A required wait to work again after completing a 1 year work visa?

[JaredLCo 5]

Hello all,

I was born & raised in Virginia. I met my fiance at a country club where she was doing a H2B Visa, from France. She finished up the 1 year work-visa, no problem, in September '09. She is now home in France. If we were thinking of getting married within the next year, what would be her options for work in the US? Is there an amount of time she has to wait before being able/eligible to work in the US again, after having finished a 1 year work-visa? How does a fiance visa work with just having finished a 1 year-work visa? Does it make a difference, or no? As an example, if we got married July '10, would she have to wait any certain period of time before working in the US again?

Thanks for all the input & help,

j

[rebeccajo 14]

http://faq.visapro.com/H2B-Visa-FAQ3.asp#Q1

[Old Dominion 26]

By law, USCIS must issue a work permit within 90 days after the application is filed. It can be filed as soon as you are married.

Having a prior work visa will not affect the fiance visa process.

[rebeccajo 14]

By law, USCIS must issue a work permit within 90 days after the application is filed. It can be filed as soon as you are married.

Having a prior work visa will not affect the fiance visa process.

Not an H2B.

A J1 might.

[andana_dj 0]

hello,

I was an H2B applicant myself and I would like to mention that a previous H2B visa will not affect your fiance visa process unless she broke her visa status while on H2B so she might have some delay with the future visa's approvals. For ex. is she overstayed in US after her work contract expired, or if she continued to work here even after her Employment authorization expired, in this case she must be worried, otherwise no reason to worry,just go ahead with the process and try prepare all your documents properly.

Good luck

[JaredLCo 5]

Thanks for all the input!!

What if this 1 year work-visa she had WAS a J-1? How much less probable is it for her to work in the US before the 2 years is up?

I've been looking around on http://www.visapro.com/J1/J1-Visa-Waiver.asp to find some answers, but if anyone has any direct info on my specific situation, it would be much appreciated.

How difficult is the J-1 waiver to obtain, if marriage is looming, etc.

Thanks again

[rebeccajo 14]

Thanks for all the input!!

What if this 1 year work-visa she had WAS a J-1? How much less probable is it for her to work in the US before the 2 years is up?

I've been looking around on http://www.visapro.com/J1/J1-Visa-Waiver.asp to find some answers, but if anyone has any direct info on my specific situation, it would be much appreciated.

How difficult is the J-1 waiver to obtain, if marriage is looming, etc.

Thanks again

What makes you think it could have been a J1?

Even if it were, not all J1's have the 2 year residency requirement.

And the waiver is nearly impossible to get. Well - it's not impossible but it takes so long to get that much of the residency requirement gets 'used up' before they get around to granting the waiver.

[JaredLCo 5]

It was a J1, I'm silly for not making sure before my original post, sorry for the confusion.

In which case is there a 2 year requirement? I'm really trying to figure a way to get her to work sooner rather than later, & if marriage or engagement helps, then fantastic.

[milimelo 4,736]

It was a J1, I'm silly for not making sure before my original post, sorry for the confusion.

In which case is there a 2 year requirement? I'm really trying to figure a way to get her to work sooner rather than later, & if marriage or engagement helps, then fantastic.

Tell her to look at her visa in the passport - in the notation section it will say: subject to 2 year residency requirement and then some numbers (per law). If there is nothing there, she doesn't have it.

[rebeccajo 14]

It was a J1, I'm silly for not making sure before my original post, sorry for the confusion.

In which case is there a 2 year requirement? I'm really trying to figure a way to get her to work sooner rather than later, & if marriage or engagement helps, then fantastic.

Tell her to look at her visa in the passport - in the notation section it will say: subject to 2 year residency requirement and then some numbers (per law). If there is nothing there, she doesn't have it.

That's not the only place to look.

The J1 entrant would have a Form DS-2019 that they also carry in the passport for admission to the US. The restriction may be noted there (that is where my husband's notation was).

There is anecdotal evidence in these forums of there being NO NOTATION OF ANY KIND on either of these documents.

My husband's DS-2019 was marked clearly that there was NO residency requirement.

Standard wisdom in this community has been to inquire of the consulate that issued the visa to be certain.

As an aside, most persons will not have a residency requirement unless their trip was in some way funded by their government.

Edited October 25, 2009 by rebeccajo