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  2. Training in the United...
  3. Training in the United States
Student Careers

Training in the United States

BMJ 2003; 327 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0308282 (Published 01 August 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;327:0308282
  1. Asrar Rashid, fellow1,
  2. Mark Twite, fellow, paediatric critical care2,
  3. Sunil Bhudia, research fellow3
  1. 1paediatric critical care
  2. 2Denver Children's Hospital, Denver, CO, USA
  3. 3cardiothoracic surgery, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA

The “American dream” has seen a steady flow of scientists and doctors to the United States. Asrar Rashid, Mark Twite, and Sunil Bhudia have tips for doctors thinking of making “the dream” come true

The United States is a hot bed for learning, innovation, and creativity. The main driving factor is economics. Academia in the United Kingdom has not been as successful in working with private institutions to release research ideas into the market place; this has led to a poor infrastructure for the development of young research scientists and doctors. This is also true of many other countries--this article uses doctors from the United Kingdom as an example.

Step 1: Decide what you want and choose your visa

The choice of visa may be out of your control. The best visa for working in the United States used to be the H-1 visa; however, this is getting more difficult to get hold of and most institutions are now giving the J-1 visa (box 1).

Box 1: The main visa options for doctors

  • J-1 visa--a temporary training visa given to doctors and scientists. Doctors must return to their country of origin and cannot work in the United States for a period of two years (there may be exceptions)

  • H-1 visa--this visa can in time be developed into a green card

  • Green card--this gives the doctor the chance to stay permanently in the United States

  • Waiver visa--possible if you have skills that place you as an expert or someone with outstanding ability. This visa is sometimes sought by doctors who are consultants in the United Kingdom and wish to work at the same level in the United States9;J-1 visa--a temporary training visa given to doctors and scientists. Doctors must return to their country of origin and cannot work in the United States for a period of two years (there may be exceptions)

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