ScotsinAZ

Here's a good idea:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/502652-where-should-i-go/?p=7091069

That's a cracking idea. Thank you very much.

There are plenty of charitable and non-profit organizations that can't afford to hire enough staff to do all the work. They depend on many volunteers to accomplish their goals. You wouldn't be taking anybody's job in that kind of situation.

An example of a dodgy practice might be --Let me "volunteer" in your HR department with no pay until I get work authorized. Then you can pay me for those months after I have proper documentation.

Thanks again. No worries on that front - all I'll be after from that period is a couple of positive references so there's no attempt at that sort of deception.

The line you get in depends on the airport. I would say at most, visa holders are still considered visitors and don't go through the American line. Just look for signs or ask somebody.

All I-94s are created electronically now. There is no card at the airport. You can print out a paper I-94 off the internet. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94-instructions If you are traveling on a visa, you will have an online I-94 also.

Cheers Mate,

Much appreciated.

You may volunteer, but as a volunteer you may not do any job that someone might otherwise be paid to do. So, thread carefully :-)

Many thanks A'n'L,

Appreciate that. I'll certainly be very careful to avoid that pitfall.

Morning All,

We arrive in the US mid-July. My wife (J-1) starts her new job in early August but I need to apply for permission to work in the first instance so likely won't be able to start a job until October/November or thereabouts. Whilst spending a few months by the pool sounds like a grand plan, I'm keen to build a reasonable network and gather a few professional references in that time which will likely stand me in better stead with American employers.

I have volunteered some time in Scotland for the last four years for three different local charities and that's likely the kind of thing I'd be looking to do again in Arizona. With several weeks of essentially free time to play with, it seems the best use of that time. My question is whether this is even possible or whether it would breach anything on the visa in the States. Whilst I wouldn't be working as such (earning anyway), I imagine there might be insurance issues to overcome for the organization and there might be issues with taking away an opportunity for someone who could be employed and I'm keen not to cause any trouble!

My professional qualifications and experience are primarily in Human Resources Management (just completed the SHRM-SCP course and had my UK qualifications matched across to US equivalents) but I don't expect to find something in my field in this voluntary nature (although that would obviously be a preference). My intention is also to make contact with several employers during this time with a view to positioning myself appropriately in the lead up to me becoming eligible to work.

Many thanks for any guidance.

Morning All,

Having jumped through all the various hoops to get where we are, we're so looking forward to coming to America. We will arrive in Vegas and, I assume, not go to the normal customs queue. We think we remember the American queue also had a sign for "other visa" holders but we're not 100%. We've been told that my wife (on a J-1) will receive an I-94 card whilst I'll (J-2) get the normal I-94 stamp in my passport.

Is there a formal interview at this point for one or both of us (more so than is normally the case when entering on an ESTA)? Is it right that a card is issued to the J-1 holder?

Any information / experiences / guidance greatly appreciated.

Yes, you'll get the form back with your passport.

Thanks tbm,

Got everything back yesterday. Finally good to go!

Thanks for this!

I just got an email today from NVC that I'm in the queue for interview date. Is that case complete?

About how long did it take for the date to be scheduled, how far in advance was the interview and what about the medicals?

So sorry, I have so many questions as I'm just trying to find my way.

I'm going via F1 via my dad so I don't have any info.

Were there any UK threads you found particularly helpful?

Hi Damilolly,

Sorry I can't be of more help. We had everything handled by a specialist immigration attorney in London. He booked our visa appointment (we had options as early as two weeks away and as far as 3 months when booking). We don't require any medicals, I think that may be for more permanent emigrants. No-one yet has asked about our health as far as I can recall.

This site is full of knowledgeable and helpful folk. I'm sure anything you need clarified, you'll get here in one forum section or another. There is precious little about the processes, the requirements or the necessary steps from what I've found. That's why we chose to spend a bit more cash and go with a specialist lawyer. On reflection, I think we could well have done the whole thing ourselves but better safe than sorry.

Since the introduction of the SAVE system, it's been possible for people to apply for an SSN the day after entering the US. Here's a recent thread where people confirm that they or their fiancee did just that.

You won't receive the SSN on the day you apply for it. You'll be given a receipt showing that you've requested one, but you won't know the actual number until the card arrives in the mail. That typically takes about two weeks.

Don't be alarmed if the receipt mentions a much longer wait - when I updated my SS card last year, the receipt said it could take up to 60 days. That's just the SSA covering its butt so that people don't start phoning them because it's been 8 days and the card hasn't shown up yet. My replacement card arrived in a week, just as the woman who took my application said it would.

Thanks elf,

Much appreciated. That's exactly what we'll do. I'll have a crack at scheduling an appointment with the relevant office in Phoenix for the Monday and we'll go from there.

Cheers

Welcome to the forum.

Not sure what you mean about applying for an I-9. A USCIS Form I-9 is the responsibility of you and your employer to complete the Employment Eligibility Verification: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-9.pdf .

Sounds like you need to do some more reading while you are sunbathing by the pool this summer.

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Thanks for that - yes, plenty more reading to do. Cheers for linking the form.

