Work Visa Immigration Stories

J1 Work Visa

The J1 visa is a non-immigrant "exchange" visa. These visas are commonly used by students at all academic levels, research scholars and professional trainees in the medical and allied fields. In many cases, recipients of the J1 visa must return to their own country for 2 years following the expiration of their visa before being allowed to apply for an immigrant visa. However, I have yet to come across another Australian postdoctoral fellow on a J1 visa who was restricted by this rule. I have come across postdocs from other countries (ie Spain), who were initially restricted by this rule, but who were able to apply for and obtain a waiver from their governments and were subsequently allowed to stay on in the USA.

For me, the process of obtaining the J1 visa was simple. My sponsoring academic institution in the USA organized all of the appropriate paperwork. I took it to the US consulate in Melbourne and had my visa issued with a few days. The J2 visa is the spouse visa. People who enter the USA on a J2 visa are told they cannot work. However, this is not strictly true. A J2 visa holder can apply for a work permit once in the USA. A letter must accompany the application stating the reasons why the J2 recipient should be allowed to work. This needs to be a carefully worded letter stating that the income of the J1 recipient is sufficient to support the J2 recipient. Reasons for the J2 visa holder to want to work might be to enable that person to continue to maintain their professional skills.

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