Visa dictionary

Today: J-1 Visa for exchange programs/internships in the US (part I)

Today, we will continue our visa series with a new category. As always, we will explain these topics in more detail and thus divide this chapter into three parts. Just a little request: we would like even more suggestions for which visa categories you would like us to discuss here. That's the only way we can shape our information offer according to your wishes!

In the first part we will discuss the definition and some general facts about he visa process for the J-1. In the next parts we will give you a little more detail and tell you about the J-1 for doctors and the so-called "2 years home residency requirement" and how to avoid it.

For your background information: the J-1 program has originally been created to promote better understanding between the US and other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges.

DEFINITION:

The J-1 Visa status is designed for people who are interested in a temporary stay in the US, on the basis of an exchange. Included within the category are different types of possible programs - trainees (please notice the difference to the H-3 Visa), students, professors or research assistants, non-academics specialized in a certain field, foreign doctors, international visitors, teachers, au pairs, and (summer) students in so-called work & travel programs.

Important (especially for the visa application!). These programs have to authorized by the US State Department, i.e. the provider has to have the appropriate registration. TIP: This is especially important in case you are searching for you internship yourself, e.g. in a small company.

The J-1 Visa holder must have good or very good English skills (which apparently never checked by the US consulate), sufficient financial means and valid health insurance.

PROCESS:

If you wish to apply for the J-1 Visa, you will first of all have to obtain the application form IAP-66 from the program provider, who has to be registered accordingly, as mentioned above. In other words - the form is not freely available, e.g. downloadable on the INS website. Furthermore, the forms are numbered. Upon admission into the US the length of your stay (D/S)will be noted on your I-94 card. Please note that visa validity is not the same as duration of stay.

This will always state the length of the program plus 30 days, e.g. to take a trip around the US afterwards. Here is the maximum length for the individual programs:

- "Post-Secondary Student:" the necessary time until graduation plus 18 months practical training
- "Post-Doctoral Degree:" the necessary time until graduation plus 36 months practical training
- "Training; Business / Industrial Trainees:" 18 months
- "Professors, Scholars:" maximum 3 years, extension for 3 more years only possible under exceptional circumstances
- "Short-term Scholars:" 4 months
- Flight school: 24 months
- Summer Work & Travel: 4 months, for an extension the applicant must obtain a new IAP-66 from the program provider in the US, form I-539 is not required.

Unfortunately, some J-1 Visa holders must spend two years outside the US after the end of their stay and cannot re-enter the US on certain visas for that period. As already mentioned we will inform you about this "2 year home residency requirement" in our next newsletter. Exceptions are only made for those people who have successfully applied for a "Waiver." If the so-called HRR applies to you, you also cannot change or adjust your visa status (e.g. to a work visa or an immigration visa), not unless you get a Waiver. One of the groups that the HRR applies to in any case are doctors. More about this in our next newsletter.

If you have any further questions about this, best use the contact form on our homepage.