Withdrawal from the match

[Thepaine9]

Dear members,
I hope you are all doing great.
I need your insight regarding my case. I am an IMG and matched into an IM program that was supposed to start well before July. However, I still didn't have my VISA yet due to some additional processing my application has to go through in the embassy. I am not really sure how long the program will wait for me specially that no one can predict how long the processing will take.
I am seriously thinking about withdrawing from the match so I can apply this year to the Canadian match( as I have a very good chance of matching there with no issues and worries about the VISA) since both maches are connected in some ways, I wonder how would withdrawing can affect my chances there and wether you think I have a legitimate reasons for withdrawing that will be accepted by nrmp?

Thanks a lot for your insights

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[Successor12]

I would wait for the visa since your program will try to honor their commitment and apply to CARMS and see how their interview season goes. I am not quiet sure about their process but it's similar to the US then you can just rank zero program if your visa got approved or you can go ahead and rank if your program decided to get a replacement and decided they won't wait

Either way don't miss a position that is guaranteed yet. I know some programs that would wait for six months in similar situation especially if they have a bigger class.

 

[rokshana]

Dear members,
I hope you are all doing great.
I need your insight regarding my case. I am an IMG and matched into an IM program that was supposed to start well before July. However, I still didn't have my VISA yet due to some additional processing my application has to go through in the embassy. I am not really sure how long the program will wait for me specially that no one can predict how long the processing will take.
I am seriously thinking about withdrawing from the match so I can apply this year to the Canadian match( as I have a very good chance of matching there with no issues and worries about the VISA) since both maches are connected in some ways, I wonder how would withdrawing can affect my chances there and wether you think I have a legitimate reasons for withdrawing that will be accepted by nrmp?

Thanks a lot for your insights

you have already matched...you can't withdraw from the match since that ended back in March.

can you ask to be released from your contracted position...i would think so, but it may then be a match violation for you....can the program release you from the contract...that is more likely since you are unable to meet the requirements to start on time.

you really should be having this discussion with your PD to see if there is anything they can do to move things along and to find out how long they are going to be willing to wait for you.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

As mentioned above, you'd need a match waiver. At this point, it's probably automatic -- part of the match is being able to start on July 1. Since we are way past that, you could request a match waiver and state that you want to explore other employment opportunities because of the visa delay. Your program will be contacted by the NRMP, so you should definitely discuss with them first. I'm not certain what happens if you ask for a waiver and the program asks the NRMP not to grant it. The program could request a waiver and it would be granted since you couldn't start on time, so I assume it would work the other way around also.

The big question is whether you should do this or not. Getting a spot as an IMG in CaRMS is not easy. If you're actually a grad of a Canadian school and just decided to match to the US, then you'd probably do fine. Otherwise, you could find yourself not matching in CaRMS and then trying again in the NRMP -- but would programs consider you when you tell them you were unable to start due to a visa problem the prior year? I probably wouldn't, as I'd expect repeat problems.