J1 visa holder hoping to stay

[KurosawaSan 52]

I am working in Tampa with a high-tech (Forbes 500) company. Let me clarify a couple of things.

 

1. Are you a contractor or full-time employee? By definition, we never sponsor contractors for work visas or any immigration benefits - that is the responsibility of the company that handles contractors.

2. Do you have the two year residency requirement on your J-1? If you do, your employer cannot file for any immigration benefit until you actually either obtain a waiver for the requirement, or move back to finalize the requirement in your home country.

3. Can you transfer to an educational institution (e.g. a college) in the meantime? If you get F-1, have enough finances to pay for college and living, that might be another viable option, barring any emergencies or things you have not disclosed.

4. For _junior_ roles, we almost never sponsor immigration paperwork because it's way to expensive and it's for an employee that haven't really proven themselves yet (6 mo is definitely not enough for that).

 

GC is a green card and there is no direct process for it. As a junior developer, you will also face the hurdle of PERM - the labor certification, through which your employer needs to show that they (1) tried to hire an American worker for your position and (2) are paying you the prevailing wage. All in all, it will be a costly and long process.

 

Another option is marriage, so if you have a girlfriend who is willing to get married to you here, you might consider this. 

Edited February 13, 2017 by KurosawaSan

[NotLarry 2]

1 hour ago, manto10 said:

how do you stay on a j1 for 3 years i thought it could only last for 20 months?

 

sorry whats GC? 

 

thats my fear is the cost of a lawyer might put them off if i cant help pay its a smaller company 

 

thanks for all your responses1

GC is Green Card, but that's whole different ballgame from extending your J-1 visa. It's perfectly possible to extend your J-1, and even transfer employers in my experience. However, the J-1 program is rather complex and it depends what category you fall into, what work you're doing and what qualifications you have. I was able to extend for five years in my category but others have limits ranging from 1-7 years.

I'm afraid your employers are certainly going to see an immigration lawyer. But presumably they already saw one before you were hired, in order to apply for your J-1 visa and fill out your DS-2019 form. If that's the case, applying for an extension is a much less costly process (assuming you don't leave the US), since it only requires the renewal of the DS-2019, and not the whole visa. The visa doesn't need renewing until you want leave and then to re-enter the US.

[manto10 1]

Yeah I think the marriage one seems to be the only viable way of doing this, the system really isnt setup for a young guy trying to move here for a job, sadly.

[manto10 1]

10 minutes ago, NotLarry said:

GC is Green Card, but that's whole different ballgame from extending your J-1 visa. It's perfectly possible to extend your J-1, and even transfer employers in my experience. However, the J-1 program is rather complex and it depends what category you fall into, what work you're doing and what qualifications you have. I was able to extend for five years in my category but others have limits ranging from 1-7 years.

I'm afraid your employers are certainly going to see an immigration lawyer. But presumably they already saw one before you were hired, in order to apply for your J-1 visa and fill out your DS-2019 form. If that's the case, applying for an extension is a much less costly process (assuming you don't leave the US), since it only requires the renewal of the DS-2019, and not the whole visa. The visa doesn't need renewing until you want leave and then to re-enter the US.

You managed to stay on a J1 visa for 5 years? doesn't it limit you to only 20 months maximum at one company?

 

If thats the case all i need to do is renew the DS-2019 form and your saying it should be carry on for another 18 months..

 

When i did my paper work everything went through very well no issues, interview lasted about 5 mins that was it. I dont need to worry about the two return residency which is good!

[NotLarry 2]

Just now, manto10 said:

You managed to stay on a J1 visa for 5 years? doesn't it limit you to only 20 months maximum at one company?

 

If thats the case all i need to do is renew the DS-2019 form and your saying it should be carry on for another 18 months..

 

When i did my paper work everything went through very well no issues, interview lasted about 5 mins that was it. I dont need to worry about the two return residency which is good!

Depends entirely what you're doing as to how long you can renew it for: there are Doctors who stay for 7 years on a J-1, and camp counsellors who have to leave after four months on the same programme. Hence the need for some legal advice. But, assuming yr DS-2019 can be extended, it shouldn't break your employers' bank. Just promise them you won't go home for Christmas because renewing the J-1 as well is more expensive!

[KurosawaSan 52]

44 minutes ago, manto10 said:

Yeah I think the marriage one seems to be the only viable way of doing this, the system really isnt setup for a young guy trying to move here for a job, sadly.

That's an overly dramatic post. See the other post by me - there are options for highly-qualified individuals.

[manto10 1]

Haha yeah i stayed in america for christmas i havent been home since so not to upset immigration in any way. that sounds really interesting and hopefully promising if perhaps i can get in touch with a lawyer to see if theres a way of extending then fingers crossed it can be done before i have to leave.

 

massive thank you to everyone for your help this evening, its so overwhelming this stuff but thanks to people like yourselves it can make someone feel a little easier about everything! Thank you 

[Valor 131]

Sorry I don't know much about J1. But I work for an international company and we have some people who are here under J1. Some of them have been here for years.  Alternatively, if you want to avoid the lottery system from H1B, you can look for a non-profit organization or high education university/college. Those are exempt from it so you will definitely get your H1B as long as they sponsor you.  

[manto10 1]

10 hours ago, tbone1991 said:

Sorry I don't know much about J1. But I work for an international company and we have some people who are here under J1. Some of them have been here for years.  Alternatively, if you want to avoid the lottery system from H1B, you can look for a non-profit organization or high education university/college. Those are exempt from it so you will definitely get your H1B as long as they sponsor you.  

Thanks for replying everyone!

 

Im certainly more optimistic that people have managed to extend there J1's for a couple of years, I was under the impression from the guide given that J1's weren't easy to renew but perhaps there's ways around this. Im currently looking into consulting with an immigration lawyer to see where i can go from here. any advice on what to ask them? haha im learning every step i go on this

 

Thanks for all your help 

[JFH 12,189]

On 2/12/2017 at 9:42 PM, manto10 said:

 the system really isnt setup for a young guy trying to move here for a job, sadly.

Playing devil's advocate but why would it be? There are plenty of "young men" (and older men, young women, older women) born here who are looking for work. If you can find a way to stay then great. But the reality is that you may have to return home. That's just the way it is. Imagine you were applying for a job back home and you found out the company paid thousands to bring in someone from overseas to do the job you were perfectly capable of doing. You'd question their logic behind that!