J-Visa for the USA!

Johnnytwoshoes

oh ya it is expensive alright, but its for a year so its the only option unfortunately

armadillo86

Hi guys!

Have any of you ever used Cara International?

Just wondering how good/bad their service is and would anyone recommend them?

Cheers

alcon1984

lil_lisa wrote: »

You can go within one year of graduating. Either the summer visa or the year long visa. you will have to prove though that you have some reason to come back to Ireland, i.e a job lined up or something.

Just a quick question thats confusing me.

I finneshed college in May 09 (finnished my last exams) I Graduated in Oct 09 (The big Grad day, Got handed my degree etc)

So do I have untill May or Oct to be in America if I got the 1 yr visa????

Cheers

armadillo86

alcon1984 wrote: »

Just a quick question thats confusing me.

I finneshed college in May 09 (finnished my last exams) I Graduated in Oct 09 (The big Grad day, Got handed my degree etc)

So do I have untill May or Oct to be in America if I got the 1 yr visa????

Cheers

What date is printed on your actual degree that you received?

This is the date that they will go by.

alcon1984

Karbolt wrote: »

What date is printed on your actual degree that you received?

This is the date that they will go by.

09 Oct 2009.

That great so, I was thinking about heading for a year but though I had to go before May and had left it too late. If its Oct I might try give it a go.

Cheers

rachrua

does anyone know what type of visa i need to apply for if im not in college, i don't have 3rd level education but i did finish secondary school. I want to go to the states to work for a year but i cant seem to find which visa is the right one for me... I'll be in a position that if i can't get a job i'll still be able stay for a while if i wanted then just come home. Can anyone tell me which one i need and how do i get it?
thanks

lil_lisa

The only options available would be chancing your arm at the lottery or getting a employer to sponsor you a visa. You could always go over on the Visa Waiver Program (travel only) and look for a job and then come back and apply for the visa. However, unless you are in college, you require a sponsor and a pre-arranged job.

You can always head to Vegas

lil_lisa

Actually, also you can check out the Au-Pair visa, I'm not sure fully on the details but that looks quite handy. Everything is on dublin.usembassy.gov

shtory

I've been into USIT about the J visa and they say they go by the date of the certificate to tell when your eligible until. mine says June, but i graduated in November, but the said a letter from the college stating this will clear it up and you'll be eligible until November. I got the letter and i'll bring it in to them this week and hopefully that'll be that sorted.

I'm hoping to go over in September, to New York. Anyone else planning to go?

MEJ

yea im heading to NYC in Sept as well. Gonna stay in Hoboken though, bout 15 mins from Manhatten. Stayed there for my J1 and loved it. Close to the city but not crazy prices!

shtory

Hoboken looks good alright, I looked there for a while before i went last time. I was out in New Jersey a couple of times, went through Hoboken and Jersey City while on my way to the music festival in Liberty State Park, went to Giants Stadium aswell, with my USA 94 flag. That was a highlight.

avalon68

lil_lisa wrote: »

Well a J-1 is only for the summer.

This is incorrect - I have a J1 visa and Im here for 2 years! There are many categories of J1 visas

MEJ

shtory wrote: »

Hoboken looks good alright, I looked there for a while before i went last time. I was out in New Jersey a couple of times, went through Hoboken and Jersey City while on my way to the music festival in Liberty State Park, went to Giants Stadium aswell, with my USA 94 flag. That was a highlight.

yea hoboken is nice, there's a university there too so has a good night-life and a great live venue that has good bands. we managed to get our old apartment for a year, though knocked around 800 off what we paid when we had it for the J1 in 2007! good deal.

lil_lisa

avalon68 wrote: »

This is incorrect - I have a J1 visa and Im here for 2 years! There are many categories of J1 visas

I was responding to the previous poster who was talking about the summer work and travel visa, meaning its only 5 months long in comparison with the others. Can I ask how you managed to keep it for two years? Are you on the training J visa or still in college?

avalon68

lil_lisa wrote: »

Are you on the training J visa or still in college?

