What are my options?

[gte 0]

Hi,

I have a girlfriend here in the US, with a J1 visa through an Au Pair company.

Her J1 expires on August 24th and then she has another month to travel, IF she can't find another host family. She wants to find a host family that is close, to be close to me.

What are my options if she cannot find a family that is close, but wants to stay in the US with me? (A fiance visa is not something we are considering yet, because we want to get to know each other a little better before making that commitment. )

Thank you!

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Hi,

I have a girlfriend here in the US, with a J1 visa through an Au Pair company.

Her J1 expires on August 24th and then she has another month to travel, IF she can't find another host family. She wants to find a host family that is close, to be close to me.

What are my options if she cannot find a family that is close, but wants to stay in the US with me? (A fiance visa is not something we are considering yet, because we want to get to know each other a little better before making that commitment. )

Thank you!

If your not marrying her (if she doesnt have a 2 year requirement), then sadly, she will have no choice but to return home.

She could try to convert over to a visitors visa or student visa, but not sure of all the things you would need to do - check this out.

[gte 0]

Thanks for the reply Bobby, you are correct, we are not getting married yet.

Can you tell me a few details about the 2 year requirement? Is that what a J1 waiver is?

*checking out your link now*

Hi,

I have a girlfriend here in the US, with a J1 visa through an Au Pair company.

Her J1 expires on August 24th and then she has another month to travel, IF she can't find another host family. She wants to find a host family that is close, to be close to me.

What are my options if she cannot find a family that is close, but wants to stay in the US with me? (A fiance visa is not something we are considering yet, because we want to get to know each other a little better before making that commitment. )

Thank you!

If your not marrying her (if she doesnt have a 2 year requirement), then sadly, she will have no choice but to return home.

She could try to convert over to a visitors visa or student visa, but not sure of all the things you would need to do - check this out.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Some visa's have a 2 year rule (means the person has to go back to their home country for 2 years before they can come back to the US (or AOS) )

You can get a waiver for it though - if it's applicable (usually says it on the visa)

[gte 0]

I will inspect her visa and see what it says, since we only have until the end of this month

All of these forms have me pretty confused, I'm hoping to figure out what all of this means. Is there a local non profit, or lawyer office that's recommended to make sense of this stuff?

Program Extension

The responsible officer has the discretion to extend a participant's program to its maximum regulatory duration, that is, to the limit imposed by the regulations specific to a program category or to a program sponsor's designation. A new Form DS-2019 reflecting the extension is issued to the participant.

Extensions beyond the maximum program duration are allowed in some program categories for exceptional or unusual circumstances, with approval from the Department of State. To obtain approval for such extensions, the responsible officer must submit a written request that justifies the petition and provides supporting documentation to the Department of State on behalf of the participant. A nonrefundable fee of $246 is payable to the U.S. Department of State. Participants are referred to their responsible officers for additional information. [22 CFR 62.43]

Change of Category

Any change of category must be clearly consistent with and closely related to the participant's original exchange objective, and necessary due to unusual or exceptional circumstances. Participants should address all inquiries regarding change of category to the responsible officer of their programs. The responsible officer submits a written request with supporting justification for the change to the Department of State on behalf of the participant. A nonrefundable fee of $246 is payable to the U.S. Department of State.

If the Department grants the request, the responsible officer issues a new Form DS-2019 that reflects the change. If the request is denied, the participant is expected to return home no later than 30 days from the date of the Department's notice or the program's end date indicated on the Form DS-2019, whichever is later. [22 CFR 62.41]

Transfer

The transfer of a participant from one program (sponsor) to another may be allowed at the discretion of the responsible officers and must be within the same category. The responsible officer of the program to which the participant seeks to transfer is required to verify the participant's visa status and eligibility, to issue a new Form DS-2019 reflecting the transfer, and to obtain the release of the participant from the current responsible officer, who indicates approval of the transfer by completing and signing block 8 of the new Form DS-2019. Transfers are not permitted in all categories, and a transfer does not extend the maximum duration of the program. Participants should address all inquiries regarding change of category to the responsible officer of their programs. [22 CFR 62.42]

Some visa's have a 2 year rule (means the person has to go back to their home country for 2 years before they can come back to the US (or AOS) )

You can get a waiver for it though - if it's applicable (usually says it on the visa)

[NickD 202]

When dealing with visa's your agency is the Department of State can try to make heads or tails of extensions at http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1296.html, I know of no attorney that works for free.

See Colombia is listed, wife was born there and her family lives there, but she went to Venezuela. Really all I can say as a USC with a US passport, all I had to do to go see her, was to buy a plane ticket and make sure my passport was in my pocket. For citizens of Colombia to come here, it's a far different story, took my mother-in-law over a year to get a visa to come visit us, had to show ownership of property, and income, to assure the DOS she was planning on going back after her visit, but was given an I-94 with 90 days, so she could extend her visit with us. Fortunately, my wife was working for a huge US company in Venezuela, dealt with the US consulate in Caracas, knew everyone there on a first name basis, had a high paying job, and owned property so she was able to get a tourist visa for both herself and her daughter in a matter of days. Thanks to Chavez, that company is just a skeleton of what it was, she probably wouldn't be working there today, practically of her friends were laid off. Almost makes you want to think, if it is meant to happen, everything will work out.

