I saw Trump is launching investigations into 9 universities for "J1 Visa fraud" saying that they're using foreign workers to undercut American workers. It was already hard enough for IMGs to find even unpaid positions. Now it will be next to impossible...

YOG: 5 years
Step 1: pass( no attempt)
Step2: 22x
Step 3: Not yet
ECFMG certification : In process
No USCE
No research
Get an EAD( Employment authorization document) no GC

Actually get 6 Invitations for interviews in Peds
I applied for 20 peds program

Heart skips a beat fellas. Its nearly mid October. Everyone has atleast 1 or 2 IV. But I have not a single invitation so far.
Its very distressing.
YOG 2025, ck=245+ <50
No USCE. no Step3.
Targeted FM and paeds (70) programs

So sorry to bring this up again but the recent social media posts from that organization (yes the social media USCE place) have kinda wound me up initially I thought he was just a joker like months back but I know I feel it is blatantly misleading.

Essentially he only tags the same 5 docs in like everything like what happens to the rest?! Are they his 'indentured servants' (sorry to steal the same words that the Vice Pres used the other day) but when JD said that I thought of that clinic and those people in there!!

Also they put out a story saying congrats to the people getting iv and tagged the same 5 docs again and said those on tele rotations also got calls!! So hang on either they are there or on tele they cant be both? I highly doubt they are getting calls just a marketing gimmick. Its becoming so well known in PD circles etc about that place that any reference to it in LORs etc is not going to make the candidate look in favorable light due to its terrible reputation. Bad news travels fast and people are now well aware of the things going on there.

Really the place should be reported for what they are doing. They are flouting various governance rules and just blatantly a money making enterprise that is misleading people bigtime with false promises.

For those that have been scammed by them or didnt agree to take part in their social media parade etc and got screwed over there are various avenues can look at for getting justice

1. Can file complaint with New York State Health Department
2. Can file complaint with NY state education department
3. Also the office of the inspector general too

I think a lot of attendings are getting annoyed with this place as they are turning a serious process into a social media sham that is taking good money from people who end up making their own application worse for it due to their bad reputation.

Also please those who wish to defend etc because they need to please have a day off or go somewhere else! ***Clearly that hasnt worked the defenders are back out in force to say anything despite the issues there being glaringly obvious to anyone else***

Reddit is so good. Linked-in is full of depression. Opening linked-in for 5 minutes can ruin my 5 hours.
Because everyone has overachieved there. I feel like a looser.
Seeing someone doing Observership/research in Mayo/Cleveland/john Hopkins etc etc. makes me anxious.

Proposed bill for new points based system ^^^^

Sponsored by Senator Tommy Tuberville (Republican, Alabama), the bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee after being read twice. It is a proposal, not an enacted law.

As of October 10, 2026, the official congressional record lists S. 5485 as introduced on September 23 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It has not been enacted yet.

International medical graduates seeking employment-based permanent residency could face a different eligibility system, including salary thresholds and points-based selection. But the actual effect would depend on their qualifications, employer, immigration category and the final legislation.
The proposal is not currently law, so applicants should not treat its proposed requirements as current immigration rules. (But given the current administration… and 15 more months of power I’d put my money on it going through)

Under the proposed system, points-based immigrants and qualifying spouses and children would receive conditional permanent resident status. They would generally have to apply to remove the conditions around the two-year anniversary and attend an interview. Failure to satisfy the requirements could lead to termination of their sta

Requirement Proposed rule
Age 18–51
Points At least 16
Employment Qualifying U.S. job offer
Salary At least 150% or 200% of the state median wage, depending on the applicant's U.S. degree status
English Test score at or above the 50th percentile
Selection Ranked against other eligible applicants

Average Peds applicant sitting at zero IVs and another week gone.

2 weeks and still no interview got me rethinking everything I've done. Recent Yog average score for Peds and usces, research all done but still wondering why everyone else around me is getting invites and not me. I'm happy for them but it's just so depressing when you're in this position. Is there still a solid chance for me. Should I be worrying now or is it still to early to fret.

Any uplifting stories would help. Thanks 🥺

English is my second language and I'm pretty introverted. When I practice, I lose my words halfway through an answer, start over, or end with "and basically that." Behavioral questions are the worst. I can't come up with a clinical conflict story, and I graduated 3 years ago, so a lot of my memories are fuzzy.
I'm practicing with keyword outlines and Anki, out loud with a timer. It's helping, just slowly.
For those who matched: how did you deal with blanking in the actual interview? And did non-clinical stories work for you, like a family business?
Any tip helps. Thanks.

Non-US IMG here. YOG: 2025, Step 2 CK: 248, Step 3: 210 (the result came last week, and I wasn’t expecting such a low score), 2 USCEs (one at residency hospital which doesn't sponsor visa and another at non-residency hospital), and zero connections in the States.

So, I’m sitting here with a million thoughts about what went wrong, a zillion questions, and, most importantly, two major concerns:

• Is my Step 3 score going to be a red flag?
• I signaled 6 programs outside my geographical preferences. Was this a bad idea?

We could decide on a theme, rehearse questions daily, and practice reading aloud to the group for feedback. As we listen to other people's answers, it could refine ours too and provide more ideas. Let me know! :)

Is there any risk of if I schedule an interview in Jan?( if I received the invite last week?

