US Residency from US medical school (Canadian Citizen)

[Flame219]

But lets say that we want an H1B visa while attending US residency, do you still think that a Canadian US MD applying to Carms will be at a greater disadvantage match wise compared to a Canadian US MD applying to US residency with hopes of obtaining a H1B?

It's a good question because programs are more and more unwilling to sponsor H1 visas and what the landscape is for this year will probably be even worse four years later. Comparing to the chances of a Canadian US MD student at CaRMS it really depends on the specialty you're applying to. As of this year our chances of getting into FM at CaRMS is pretty much guaranteed and probably almost on par with Canadian grads as long as you don't have any red flags, on the other hand the really competitive specialties almost shut their doors against US MDs unless you're either much better than their already stellar applicants or have great connections with their program. For H1 visas, I realize that candidates get sponsored by either the top programs (eg. Harvard, also UCSF, UWashington) or lower end programs that'd rather sponsor you than take a DO/IMG. What complicates things is that the programs that state that they dont sponsor H1s usually refer to their policies against non-US grads, if you contact the PD of each program, some might make exceptions for Canadian US grads, especially if you have worked with them and they are interested in having you in their program, or that you're applying to the program affiliated with your school. While not technically legal, some might even let you pay for your visa so they dont have to worry about the extra cost in sponsoring you. So I'd say as of this year, if you're looking for a non-competitive specialty, your chances are higher and more flexible at CaRMS than one that would give you H1s for the most part, for the high end competitive specialties, you're probably a little more well off finding a program that would sponsor you H1s. Everything in between is hard to tell and unfortunately not many will be able to tell you which is harder. That is of course excluding the J1s.

[ISaidPlease]

It's a good question because programs are more and more unwilling to sponsor H1 visas and what the landscape is for this year will probably be even worse four years later. Comparing to the chances of a Canadian US MD student at CaRMS it really depends on the specialty you're applying to. As of this year our chances of getting into FM at CaRMS is pretty much guaranteed and probably almost on par with Canadian grads as long as you don't have any red flags, on the other hand the really competitive specialties almost shut their doors against US MDs unless you're either much better than their already stellar applicants or have great connections with their program. For H1 visas, I realize that candidates get sponsored by either the top programs (eg. Harvard, also UCSF, UWashington) or lower end programs that'd rather sponsor you than take a DO/IMG. What complicates things is that the programs that state that they dont sponsor H1s usually refer to their policies against non-US grads, if you contact the PD of each program, some might make exceptions for Canadian US grads, especially if you have worked with them and they are interested in having you in their program, or that you're applying to the program affiliated with your school. While not technically legal, some might even let you pay for your visa so they dont have to worry about the extra cost in sponsoring you. So I'd say as of this year, if you're looking for a non-competitive specialty, your chances are higher and more flexible at CaRMS than one that would give you H1s for the most part, for the high end competitive specialties, you're probably a little more well off finding a program that would sponsor you H1s. Everything in between is hard to tell and unfortunately not many will be able to tell you which is harder. That is of course excluding the J1s.

 

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Flame!