Your potential girl friend does not to overstay her visa, can really cause serious problems in the future if you do decide to get married. I am not even familiar with the J1 visa, so can't be of any help. USCIS deals with immigration. Sections of this board deal more with bringing family members, your spouse or you spouse to be to this country.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

moved from citizenship forum to general immigration forum

[SCFsnoopy 0]

Your potential girl friend does not to overstay her visa, can really cause serious problems in the future if you do decide to get married. I am not even familiar with the J1 visa, so can't be of any help. USCIS deals with immigration. Sections of this board deal more with bringing family members, your spouse or you spouse to be to this country.

Absolutely true! Do NOT let her overstay her visa, no matter how much you'll miss her!

The advice I was always given when I was on the J-1 was not to adjust it to any other type of visa (I was looking into converting to an F-1 so I could stay back and study). I don't think it is impossible to convert the J-1, just not advisable, although I'll admit I don't know why I was repeatedly advised not to.

A word of caution though - I left when my J-1 expired, so no overstay for me, but I came back to the US about 2 months later to stay for 87 days on the VWP. I was very nearly turned back at POE, and only my return ticket, a pending job offer on my return to Australia, and not being engaged at the time let me get through. They were extremely suspicious of me coming back so soon after such a long stay previously, and having a USC boyfriend did not help matters.

If she can go home, apply to some schools in the US and get accepted (I don't know if she can afford this, I couldn't) she could likely apply for an F-1 visa to come back and study (provided she doesn't have the 2 year requirement - PS, look at her visa, it will say in big capital on the bottom whether "212E" applies to her or not). If not, your choices are very limited and you will likely have to make a few trips to her home country in order to see each other.

Whatever you do, best of luck.

[NickD 202]

Isn't a J1 something about a foreign exchange student? Since the DOS uses just about every letter in the alphabet with different numbers after them, difficult to keep track of them all. My son got one for Japan for one year of study, I think it was a J1, found a girl friend, that happens, but Japan wasn't nice either, when his year was up, had to go back home, tough luck kind of thing. He finished college here and took him over a year to find a job over there to go back with some kind of work visa. After spending more time with his girl, they broke up. Got the feeling, the Japanese are a very racist group and the girls parents wanted her to marry one of their own. Stuff like that happens.

Was equally terrible in the military, meet the girl of you dreams, least you think you did, and they ship you out, we had to write letters back then, but after a couple of months, you get a Dear John. Went to college in the 70's, every girl I met there was weird to say the least with all that hippy stuff. But I met my mate seven years ago, helps to have a lot of money and be free to travel, took awhile, but happy now, but we still had the USCIS telling us what we can or cannot do and had to deal with the DOS as well. Hired one of the best immigration attorneys in the USA, and let him fight them.

You sure do not feel freedom when you have to deal with the US military, the DOS, and the USCIS, certainly not with the EPA, and definitely not with the IRS. But it sure helps to have money.

[gte 0]

Hey Nick,

Thanks for the link. I'm going to get a copy of her Visa and then try and help her fill it out.

She can extend her J1 with her au pair company for another year if she wants, so I think that seems like the best route for this right now. Her J1 is a cultural exchange/student visa, but not a full time F1 student visa

As for schooling, I can help her afford that if that turns out to be the best option.

After I fill out the 2 year waiver, what is the next step?

When dealing with visa's your agency is the Department of State can try to make heads or tails of extensions at http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1296.html, I know of no attorney that works for free.

See Colombia is listed, wife was born there and her family lives there, but she went to Venezuela. Really all I can say as a USC with a US passport, all I had to do to go see her, was to buy a plane ticket and make sure my passport was in my pocket. For citizens of Colombia to come here, it's a far different story, took my mother-in-law over a year to get a visa to come visit us, had to show ownership of property, and income, to assure the DOS she was planning on going back after her visit, but was given an I-94 with 90 days, so she could extend her visit with us. Fortunately, my wife was working for a huge US company in Venezuela, dealt with the US consulate in Caracas, knew everyone there on a first name basis, had a high paying job, and owned property so she was able to get a tourist visa for both herself and her daughter in a matter of days. Thanks to Chavez, that company is just a skeleton of what it was, she probably wouldn't be working there today, practically of her friends were laid off. Almost makes you want to think, if it is meant to happen, everything will work out.

Your potential girl friend does not to overstay her visa, can really cause serious problems in the future if you do decide to get married. I am not even familiar with the J1 visa, so can't be of any help. USCIS deals with immigration. Sections of this board deal more with bringing family members, your spouse or you spouse to be to this country.

[Old Dominion 26]

IF she gets the J1 extended for a year, then you are a step ahead. Perhaps the two of you will be serious enough that you will want to marry. If not, then your romance will continue at a distance.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Bad, bad idea to post that picture --- privacy concerns. Ask a mod to remove it.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Photo with private identifying information removed.

[gte 0]

Ok, we'll try this again

Does this mean she's ok for the initial waiver? This what's on her passport

[SCFsnoopy 0]

Ok, we'll try this again

Does this mean she's ok for the initial waiver? This what's on her passport

Yes, she is fine - she won't need a waiver. That's exactly what I had on my J-1 and the two year rule didn't apply to me.