Hi Melanie,

Canadians, like any other intending immigrants, need a valid status in order to be in the U.S., so the short answer is yes. A physician performing full time clinical work in the U.S. may choose H-1B or O-1 status for example. Locums work also necessitates a status, such as H-1B, O-1, H-2B, etc.

Perhaps your main question is whether you will need a J-1 waiver. I get this question frequently from Canadian physicians. The interesting twist is that Canadian physicians may receive H-1B status without a J-1 waiver and may satisfy the two-year home residence requirement by living in Canada for two years even while they work in the U.S. As you may imagine, this approach has limited application, because the physician would have to work close to the U.S./Canada border in order to bear the commute.

For more information, please see the article I wrote on this subject. I have included the link below.

www.visalaw.com/healthcare-newsletter-summer-2015-sleeping-in-canada-and-other-strategies-for-the-canadian-j-1-physician/