Home > Legal Articles > Immigration

Temporary Visas

A Selected Chapter From Immigration Made Simple,
An Easy to Read Guide to the U.S. Immigration Process
(5th Edition)

Barbara Brooks Kimmel and
Alan M. Lubiner, Immigration Attorney

January 2000

J-1. Exchange Visitor

J-1 visas are available to aliens who will be participating in an Exchange Visitor Program including experts, foreign students, industrial and business trainees, "international visitors", medical interns and residents, and scholars. Exchange Visitor Programs are approved and administered by the United States Department of State. Previously, the function was handled by the United States Information Agency (USIA).

The Exchange Visitor Program was developed, in part, to allow aliens to pursue education, training or research, or to teach in the U.S. Many large companies and educational institutions participate. Foreign medical graduates who wish to study further or train in the U.S. may want to first contact the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In recent years, the USIA has also approved several programs that are designed to enable au pairs to come to the U.S. to reside with American families for temporary periods.

Sponsors of J-1 programs can be:

  • An existing U.S. agency or organization
  • A recognized international agency or organization having U.S. membership and offices
  • A reputable organization that is a citizen of the United States. 

Citizen of the United States is defined as either:

  1.  An individual U.S. citizen
  2.  A partnership of which a majority of the partners are U.S. citizens
  3.  A corporation or other legal entity, which has its principal place of business in the United States, and either its shares are publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange or a majority of its officers, directors and shareholders are U.S. citizens. 
  4.  A non-profit legal entity in the U.S. which is qualified as tax-exempt, has its principal place of business in the U.S. and a majority of its officers and directors are U.S. citizens or 
  5.  An accredited college, university or other institution of higher learning created under U.S. law.

Foreign nationals who wish to apply for J-1 visas should proceed with caution, because many aliens must return to their home country for two years after they complete their stay in J-1 status. These include:

  1.  Individuals who receive any sort of government funding to participate in the J-1 program in the U.S. 
  2.  Aliens receiving graduate medical training in the U.S., such as residents and interns
  3.  Aliens who are nationals of a country in which a skills list exists.

The skills list indicates occupations for which the foreign country's local workers are in short supply. The Department of State has compiled this list in cooperation with each foreign government. For example, the Brazilian government may have concluded that not enough Brazilians are qualified engineers. Therefore, if a Brazilian citizen comes to the United States with a J-1 visa to pursue a course of study in engineering, he or she is required to return to Brazil for two years after completing the J-1 program in the U.S. This is known as the "two year foreign residence requirement." In some cases this two year requirement can be waived at the end of the program, but it is a difficult procedure, and with no guarantees of approval.

When the alien has been accepted into a J-1 program, the sponsoring organization will issue Form IAP-66- Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor J-1 Status to the foreign national. The visa application to the American Consulate consists of:

  •  Optional Form 156- Nonimmigrant Visa Application
  •  Passport photograph
  •  Form IAP-66
  •  Valid passport or travel document.

The J-1 visa is usually issued to coincide with the length of the J-1 program. Some J-1 visas can be renewed while others are limited to fixed periods of stay. Spouses and minor children are granted J-2 visas. They may accept employment by applying to the BCIS (formerly INS) for permission to work on Form I-765. Employment permission can be granted for up to four years, or the duration of the J-1's IAP-66/I-94, whichever is shorter.

<< Previous Page   Next Page >>

 
FREE Consultation:
1-800-788-0450