H1-B visa Transfer Issues & Basics for Residencies + Fellowships

Most of the Residency & Fellowship programs are not-for-profit, academic institutions and are not subject to the annual H1b visa caps. But there might be some for-profit community-based programs that fall under he H1b visa cap. Since there are plenty of IMGs holding H1b visa job positions in either for-profit and not-for-profit settings prior to switching to a Residency, lets do a roundup of some relevant issues:

1. Transfer of the H1b visa from a for-profit visa-capped employer to a non-profit residency / fellowship is not subject to the annual H1b cap

2. Transfer from H1b visa status from a non-profit employer to a for-profit residency is subject to the annual H1b cap IF that's the first time the visa holding candidate will be working for a for-profit employer. Which implies, if the IMG did hold an H1b position at a for-pfot place before his current non-profit position, then shifting to a for-profit residency / fellowship will NOT be subject to the annual H1b visa cap.

3. IMGs with Masters / PhD degrees in USA can use the annual Masters / PhD quota (20,000 visas) , if needed, for the for-profit H1b residency

4. A for-profit H1b status will start only in October 1st of the applied year - while residencies begin on July 1st - Hence an IMG will not get to legally start on his/her residency or fellowship until the 1st of October. Masters / Phd candidates can use their CPT / OPT visas to cover this 3-month period from July 1st to September-end. So do think of these issues while accepting prematches from such residency programs (verify the visa-cap applicability of the program before-hand)

5. Yes, you can transfer from a H1b visa status to an ECFMG-sponsored J1 status for Residency or fellowship. Once that happens, you WILL NEED to fulfill the two-year home residency requirement or get a J1-waiver before switching again to an H1b, irrespective of whether you complete the residency of not. Later, when you land a J1-waiver job on H1b visa, remember that the 6-year H1b clock will NOT reset, rather it will resume where it stopped before your J1 began- so make sure you have 3 years remaining on your H1b status before switching to a J1 residency or Fellowship.


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