Dear Ophthal,

While it is relatively easy (albeit expensive) to get into and finish
an MPH or an MBA program, the intrinsic value of these letters is very
limited.

I know many Indians (and other Asians) who've gone on to get their MBAs
at lesser known schools and left the US not being able to secure a job.

MBA programs won't make your career (except perhaps the top schools,
but those generally expect you to be already somewhat establihed when
you apply), and MPH programs are .... Well, I don't want to deride them
too much.

My question for you is: what do you want from your career? Do you want
money, job security, an intellecually satisfying field or a cushy lab
job?

I'm sure you understand that you're at a tremendous disadvantage,
especially if opting for the more lucrative options, and that you're
old enough that you're no longer flexible about what interests you.
There are options, however, some of them creative, but they require
flexibility and an open mind.

But to reiterate:

An MPH will give you nothing.
An MBA may help you get somewhere, but only if you already have some
contacts in the business world, and if you're a quick learner willing
to waste half a decade to get started.

I believe your best bet as far as opth may be to get into a decent MPH
or PhD program affiliated with a hospital in order to get a working
visa, secure a place in an opth (or other) laboratory, and churn out
some solid papers for a few years. After that you could choose to
finish the grad program or apply to the hopefully now-friendly
residency program(s) with good local recomendations from tenured
faculty who like you enough to not want to see you slaving away at
their lab.

Of course you could always retrain for internal medicine. Maybe.
You should know I'm not an optimist.
I hope this helps.

Keep in touch,
Joseph