IMGs IN CUBA : DEALING WITH MEDICAL CREDENTIALS VERIFICATION & ECFMG

When I was still in school, I was sooo into collecting stamps (philately, as the erudite might snicker at me with.. ) and stamps from Cuba were an exotic breed for me and my school peers. I have not met anyone personally from Cuba yet, but one generous and friendly lady from Cuba, Maria Isabel, MD, has been magnanimous to volunteer her experience about the vagaries of Medical Credentials verification and ECFMG for the benefit of Cuban IMGs planning Residency in the USA.


Here goes :


"For Cuban IMGs, everything is more than complicated. Regarding the Credential Verifications that ECFMG send to Cuba, every Medical School’s Dean sends the letters and the forms that they have received to an office named CONSULTORIA JURIDICA INTERNACIONAL (International Juridical Consultation for you to understand).

Cuba has several of these offices around the entire island. For those who studied in Havana the ECFMG send the request for verification to this address:


INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIENCIAS MEDICAS DE LA HAVANA ( that is my med school ..as you asked )

CALLE 146, NO. 2504,
./. 25 Y 31, CUBANACAN,
HAVANA 4
CUBA



There is the Medical School Dean’s Office and is a placed commonly know for every medical student in Havana as GIRON, because is also the place where we take our first year of medicine (after that we go to different Hospitals).

ECFMG doesn’t know that the Deans do not have permission to send by themselves the requested documentation because if Credential Verification is requested, it means that we are in the USA, and therefore we have to pay. Before 2005 ECFMG used to send the request with two forms named: 399 T and 399 D ( for Trancript and Diploma ) and the cost was 415 dollars including the delivery by DHL. BUT after 2005 ECFMG changed the forms and now they send only one form ( I don’t remember the name ) instead of the 399 t and 399 D, and Cuba also made son changes. Now after 2005 the will charge you 715 dollars instead of 415.And beside the delivery IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE, so it will cost 60 more dollars by DHL. It doesn’t matter that the request is the same in the previous and the actual form, they charge MORE.


The most important part is that you have to trust somebody in CUBA to send the money so that person can go to the “Consultoria Internacional” Office, ask for your name, to check if the request for verification is already there and pay. IF NOBODY PAYS they will put the request on hold and neither ECFMG nor the MD will received and explanation on what is going on. That was my problem, and that is why I know everything about the two different forms, and the prices and everything else.


My brother was in Cuba at the time, and he said to me: there are two request here, one from 2004 and one from 2005 The first one cost 415 dollars and include the delivery the other one is 715 + 60 for DHL…ask ECFMG if there is any difference between the two request. So I call and they very kindly explain to me the change, and that they had no idea that Cuba charge so much for that documents if they where basically requesting the same. They even inform me that it didn’t matter which form I pay, as long as they receive my verification. So of course I pay the 415 !!



To all this problems…you have to add, that for Cuba the money delivery is restricted to 300 every 3 months so if they charge 715 + 60 you have to send it on time…PLUS consider that this price will be charge in dollars, and that Cuba change your dollars in Cuban convertible money 100 $ = 80 cuban…Therefore we have to consider sending over 800 dollars..That takes us to the point that we can send only 300 every 3 months to a person. Of course, you can have a different person to send to someone else…but again you have to trust!!!


And all the verifications will arrive in Spanish so you will be requested to pay in OASIS for the translation.


That is it!!

- Maria, MD"


Thanks Maria !- very well written and many Cuban IMGs will be thankful to you, and besides you made my blog more valuable ;-) .

For further enquiries, Maria offers to help - write to her at ciap2211@hotmail.com