General outline
Welcome to the forums SusieC,
I will be typing my answer and linking the text to other threads and resources so that the answer does not get prolonged;
After finishing your
Step 1 and
Step 2 CK you have to pass the third exam which is
Step 2 CS. When you pass all three you will be
ECFMG certified.
The matching season starts on September 1st of every year (read
Match Timeline and
Residency Matching general info). It's recommended that you are ECFMG certified before start applying for a residency match.
If you can finish all these three exams before September 2011 then you might be able to apply for the 2011-2012 season and your residency starts in July 2012.
Many IMGs also fortify their profile with some kind of United States Clinical Experience (commonly shortened USCE) such an experience can in the form of
observerships,
externships, or
research.
Depending on the specialty that you are aiming at your scores ideally should be in the 90s and even above 95 if you are looking for a highly competitive specialties such as
surgical branches or
dermatology or
radiology.
I also recommend you carefully read the threads tagged with
Step-1-Starters
Please let me know if you have further queries after reading this and the related links.