply for examination, your medical school must be listed in the directory and your medical school's “Graduation Years” must be listed as “Current,” both at the time you apply for the exam and at the time you take the exam. If you are a medical school graduate, your medical school and graduation year must be listed in directory to be eligible for examination and for ECFMG Certification. To verify that you meet these requirements, access IMED.
Romanian medical students and graduates may access this link.
Medical Doctors Seeking J-1 Waiver of the 2-Year Foreign Residence Requirement:
Exchange visitors coming under the "J" program for graduate medical education or training must meet certain requirements which include having passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in Medical Sciences, demonstrating competency in English. Exchange visitors are automatically subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement. Medical doctors must return to their country of nationality or last residence after completing their program in the United States , and reside there physically for two years before they may become eligible to apply for an immigrant or temporary worker visa in the U.S. However, J-1 Waivers are available for those physicians sponsored by an "interested governmental agency" to work in medically underserved areas qualify for national interest waiver. Sponsors include State Departments of Public Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, Veterans Administration, and The Appalachian Regional Commission. Physicians must work full-time for an aggregate of 5 years (not including time on J-1) before s/he is eligible for adjustment of status.
CONRAD STATE 30 Programs Each state has the ability to sponsor up to 30 physicians each year for J waivers. Almost all states sponsor primary care physicians, and a rapidly increasing number of states sponsor specialists. Most states post their criteria for sponsoring J waivers for physicians online. For example, you can access this information for New York State by clicking this link.
Department of Health and Human Services: Exchange Visitor Program
Delta Regional Authority: Bringing Doctors to the Delta - Program guidelines
Department of Veteran's Affairs: Handbook - Online career center for the Veterans Health Administration - Application for Physicians, Dentists, Podiatrists, Optometrists, and Chiropractors
Appalachian Regional Commission: Area Development Program J-1 Visa Waivers, State Public Contacts
International Medical Graduates Seeking H-1B visas: H-1B visas may be granted in order to pursue medical residencies, fellowships or other internships for a defined period of time. The advantage of this visa is that it is a dual-intent visa (non-immigrant & immigrant intent) and allows foreign nationals to hold their temporary H-1B status while simultaneously pursue options for permanent residence. An application for a change of status from J-1 to H-1B may not be filed until the State Department issues its waiver recommendation to the Citizenship and Immigration Services department.
In order to obtain H-1B status as a medical resident, applicants must have passed all parts of the UMSLE examinations. Most states will not allow medical residents to take USMLE, Part III until they have completed the first year of their residency programs. However, there are 11 states which permit persons to take USMLE, Part III prior to entering a residency program. H-1B applicants must travel to one of these states to take and pass USMLE, Part III before they may be sponsored for an H-1B visa.
International Medical Graduates Seeking Green Cards: Usually, an employer must undergo the labor certification process before the foreign medical graduate can obtain a green card. However, physicians who intend to practice in medically underserved areas for a minimum of five years may be allowed to bypass the labor certification requirement. The regulations restrict which physicians are eligible for national interest waivers, and how they qualify to do so. The employer must then submit an immigrant visa petition for the foreign medical graduate as a professional holding advanced degrees, under the employment-based second category . If the physician's priority date is current (there are numerical backlogs which govern the length of time that a physician with an approved immigrant visa petition must wait to file an application for permanent residence), the physician and his family may apply for green cards at the same time that the immigrant visa petition is submitted. Simultaneously with the submission of the application for permanent residence, the physician and his family may apply for employment authorizations and for travel permits.
Physicians Recruitment: Before a physician can be sponsored for either a waiver of the two-year home residency requirement, a temporary (H-1B) working visa or permanent residence, he or she must obtain an appropriate offer of employment. Click here for a listing of web sites designed to assist physicians in locating practice opportunities in shortage areas.
Organizations: The Association of Staff Physician Recruiters
National Association of Physician Recruiters
National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network
Medical Journals: The New England Journal of Medicine, Career Center
The American College of Physicians
Journal of the American Medical Association, CareerNet
Recruitment Firms: Alliance of Medical Recruiters
Online Physicians Job Banks: Physemp.com
Internet Physicians Networks: Doctorwork.com
National Association of Community Health Centers
Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, e-mail, articles or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is intended to be general and should not be relied upon for any specific situation. For legal advice, consult an attorney experienced in immigration law.
LAW OFFICE OF ALEXUS P. SHAM - 2009