Morning All,

Hopefully a quick and easy one. The US Embassy took our DS2019s and passports on Friday to process the J1/J2 visas. We know we get the passports back in a few days. Do we also get the DS-2019s alongside them as we obviously need to keep a close hold of those throughout our time in the US? We can request replacements if necessary from the sponsor organization.

Morning All,

We had our J-1/J-2 interview on Friday in London. Everything went well so we're now preparing for a life in the sun beginning 14 July 2016.

We arrive in Vegas where we plan to spend a few days before heading down to Phoenix. We have rental accommodation sorted for as long as we need it.

My questions relate to the priority aspects we need to address urgently and a couple we hope to tick off pretty quickly. Any information about necessary waiting times would be appreciated.

First and foremost is getting our SSNs - my wife (the J-1) has a job commencing 3 August. We plan on arranging an appointment with the local social security office on Monday, 18th July. Is this too soon after arriving in the country to attend that appointment? Is it possible to get the SSN on the day or is it a case of waiting for it to be processed and posted? The slight issue here is that her employer requires her SSN to get her onto the system and produce her contract (at present all we have is a letter of intent). We will be contacting both the school district and the social security office tomorrow to try to expedite this step as much as possible.

As a J-2, I'm aware that I can't apply for an I-9 until we land in the country. I need to investigate what forms and what evidence is needed to go for that as I want to be able to work as early as possible (although I'll enjoy having the whole summer by the pool!)

Morning All,

We had our appointment and interview on Friday at the Embassy in London. There are dozens of scare stories online about how aggressive and uncooperative the staff are at the Embassy. Our experience couldn't have been further away from those.

We had a 9am appointment. There were a couple of girls managing the queues and fast-tracking people with earlier appointments which worked well. Security was straightforward and the initial sorting window was a 2-minute exercise to sort the DS160s, DS-2019s, passports and photos as necessary.

We then went into the interview holding section where row after row were taken into the interview queue. Again, there was a girl managing that and directing people to specific interviews.

The interviewer was perfectly pleasant. She did ask about teaching in Arizona and the low pay but didn't need to see our bank statements we had brought to show it isn't an issue. We had a bit of confusion where my wife was talking high school education lingo in American terms, the interviewer was talking secondary education in English terms and neither related particularly well to my wife's experience as a secondary teacher in Scotland. We were done in five minutes whereupon we were confirmed and she wished us every success in Phoenix.

For anyone going, as long as you're prepared and have the correct paperwork (always better to take a packet with too much evidence of ties to the UK, bank statements, qualifications etc (though we didn't need any of it in the end up), it's more straightforward than we thought. In our two hours, we didn't see anyone have any issues at all.

As a tax professional, the J-1 expenses are not tax deductible. Those are personal expenses.

Go with the lone wolf at your peril. You'll pay for the audit, not him or her.

Thanks for the reply Aaron. I will do a bit more digging before deciding on a CPA then! Appreciate the information.

Morning,

As contradictory as the internet forums can be, it turns out CPAs are much the same. We have taken advice from 3 CPAs. 2 believe the sponsorship fee is categorically not a deductible expense whilst the other has had success in categorising it as deductible as long as it is directly linked (taken off the salary payment at source by the employer on a monthly basis). We will proceed with that road and that CPA in the hope that they are right but we're prepared for it not to be tax deductible.

Apologies for not finding a firm answer but I will update once we have run through the process in the hope that it helps someone else down the line.

There are so many exceptions to IRS rules that your own research will likely prove more fruitful. You get some crazy answers in these forums....often contradictory.

God love the internet! We have an appointment with a local CPA on the 4th of April so we'll see where we stand there. It may be of some use to someone down the line so I'll post our findings here. Appreciated.

Moving expenses are generally to keep your current job (in the U.S.) because you were forced to move and not reimbursed by your employer. It isn't because you chose to find a new job.

Off topic of your question, but why not apply for a spouse visa for her? Are you a U.S. citizen? The J1 seems expensive for a summer visit.

Hi Mate,

Sorry, my initial post wasn't clear. We are going across on a J-1 Teacher visa for 3 years. We are both UK citizens so I'll go across on a J-2. The IRS guidance documentation may well be overly vague if it is intended for that single purpose. Will see what I can find out when in Phoenix in the next fortnight and will report back to my own question. Cheers.

You should discuss the tax ramifications with a CPA, not an immigration forum.

Many thanks. We are obviously planning to do this but thought that others who have gone through the process may have had some insight or experience. Cheers

Afternoon All,

My wife is in the process of applying for a J-1 teacher visa to come across in the summer. The sponsor organization fees, initially quoted at $1,000 a year, have crept up and up over the course of the process and are now $6,000 per year. It would help no end if these were tax deductible and I'm hoping that they relate directly to "the production of income" test as the ability to work is directly linked to the sponsorship. I see that legal fees associated are not tax deductible but obviously not sure where the relationship starts and stops to production of income. We are on the verge now of having to pick a sponsor organisation.

We also see that a lot of moving expenses are tax deductive via publication 521 so that road definitely looks promising. Any help of advice on this specific matter would be superb. Just about to get waded into the other parts of this forum and the site. Wish I had found it months ago!

Thanks in advance for any guidance / suggestions.