Why Are Fellowships Easy on J1 Visas

There was some movie, a Television serial or some book - I don't remember which, that suggested that in trying to get to the roots of any political or market problem..first follow the money. And sure enough, the answer to the argument on easier fellowships with J1s versus H visas can be followed to funding.....yeah..money.

A lot of fellowship positions are funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and some more government agencies, which have reserved the funding for exchange students, US citizens or permanent residents only....while the fellowship program must shell out private funds for H1b folks. That is the biggest reason why fellowships are easier on J1.


For Residencies, again, programs are more willing for J1s, since the administrative headache then belongs to ECFMG - while to get an H1b sponsored, its the program's time, money and effort on the arena. Funding for Residencies, however, comes from Medicare and Medicaid, which have no problems for docs on H1b