J-Visa for the USA!

rtom

I would like to give everyone an update on my own experiences with this visa, I checked out this thread regularly when applying for my own visa so its only fair that I give something back.

I officially graduated from college with a masters degree in December 2008, but was actually very lucky to secure a job when I finished my final exams in June. As I was on a 1 year contract in work I decided to apply for jobs elsewhere - mainly the UK & US. I was visiting the US in March 2009 and was lucky enough to have a job interview lined up before I went over. Anyway I did the interview and was offered the job pending me getting this 1 year visa. I had made it clear in my application letter that I would take care of all the visa issues and that the company had nothing to worry about on this front. This is important as when companies see you need a visa they will more than likely disregard your application.

When I returned from the US I applied for the visa immediately through the Irish Immigration Center (IIC). Great people to work with, very helpful and significantly cheaper than USIT/SAYIT etc. Also, you have a lot more freedom with regard to flights etc if you go with the IIC.

After about 6 weeks I got my visa and booked my flights to the States, Boston to be exact. I was lucky in that I had spent a summer in Boston while at college and had a lot of contacts/friends here. I finished up work in Dublin on June 30 and arrived in Boston on July 7, 2009, started work the next day. Hairy enough few weeks as I had no car, social security number etc but I have to say my new company were great. I put the head down and worked very hard for the next few months.

In January of this year my company asked me would I consider staying on with them after my visa expired. Of course I said yes and was relived that they agreed to sponsor me for a H1B visa, which has dual intent meaning you can apply for the green card anytime after getting the H1b visa. My change of status application from the initial J1 visa to H1B was approved last week so I now have a full time state job, full medical and dental benefits, drive a car I could have never afforded in Ireland and have an unbelievable quality of life over here. The best thing is that I have work authorization for the next 3.5 years and can apply for the green card whenever I want which is the first step to becoming a U.S. citizen. I also got promoted in work which I would find it hard to imagine happening in Ireland this soon out of college. I have to say if you are willing to work hard over here and have a bit of cop on you will be laughing.

I would encourage anyone thinking of applying for this visa to try and have interviews/jobs lined up before coming over. Makes it so much easier. Go with the IIC, as I said they are great and way cheaper. Even if you don't have interviews/jobs lined up, give it a go. What have you got to loose? If everything doesn't work out at least you will of had a go and gained valuable experience from it.

Best of luck to anyone applying. I know you will have heard this a million times but being Irish is a huge advantage in the north-east of the US. As soon as I open my mouth in meetings etc the amount of goodwill I get is amazing!

lil_lisa

Great post rtom. Congratulations on all your success. May I ask, did you apply for the H1B or just a change of status?

I tried to get my 1 year visa with IIC also but they were so booked up at the time they sent me to SAYIT who helped me get the visa in two weeks. Worth every cent more for the speed.

rtom

With the H1B visa change of status is included in this application, so by filling form I-129 Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker, you can select that the application type is requesting a change of status along with the H1B petition.

Hope this helps!

lonestargirl

lil_lisa wrote: »

Great post rtom. Congratulations on all your success. May I ask, did you apply for the H1B or just a change of status?

Actual visa stamps are not issued from within the US, you change status to H1B and then the next time you leave the country you need to go to an embassy and get the visa put in your passport. Remember a visa is only an entry document, expired visa is not the same as expired status.

ROTM, great to hear that you got sponsored and that all the paperwork etc went reasonably smoothly. May I ask what industry you are in? I know you say you can apply for a GC 'whenever you want', the petition does have to be submitted by the company not by the individual.

rtom

Lonestargirl: Yes, I probably should have made that clearer but I did not want to get into the technicalities of the US immigration system. To qualify for a green card I would have to go down the route of an employment sponsored green card where the company would again act as my sponsor in the same way that they did for my H1B application. However, this is really beside the point. The purpose of my original post was to let people know that the 12 month J1 Visa has the potential to be a major stepping stone and open up a lot of doors for people.

Before people jump down my throat on this point I would like to say that I know one of the main requirements of the J visa is that you are expected to return home after your authorized stay is up, but plans can change and if you do everything legally and above board you don’t know how things will work out.

