- Joined
- Oct 17, 2016
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Ok my canadian peeps, I'm in a bit of a predicament and I'm looking for advice.
I am a Canadian currently studying in Canada, looking to go to the US for residency. From what I gather there's 2 major visa types, the J-1 and H1B. The J1 is the easiest to obtain and most programs are willing to have a J1 resident. The problem with it is that it requires you to return to Canada for 2 years before you can go back on a H1b. Obviously the H1b is preferred because it doesn't have these requirements.
However, here's the problem: we can't get an H1b until we do our step 3, which we can't do until after we graduate. That leaves a very short period of time between May and July for us to do the exam, get all our visa paperwork in, and hope that there's still spots left for the year.
Does anyone who applied to the American match in the past have any insight into whether if I have a correct understanding of the problem? Are there any other ways to get a H1b after 1 year and after my step 3 if I match to the US? I heard about an OPT year but I believe those are only available to Canadians who went to a US school on a F1 visa. Any way to convert from a J1 to a H1b halfway through residency? How easy is it to get a waiver?
Hope ya'll folks have a little more experience and can answer these questions! Thanks for reading!
I am a Canadian currently studying in Canada, looking to go to the US for residency. From what I gather there's 2 major visa types, the J-1 and H1B. The J1 is the easiest to obtain and most programs are willing to have a J1 resident. The problem with it is that it requires you to return to Canada for 2 years before you can go back on a H1b. Obviously the H1b is preferred because it doesn't have these requirements.
However, here's the problem: we can't get an H1b until we do our step 3, which we can't do until after we graduate. That leaves a very short period of time between May and July for us to do the exam, get all our visa paperwork in, and hope that there's still spots left for the year.
Does anyone who applied to the American match in the past have any insight into whether if I have a correct understanding of the problem? Are there any other ways to get a H1b after 1 year and after my step 3 if I match to the US? I heard about an OPT year but I believe those are only available to Canadians who went to a US school on a F1 visa. Any way to convert from a J1 to a H1b halfway through residency? How easy is it to get a waiver?
Hope ya'll folks have a little more experience and can answer these questions! Thanks for reading!