Neither. I work as a research scientist (within a university - but I am not a student). My visa is valid for 2 years and I can extend it for another after that if everything is going well

spideog7

avalon68 wrote: »

Neither. I work as a research scientist (within a university - but I am not a student). My visa is valid for 2 years and I can extend it for another after that if everything is going well

Research Scholar? I was meant to be moving to that visa but since I'm currently a J1 intern it turns out I'm ineligible for it

avalon68

spideog7 wrote: »

Research Scholar? I was meant to be moving to that visa but since I'm currently a J1 intern it turns out I'm ineligible for it

Yup, research scholar....thats the one

lil_lisa

Oh yeah, you have to stay out of the country for 12 months between those two, right?

spideog7

lil_lisa wrote: »

Oh yeah, you have to stay out of the country for 12 months between those two, right?

Yup

corkbai

Hi i am trying to decide which is a better sponsorship option for the one year visa, usit or IIC....i know usit's cost are follows from their website

• 12 months Work USA Programme Fee €699
• 12 months comprehensive Work & Travel Insurance €300
• SEVIS $180
• Flights - you must book your flights through any USIT branch or via the USIT call centre.
• Mandatory US Embassy Interview fee $131

and ICC are $650 Work USA Programme Fee ,SEVIS$180 and US Embassy $131...plus organise your own flights and insurance

sayit probably works out couple hundred euro more costy but just wondering from anyone who went with IIC, is there much work and effect to do or is usit better because they do all the application work for you?
i'm thinking you could get cheaper insurance and flights if organised yourself??be gratefull for any feedback thanks!

SolarCharge

I just got a visa with IIC and leave in 4 weeks. I would recommend them over USIT, Sayit or Go4Less any day.

They appreciate your business, allow much more flexibility, and don't rip you off.

shtory

What does IIC stand for?

JohnMearsheimer

shtory wrote: »

What does IIC stand for?

Irish Immigration Centre.

http://www.iicenter.org/services/J1-iwt.htm

lil_lisa

That's good. I tried getting one last year from them but they were having issues obtaining the DS2019 forms. They are linked to Sayit but they give a great deal over there. And its always good to work with a company who are actually based full time in the country to which you are going.

MEJ

thanks for the link for the IIC, it looks like a better option, especially because i dont want to book flights through usit. when i got my j1 with them my flights were around 600, way too steep

corkbai

SolarCharge wrote: »

I just got a visa with IIC and leave in 4 weeks. I would recommend them over USIT, Sayit or Go4Less any day.

They appreciate your business, allow much more flexibility, and don't rip you off.

solarcharge: im interested about your IIC application process experience and if its much work to do,i.e. from giving the documents to ICC and them issuing the DS 2019, wat are the next steps...
this option does sound better being able to find cheaper flights yourself and not going throu usits limited database of flights, but im presuming with usit you just pretty much apply wit d neccessary documents,do the embassy interview and good to go?

Hogie

Hey

Havnt posted in awhile. I went through the Boston IIC and I can tell you they are very good, i would have no hesitation in recommending them. Easy to deal with and you save a lot of money over the other crowd. As long as your paperwork is in order they leave you alone also.
But trust me you will need every penny if you are looking for a job out here at the moment. I got lucky but its still very tough

Corholio

It makes me a bit sad reading this thread now and how sparse it has become from the first announcement about this Visa. I used to check it every day because it looked a great opportunity. Unfortunately when the truth came out about it and how conditioned it was, it was a big disappointment.

Fair play to anyone in the US now under this visa, hope your having a great experience and well done for taking it up.

JohnMearsheimer

The Irish Immigration Centre seem to know what they are on about anyway. Last year I called into my local USIT and they told me I didn't qualify for the visa because I studied in the UK. I called in the Irish Immigration Centre in Boston when I was there and had a chat with Jude and Ann-Marie. They told me I was eligible for the programme and didn't fob me off like USIT. They were really nice and sat with me for an hour and went through the whole visa process.

Its a shame the visa is so restrictive with having to find a job related to your degree and only having 30 days to find one once you're there. You can look for a job before you go over which is what I did but my degree area is over run with interns that will work for free or college credit. I did get a job offer but they weren't willing to pay me. Off to Canada instead.

spideog7

You can also try IIP. I didn't come through them but got to know them while I was out here. If you are coming to Pittsburgh they will also do their best to help you out with finding jobs and such.

Also worth noting

And for bonus trivia points if you watch "She's Out of My League" the entrance to her apartment building is actually the entrance to the IIP's office building :P