We try to get out as much information as possible to help you in your job search.  As a physician on a J1 it can be very difficult and sometimes daunting.  We have given examples of real life experiences so our readers can see maybe a different perspective and hopefully can learn and be helped by it.

Here is a a situation that happened very recently.  We had a J1 Internal Medicine candidate show interest in a Hospitalist job in a major city that we were representing.  He stated that he was available in August or September of this year, and we immediatly sent him a candidate profile to fill out.  We wanted to see if he could be a good match. 

He also sent his CV.  On the CV it was stated that in late in 2009 he was going to start a fellowship.  We asked him to clarify this.  He wrote back saying that he was starting a fellowship but needed a job from this August until next June.

We wrote back and said that it was impossible.  He could not get a waiver if he wasnt willing to sign AND fulfill a 3 year contract and that he could not work on a J1 visa.  He wrote back and here is his reply:

“I already have two offers and I dont think you know what you are talking about.”

Please remember, an offer or even a contract is NOT a waiver, it is NOT a change in visa status and it is NOT anything but a piece of paper with a  job description on it.  He cannot work as a J1.  If he signs a contract for 3 years, knowing that he will break it in 12 months, then he is just dishonest and has a lack of character (also, any credit for working in an underserved area will not be counted.)

Chances are that the facility does not even know his visa status yet, and they might not find out until the final steps of trying to hire him.  And then any potential deal will fall apart.  Why?  Because of his dishonesty.

Please Please Please remember:  A contract is only good if it will lead to a waiver.  If it does not, it is just a piece of paper. 

And being rude to us in his email just means that we would never work with this guy EVER.  We also get calls from many facilities and ask about candidates, even if they have not been presented by us.  We would never recommend this candidate for any opportunity anywhere.  And we also realize that if he was rude to us, he is probably just a rude individual that is rude to many people.  And those type of people dont get far in life and will find it difficult to work in a team environment.

We contemplated for quite awhile on how we should respond.  Should we set him straight?  Should we quote chapter and verse both immigration law and the US State Department and the USCIS guidelines?  Should we just be rude back?

We decided against all of those things and here is our reply:

“Congratulations on your offers and good luck in the future.”

We think he will need all the luck he can get.