Non-US IMGs who matched after a Step 2 CK failure — please share your experience

Hey everyone. I’m a non-US IMG from India, YOG 2020 (6 years out), and I recently failed Step 2 CK on my first attempt.

I’m trying to make a very difficult decision about whether to give the US residency path one more serious attempt or move on, and I would really value hearing from people who have actually been through something similar.

If you are a non-US IMG who:

had a Step 2 CK failure/USMLE attempt
had an older YOG (5+ years, ideally)
and eventually matched into a US residency
I would be extremely grateful if you could share your experience.

I’m especially interested in:
What did you do after the failure?
How did you strengthen your application?
Did you take Step 3?
How much USCE/research did you have?
Did you need a visa?
What specialty did you match into?
How many cycles did it take?

I’m not looking for false hope or discouragement — I’m genuinely trying to understand what is realistically possible for someone with my profile before I decide whether to invest another year and a significant amount of money into this.

Even if you know someone personally who matched after a Step 2 attempt, I’d really appreciate hearing about their experience (without sharing anything identifying).

Thank you so much