I work in the engineering/land-use/transportation industry

lonestargirl

rtom wrote: »

Lonestargirl: Yes, I probably should have made that clearer but I did not want to get into the technicalities of the US immigration system. To qualify for a green card I would have to go down the route of an employment sponsored green card where the company would again act as my sponsor in the same way that they did for my H1B application. However, this is really beside the point. The purpose of my original post was to let people know that the 12 month J1 Visa has the potential to be a major stepping stone and open up a lot of doors for people.

Sorry, didn't mean to be nitpicking. It's obvious you know the system well it's just that others might read it an assume they can apply for a GC themselves. I agree that the 12 month J1 is a brillant visa for establishing your credentials in the US, an employer essentially has a year's 'trial' before the have to do any paperwork on your behalf.

rtom wrote: »

Before people jump down my throat on this point I would like to say that I know one of the main requirements of the J visa is that you are expected to return home after your authorized stay is up, but plans can change and if you do everything legally and above board you don’t know how things will work out.

You moved from a non-immigrant visa to an immigrant visa, people do it all the time. Just be thankful that your J1 didn't come with the 2-year home resident rule like mine

MEJ

thanks for sharing your experience rtom and congrats for everything you've achieved over there.
im not heading until sept but it gives me more hope knowing you've succeeded so well

Harpy

Hey just a quick question, anyone that has gotten their visa through the IIC in boston what was a certified copy of yer degre??? does a photocopy of your parchment do like it does for usit it or do you need something more certified??

Thanks!

lil_lisa

Usually when they say certified, they mean a photocopy stamped by the college. Call them and ask them if just a photocopy will do though!

Harpy

Charliel1 wrote: »

I live in New York and I am researching the undocumented Irish living in the US for a documentary. If you have a story to tell about living illegally in the US, I would love to hear from you.

you have any jobs goin??:D

Most people in here are going over on the graduate visa so i think you'll get many who are living illegaly in america.

MEJ

did everyone see the article in the irish times supplement on saturday saying that embassy fees will rise up to 200% if you apply after June 4th! that certainly wont encourage people to go for the visa.

SolarCharge

DO NOT TRAVEL WITH THE I.I.C.

I am going with them and they have given me bad advice the whole way through. I am now in a situation where I have to rebook my flights to the US because I have not gotten my passport back. The I.I.C. should not have told me to book my flights before my embassy interview.

MEJ

I was about to book with them this week! Do you think Id be better off with usit?

SolarCharge wrote: »

DO NOT TRAVEL WITH THE I.I.C.

I am going with them and they have given me bad advice the whole way through. I am now in a situation where I have to rebook my flights to the US because I have not gotten my passport back. The I.I.C. should not have told me to book my flights before my embassy interview.

emeraldstar

lonestargirl wrote: »

You moved from a non-immigrant visa to an immigrant visa, people do it all the time. Just be thankful that your J1 didn't come with the 2-year home resident rule like mine

How do you mean 'your' visa - was yours a different one to rtom?

lonestargirl

emeraldstar wrote: »

How do you mean 'your' visa - was yours a different one to rtom?

Yes, alien physician J1 for my husband, I'm a J2. Some scholar J1s also come with this requirement, it all depends on who is paying you. If it's the government this rule is likely to apply.

lil_lisa

MEJ wrote: »

I was about to book with them this week! Do you think Id be better off with usit?

USIT sometimes try to get people to book their flights before you have your visa too, its never a necessity, its actually a bad idea to do that because you are never guaranteed a visa.

However, IIC are relatively cheaper than any of the three Irish companies.

Faith

I'm hoping I can get some advice on this thread! I just found out about this visa today. I'm currently a student who's hoping to move to the US when I graduate. I'm studying psychology and would ideally like to get a year or two's experience as an assistant psychologist before beginning a clinical psychology PhD. So, my questions are: After the year expires, can my employer sponsor me to stay on? I see a H1B visa mentioned above. Is there conditions to that visa?

Next, I want to do my PhD in the States if possible. Would there be issues where I'd have to go home for a period after working there before being able to study? Thanks!

Harpy

SolarCharge wrote: »

DO NOT TRAVEL WITH THE I.I.C.

