HarvardHopeful

Hi All,

I have applied competitively for a 10 month fellowship programme at Harvard University, Boston. My background is that I am a junior doctor, working in the UK.

It looks as though I have a good chance of being selected for the programme. However, after completing the interviews etc the issue is that the programme is unable to sponsor me for a visa.

I am a UK national. No criminal record, not overstayed my welcome at any time in USA etc.

Is this it? Am I unable to pursue the fellowship because the programme are unable to sponsor my visa or is there a way that I can gain entry to complete the programme?

I have a call with the course director this afternoon, hence the urgent nature of the question!

Thank you for your advice.

MrShine

They should be able to sponsor you for a J1 visa. As far as I know it's the only visa they can sponsor you for, but it's also exactly for something like this (professional training). I'm surprised the program doesn't have something in place for this already.

postbox134

Someone I knew who did medical school in Caribbean had a B1 visa to do residencies in the mainland US. Is that something they can look into? 10 months would be too long though...

HarvardHopeful

Hi there,

Unfortunately they are either unwilling or unable to offer sponsorship. Perhaps because this is a new programme?

The exact text is below:

Does HMS offer visa sponsorship for this position?

At this time, Harvard Medical School is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this position. TN visas are eligible since they do not require sponsorship.


I am unsure why they cannot offer visa sponsorship for the position.

Is it possible to self-sponsor, or is it likely that this is the end-of-the-road for this opportunity? Such a shame if so!

Thanks for the rapid replies and help.

civilservant

Without their sponsorship, it's the end of the road I'm afraid.

HarvardHopeful

Thank you.

Ah, that's disappointing, to say the least.

MrShine

Unfortunately no. This is sadly likely the end of the road. Self sponsorship is possible with a green card (permanent residence - years long and expensive process which you probably aren't applicable for anyway) but not work visas. It's ridiculous because the J1 visa program is specifically for this and is easy to run. Of course, to be 100% sure you should contact an attorney but I'm pretty confident there's nothing you can do here.

HarvardHopeful

Thank you. I will find out whether there is any scope at their end this afternoon. At least I know where I stand if this is not successful - I will contact an attorney to confirm.

postbox134

Bit strange they offered you a place without checking your citizenship etc. beforehand. Sounds like a waste of everybody's time.

Edit: Re-read your post - I guess they get enough applications from those in the US and Canada to not both with visa issues.

tht

While it won’t help the OP for this given the time and requirements involved, it is worth noting that you can “self sponsor” in some cases e.g. an EB1 - Extraordinary Ability - having a green card would let the OP participate in somthing like this.

HarvardHopeful

Thank you - I will ask about this.

scrubbedexpat099

EB2 is the one with the self sponsorship option

TN is for Canada and Mexico and not sure about the no sponsorship but it is much much simpler.

But then a J1 assuming applicable is not that complicated.

Sounds like the OP has not actually discussed this with them.

tht

As I noted this is very unlikely to be a viable route for you, especially in a short timeframe. As some context, I came with an employer sponsored visa and from the time of deciding I wanted to move here to being in the US on a visa was close to 10 years. Some do it much faster and for others it’s a much longer process.

christmasoompa

EB1 will take years though, so it's not going to help with this opportunity.

Seems odd that they've wasted everybody's time interviewing you etc, but if they're not prepared to sponsor you, there's nothing else you can do for now.

christmasoompa

EB2 NIW is, but EB1A is also self sponsored.

HTH.