Venezuelan Family with J1/J2 Visas

[Sarah and Aris 0]

Hello,

I have a question about a Venezuelan family who lives in my town and are very close to me.

They are a family of 4 and the husband arrived on a J1 to do his PhD. His wife later arrived on a J2 and finished her Masters Degree. They have two children who also are on J2.

The husband is close to finishing his PhD and they are trying to weigh out their options. Venezuela is not in the best of states right now and are fearful of having to return because of violence, etc., but obviously do not think of doing anything illegal. The wife currently is working at the university.

What kind of options do they have? The wife has also been playing with the idea of doing a PhD.

Thank you for your opinions.

[English Muffin 59]

Moving to General Immigration forum.

[rika60607 215]

When you are doing PhD program, you would usually be on F1 visa (student visa).

If he is on J1, that is a work visa that requires that he goes back to his home country to share the knowledge and skills he learned in the US. There may be a way to waive this requirement.

If wife is working at a university - what is her visa status?

Wife can go to grad school and get F-1 visa or work on H-1 visa. May be possible for the wife to get J-1 and for him to get J-2 as dependent - that way they still may be both eligible for work.

Hello,

I have a question about a Venezuelan family who lives in my town and are very close to me.

They are a family of 4 and the husband arrived on a J1 to do his PhD. His wife later arrived on a J2 and finished her Masters Degree. They have two children who also are on J2.

The husband is close to finishing his PhD and they are trying to weigh out their options. Venezuela is not in the best of states right now and are fearful of having to return because of violence, etc., but obviously do not think of doing anything illegal. The wife currently is working at the university.

What kind of options do they have? The wife has also been playing with the idea of doing a PhD.

Thank you for your opinions.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Hello,

I have a question about a Venezuelan family who lives in my town and are very close to me.

They are a family of 4 and the husband arrived on a J1 to do his PhD. His wife later arrived on a J2 and finished her Masters Degree. They have two children who also are on J2.

The husband is close to finishing his PhD and they are trying to weigh out their options. Venezuela is not in the best of states right now and are fearful of having to return because of violence, etc., but obviously do not think of doing anything illegal. The wife currently is working at the university.

What kind of options do they have? The wife has also been playing with the idea of doing a PhD.

Thank you for your opinions.

They first need to check if his J-1 has the two year residency requirement. Coming from Venezuela, he may have gotten a J-1 because the Venezuelan government gave him a scholarship. Otherwise, he would have gotten an F-1.

If he has the two year requirement, he still has the option of an 18-month practical training (may be 12 months only, so he has to check with USCIS). This time is enough to find a job and prove his value to a future sponsor of an H-1 visa. Another option is to have enough money saved, or have friends or family that can help him with money.

Why?

The ONLY way to wave the two-year J-1 requirement is by paying back the government of Venezuela in one lump sum. The waiver has to be fully processed and approved before he can get any other visa. I believe that the two-year ban applies even if his wife stays to complete a PhD (not sure about this). Other than visit (with a B-2 visa), he cannot return to the USA for two years after the J-1 program finishes (including the practical training).

If he does not have the two-year requirement (if he paid the PhD himself, which I highly doubt), the foregoing does not apply and he should try to find a job quickly, to fulfill the practical training and start processing an H-1 as soon as possible, so he gets it before the training ends.

One more thing. There is a very limited window between the end of the formal program (graduation) and the time he needs to be working. If he does not find a job (for practical training purposes) within such window, he must immediately leave the USA or risk a ban because he will be deemed an illegal, regardless of the status of the wife.

His passport should say if the two-year residency requirement applies. If it does, he is pretty much screwed, unless he wins the lottery and can pay back all the money (some times they ask for DOUBLE the money) that he received during the time he spent with the J-1 visa. This is a good example of the saying: "Money Talks."

He should start finding a job NOW. That will give him at least 12 months to figure out how to get out of the residency requirement. Besides, it may not be easy to find a job in this economic environment. Therefore, if he waits till the last minute, he may fall outside the allowed window and he may be returned home sooner than expected.

[Sarah and Aris 0]

They first need to check if his J-1 has the two year residency requirement. Coming from Venezuela, he may have gotten a J-1 because the Venezuelan government gave him a scholarship. Otherwise, he would have gotten an F-1.

If he has the two year requirement, he still has the option of an 18-month practical training (may be 12 months only, so he has to check with USCIS). This time is enough to find a job and prove his value to a future sponsor of an H-1 visa. Another option is to have enough money saved, or have friends or family that can help him with money.

Why?

The ONLY way to wave the two-year J-1 requirement is by paying back the government of Venezuela in one lump sum. The waiver has to be fully processed and approved before he can get any other visa. I believe that the two-year ban applies even if his wife stays to complete a PhD (not sure about this). Other than visit (with a B-2 visa), he cannot return to the USA for two years after the J-1 program finishes (including the practical training).

If he does not have the two-year requirement (if he paid the PhD himself, which I highly doubt), the foregoing does not apply and he should try to find a job quickly, to fulfill the practical training and start processing an H-1 as soon as possible, so he gets it before the training ends.

One more thing. There is a very limited window between the end of the formal program (graduation) and the time he needs to be working. If he does not find a job (for practical training purposes) within such window, he must immediately leave the USA or risk a ban because he will be deemed an illegal, regardless of the status of the wife.

His passport should say if the two-year residency requirement applies. If it does, he is pretty much screwed, unless he wins the lottery and can pay back all the money (some times they ask for DOUBLE the money) that he received during the time he spent with the J-1 visa. This is a good example of the saying: "Money Talks."

He should start finding a job NOW. That will give him at least 12 months to figure out how to get out of the residency requirement. Besides, it may not be easy to find a job in this economic environment. Therefore, if he waits till the last minute, he may fall outside the allowed window and he may be returned home sooner than expected.

Thank you so much, this is extremely helpful.

I just talked to the husband to investigate more about the 2-year thing and I guess he had won a Fulbright Scholarship...I doubt there is any way to "pay back" an organization like that...his visa does have the two-year requirement. So, realistically, i think the answer is that they would have to go back...

or at least he would? Or I wonder if both the J1 and J2 holder have the same restriction...

When you are doing PhD program, you would usually be on F1 visa (student visa).

If he is on J1, that is a work visa that requires that he goes back to his home country to share the knowledge and skills he learned in the US. There may be a way to waive this requirement.

If wife is working at a university - what is her visa status?

Wife can go to grad school and get F-1 visa or work on H-1 visa. May be possible for the wife to get J-1 and for him to get J-2 as dependent - that way they still may be both eligible for work.

And if the wife were to "adjust" to a F1 or H1? She currently works at a University (on a J2) and is under contract...would that be possible? Even if the husband returned to complete the 2 year requirement...

The state of Venezuela aside, their children are very attached to their friends and schools and lifestyles and they are basically looking for a way to not uproot them...

Thanks again, extremely helpful...