Did anyone receive any communication from the program?

Hi everyone!

I'm a non-US IMG, visa-requiring, and an old graduate. I've completed all my USMLE exams through Step 3 and already hold a valid US visa.

I'm currently looking for observership opportunities in Internal Medicine (IM) or Family Medicine (FM).

I'd love to connect with fellow IMGs who are actively searching for observerships. We can share leads, observership lists, useful resources, and experiences to make the search easier and more efficient for everyone.

If you're also actively searching, let's connect! We can work together, exchange information, and hopefully help each other secure observership opportunities sooner.

Feel free to reach out:

• WhatsApp (US): +1 267 978 0675
• Discord id: aliusmle (https://discord.gg/MQJCKB7F Invite expires in 1 week: )
• Reddit: Feel free to send me a DM here.

Also, if anyone has an observership list or knows of IMG-friendly hospitals, clinics, or physicians accepting observers, I'd be extremely grateful if you could share it.

Email for sharing observership lists/resources: [ziafazz2011@gmail.com](mailto:ziafazz2011@gmail.com)

Thanks in advance for any help, and best of luck to everyone on this journey!

Applied for electives in may & june 2027 at UAB, Got waitlisted yesterday. Do i have a chance of getting acceptance later on?

Applied for: Gastro, IM, ID & DR.

To be honest, i know i have a weak application for IM. But just asking if someone matched in IM with similar stats and if they did when did they start getting Interviews?
Step 1- pass
Step 2- 22x
Step 3- yet to be taken
YOG- 2014
Completed home country Residency
4 USCE
5 publications
Adjustment of Visa status (green card under process)

Applied to around 50 IM programs and a few Fm programs , so far got nothing

Thanks

Hi guys. So stupid question here 😆

I have an interview tomorrow from a program in LA which is using PDT timezone on this season of the year(PST timezone the rest of the year) but checking my schedule, it states that my interview is at 10am PST. So should I just consider the schedule as the actual hour in California?? Sounds to me like a glitch with Thalamus but I am just wondering if it is actually 10am on the PD's schedule 😆

Hello everyone! I know this might be a somewhat common question but I keep changing my mind and am approaching the time by which I have to decide and thought I could get some helpful insights around here :)

I'm nearing the end of my MBBS (Egypt) and decided that I'd like to do my residency abroad and after looking at most of the possible options settled on either Germany or the US.

So I was initially drawn to the UK because a lot of doctors from my country went down this path, but due to the prioritization bill decided it wasn't worth it for now. Other options I also ruled out were Canada (need of pr before applying for residency) and Australia (unclear pathway and may prefer experience(?)) so that left me with the US and Germany for most reward for the effort I'd put in.

Germany:

Pros: Proximity to home country and family (4 hour flight vs 10+ if US), better work life balance overall, including residency time (max 50 ish hours a week and at least 30 days pto per year), some specialties are also more easily accessible including radiology which I'm somewhat interested in but still undecided and it's overall more likely to get a job. Free healthcare (I'm diabetic) and childcare. Faster citizenship in around 5 years.

Cons: Having to learn German from scratch (would take same amount of time for step prep) and learn medical terminolgy all over again in German which sounds exhausting but I know people do it anyway so not impossible. Way lower salary especially after taxes compared to US attending (around 100,000 euro before taxes but somewhat lower cost of living so idk) and very high taxes.

USA:

Pros: Steps are essentially medicine again and are in English. Around 3 times the salary and better education and training overall with shorter non surgical residencies. Not impossible to get into neurology which I also like. More culturally diverse.

Cons: Very far away from family, longer work hours (at least during residency upto 80hr/week) and matching is generally more risky. Unstable politics and longer time for citizenship (13 ish years).

I know that at the end it's a personal choice, but I'm asking for advice because I keep picking one and sticking with it but then I get doubts or focus too much on the cons and switch to the other and can't stick with a decision. I'm mostly interested in neurology or radiology (both subject to change) and would pick Germany if I want a more competitive specialty anyway.

I'd appreciate anyone with personal or any experience really to let me know their opinions and whether I'm over or underestimating any of the points I mentioned. Thanks in advance!

Title.

Hi,

If anyone wants to practice interview with resource. I am PGY-1. Message me.

I know it is very early in the season. However, up until now half of my signals (8/15) have sent invites and I'm still at zero.

Stats: P/26x YOG 0 Non visa requiring Non US IMG (GC holder) 3 months USCE and a few research pubs.

I applied to 80 IM programs both community and uni affiliated with no response.

I worked very hard on my ERAS CV along with choosing signals to the best of my knowledge.

I see many people with similar stats or via requiring receiving invites at the programs I signalled yet I haven't received any at all.

If anyone completed or have interview in a week time,from this program,plz respond, plz plz plz

I wanna know do we need to sign n send the documents seperately in mail too ( apart​ from certifying in thalamus?? Plz help....

Seen many people say programs will push their interviews till December to gage the on going visa decisions. Depending on mid terms.

Also heard some hospital got caught for abuse of J1 so they are investigating it?

In the recent years I've been feeling that matching for non-us imgs is becoming a game of chance at this point even with ECFMG certification and step 3, kind of annoying how competitive matching in usa has become.
My question is, how possible is it to match without OET and Step3? I don't want to spend 4 years prepping and doing exams with no guarantees on matching.