International Training and Visas

• For general information on the process for certification by the American Board of Surgery, see About ABS Certification under For the Public.
• The American Board of Surgery does not offer reciprocity with certification in other countries. Surgeons who have completed some or all of their surgical training outside the U.S. and wish to become certified by the ABS must first enroll and complete training in an accredited U.S. or Canadian residency program.

Credit for Foreign Graduate Medical Education

• The ABS does not grant credit directly to residents for surgical education completed outside the U.S. or Canada. The ABS will consider granting partial credit for foreign graduate medical education to a resident enrolled in a U.S. ACGME-accredited general surgery or integrated vascular surgery residency program, but only upon request of the program director. Preliminary evaluations will not be provided before enrollment in a residency program, either to the resident or program director.
• The program director is the primary judge of the resident's proficiency. If a program director believes a resident to be a candidate for credit, the resident should be assigned to the PGY-2 or PGY-3 level when entering the program so the appropriate level of clinical skills can be assessed. Program directors should make the request for credit only after having observed the individual for at least six months.
• See the respective Credit for Foreign Graduate Medical Education Policy for general surgery or integrated vascular surgery for complete details, including all required documentation. The ABS only grants credit toward general surgery or integrated vascular surgery training.

Canadian Residents

• Surgeons who have completed all their training in Canada may apply for ABS certification upon completion of a residency program accredited by the RCPSC (RCSPC). Applicants must have completed all of the requirements in a program accredited by the RCSPC or in combination with a U.S. program accredited by the ACGME. No credit for postgraduate surgical education outside the U.S. and Canada will be granted to applicants who complete a Canadian program. Applicants from Canadian programs must comply with ABS requirements for certification.

International Rotations

• The ABS will accept in certain circumstances rotations outside the U.S. or Canada toward its general surgery or integrated vascular surgery residency training requirements. If program directors wish to credit training abroad toward ABS requirements, they must fully justify the reasons for it and receive ABS approval in advance. No such rotations will be permitted in the first (PGY-1) or last (PGY-5) year of residency training.
• To request approval for an international rotation, a letter should be mailed (no emails or faxes) to both the ABS and the RRC-Surgery. The letter must be co-signed by both the program director and the designated institutional official (DIO) and contain the information outlined in the International Rotation Policy (pdf).
• The program will receive separate approval letters; both must be received prior to implementation of the international rotation.

ECFMG Certificates

• A certificate issued by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) is required for ABS certification for all international medical graduates. The certificate must be valid indefinitely for all international medical graduates who complete an ACGME-accredited residency program. International medical graduates who complete a Canadian residency accredited by the RCSPC will have an ECFMG certificate with a "valid until" date. The valid until date must be after the date of application to the ABS.

J-1 Visas

• The U.S. Department of State has designated the ECFMG as the visa sponsor for all J-1 exchange visitor physicians who participate in clinical training programs. Applicants who are currently enrolled in a non-standard fellowship that is preapproved by the ECFMG do not need a letter of support from the ABS for a visa extension. (See www.ecfmg.org for a list of preapproved programs.) Applicants who have completed their training programs and require a visa extension to take an ABS examination may write the ABS with the specifics of their situation to obtain a letter of support.

  J-1 Visas for Research Fellowships
  To obtain ABS support for a J-1 visa applicant who wishes to complete a research fellowship, a formal written request must be submitted by the program director.

  Requests must be sent by mail (no emails or faxes) on official letterhead and cover the information outlined in the document below. Program directors will be notified of the decision by letter from the ABS executive director.

  Guidelines for Approval of Research Fellowships for J-1 Visa Applicants (pdf)

For questions regarding international training, please contact the ABS coordinator.