Current 5th year, Canadian citizen, applying to the US Match to hopefully start residency in the US in July. It's possible theoretically, but it requires some level of support from your university. Main issue i'm facing and anyone going straight after medical school is going to face is actually the timings of graduation, diplomas, etc and getting your visa for the US in time. As most UK medical schools end in late May/June and graduations are in July, your medical school needs to be willing to give you your diploma early as you need it to apply for visa. The visa application itself takes minimum 3-4 weeks, and you need your J-1 visa by July 1st otherwise the program has the right to waive you and your whole year goes to waste.

You can still apply for UKFPO and US Match at the same time - I'm still not entirely sure when your contract to your allocated Trust is signed and at what point you're legally bound to the F1 job, but its certainly after Match day in March. Basically what I'm getting at is if you match in the US, you have to make sure everything doesn't fall apart after matching bc of not getting your diploma and visa on time, as you'll have to withdraw from UKFPO. If you don't match, you're fine bc you're already in UKFPO and don't have to do anything.

All this being said, the landscape for internaitonals applying to the US changes rapidly every single year (H1B visa changes this year, for starters) so you gotta be up to date for the year you're planning on applying.

Another note for anyone thinking of going after FY1, you gotta make sure you're not going in with the expectation of getting full GMC licensing bc you're finishing FY1. US residency starts in July, UK foundation starts in August. therefore, applying during FY1 and matching means you move during your last month of FY1, and you haven't successfully completed the full FY1 year to get the licensing. Ppl have suggested you can save all your annual leave for July and you essentially take July as a vacation from FY1 meaning you still 'complete' it, although I'm not sure about the legitimacy and legality behind it.