It also takes a long time to become an MD in the US. 12+ years of college, medical school and residency.
If you want to become a physician in the US and don’t have half a million USD to spend on your education, your best strategy is to complete medical education in your own country. There’s a well-established path for foreign doctors to immigrate to the US. (The US gives green cards to foreign primary care physicians willing to work in areas of the country that are unpopular among American MDs.)
5 years after you become a permanent resident. Problem is, permanent resident visas are hard to come by. Your options are:
- marrying a US citizen and convincing US authorities that the marriage is 'real' and not just a ploy to get a permanent resident visa. that process usually takes more than 2 years.
- getting a college degree and then finding an employer who can prove that there are no Americans qualified to do the job you were offered (NOT easy - done most frequently in the tech industry for PhDs with specialized knowledge)
- qualifying for political asylum
- fitting into a narrowly defined category. for example, key witnesses in certain criminal trials may be offered a permanent resident visa. MDs willing to work in medically underserved areas of the country can self-petition for a permanent resident visa. things like that.