can this J-1 legally be extended/renewed?

[CluelessAmerican 0]

I posted last week about my girlfriend, a schoolteacher who has been in the US for two years on a J-1 visa. Her current visa is about to expire, but she wants to renew it for a year. She has a job offer in hand, but she's been told by the main contact at her exchange program she must go back to Mexico for a year before she can get another J-1. I'd like to know whether this is because they can't extend her visa for legal/regulatory reasons, or for some reason they won't. In the other thread, someone mentioned that sometimes once a J-1 visa expires, you have to return to your host country for a year before you can get another J-1. (This is unrelated to the 2-year home residency requirement.)

 

I have a copy of her DS-2019 form, which gives her program sponsor (California Department of Education) and program number (G-5-00301). There is a bit of information at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/me/il/exchangevisit.asp but it doesn't really cover whether or not the program can grant her another J-1 if they so choose. How can I figure this out?

[CluelessAmerican 0]

From reading https://j1visa.state.gov/participants/current/adjustments-and-extensions/ it looks like the extension should be allowed. The original J-1 was valid for 3 years (through June 2018). It was shortened when she informed her program that she'd be returning to Mexico. Then we started dating, and her plans changed. We just want a new J-1 that lasts to when her original J-1 would last. Is this a correct interpretation, that it should be legally allowed?

[Coco8 1,042]

I think it should be allowed. What does her DS2019 say? Does it have an end date? Did she get a new DS2019 when they cut down the time?

 

She should move fast. I think her host school can figure out how to change the date if the Mexican side does not want to do anything about that.

 

She should try to get the original June 2018 date back.

[CluelessAmerican 0]

Her original DS-2019, issued in 2015, has an end date of 2018. She did get a new DS-2019 with an end date of June 2017.

 

Her contact at the program has told her that the US and Mexican governments have already been notified about the shortened visa date, what's done is done, she can't get the original 2018 end date anymore, and that she'll have to go back to Mexico and wait a year. However, the person never said that this is because it's not legally allowed. The explanation really wasn't clear, and a month or two ago they were saying it could be possible.

 

Isn't this kind of strange, given that one school really wants her and several others have shown interest (but apparently stopped when they were told the visa wouldn't be renewed)? Why would they not be doing it?

[Coco8 1,042]

Maybe the time to do changes has past. On the DOS website it said that changes had to be done 3 months in advance, so since her visa is ending in 6 days or so, that is not possible anymore.