I am going with them and they have given me bad advice the whole way through. I am now in a situation where I have to rebook my flights to the US because I have not gotten my passport back. The I.I.C. should not have told me to book my flights before my embassy interview.

yeah im thinking of going with usit now mainly because i have to be over there by the 24th of august so im not confident on sending paperwork to the us and waiting just think id be better off paying the extra couple of hundred for usit..

I also emailed the IIC some questions this day last week and still haven't heard back from them so i think im just better off going with usit seen as i don't have much time to be messing around and was in there last week and the lady was very helpful...

lil_lisa

I would strongly advise going with SAYIT over USIT. Sayit helped me get my paperwork, my visa and out of the country in 4 weeks. I find them a bit more helpful too.

lil_lisa

Faith wrote: »

I'm hoping I can get some advice on this thread! I just found out about this visa today. I'm currently a student who's hoping to move to the US when I graduate. I'm studying psychology and would ideally like to get a year or two's experience as an assistant psychologist before beginning a clinical psychology PhD. So, my questions are: After the year expires, can my employer sponsor me to stay on? I see a H1B visa mentioned above. Is there conditions to that visa?

Next, I want to do my PhD in the States if possible. Would there be issues where I'd have to go home for a period after working there before being able to study? Thanks!

If they want to keep you on after the 1 year visa they can, so long as they have registered as a sponsor (this is quite difficult to do, a lot of paperwork and a very difficult deadline). You cannot take this visa if you are subject to the two-year home rule, meaning you must return to your home country for two years before entering on another visa.

You can do you PhD in the states, that shouldn't be a problem, however college is expensive, and coming over as a foreign student hikes the price up further. Don't let this put you off, there are plenty of scholarships available. Just get looking

MEJ

lil_lisa wrote: »

I would strongly advise going with SAYIT over USIT. Sayit helped me get my paperwork, my visa and out of the country in 4 weeks. I find them a bit more helpful too.

SAYIT aren't issueing the visa at the moment, not sure why but it looks like I'll be booking through USIT. I went in last week and wasnt too impressed with the woman I talked to, she didnt seem to know a great deal of info.
If anyone booked through USIT could you PM me the name/email of the person who you booked through please:)

Julez

Hey everyone, just wondering how long it took to get passports back from the embassy after the interview? I plan on leaving on the 27th of July or so, but I have a week long holiday planned in the Czech Republic from the 10th to the 17th and will obviously need my passport. Gonna be tight whatever way I do it.
Also, when I call the embassy do I get to choose a date for the interview?

Thanks

lil_lisa

You can ask for the next available appointment and they can try squeeze you in, I'm not sure what the waiting time is like at this time of the month. If you are granted a visa they will send your passport out and you should have it maximum 4-5 working days. I had an interview on a Friday morning and received my passport on the following Tuesday.

Julez

Thanks for the response lisa, have to call on Monday and see what I can get.
Just to let anyone who's interested know I'm going with the IIC and I'm very happy with them so far, I haven't been advised to book flights or anything, I was told that thats a risk and totally up to me. I've been dealing with a guy called Jude and he's been extremely nice and helpful and responded to my email in a fair amount of time (about a day usually) whenever I've had questions.

Stercus Accidit

What is required at the interview, should I have any documents with me and what sort of requirements do I have to fulfil to get a visa?

Ruby83

Hey..sorry if the following queries have been flogged to death already on this thread but I would love some advice:
Myself and my boyfriend are looking to head to the US in October for approx 6 months. He is a recent graduate and I have been working for 4 years so will be applying for the J1 trainee visa. I will need to secure a job before I go.
I looked into Usit and Sayit options for the visa and they are really expensive and seem to be dependent on how long you plan to go for. Is there anyway of applying yourself without their help?
There is talk of a DS2019 which needs to be filled in by your "sponsor"..does that refer to the company you are going to work for or Usit/Sayit types?
Also - has anyone any experience in securing work? I am in the legal field and my boyfriend is an engineer. I haven't starting sending out CVs yet but was wondering on the chances of actually getting something through a mass sending of CVs via email. We're easy on destination so hopefully that will help!
Any advice/input greatly appreciated!!

lil_lisa

A sponsor is required for any working visa in the US. The sponsor in these cases are USIT, SAYIT, go4less, IICenter and a few others listed here (there could be a few more I'm not sure of).

However, not all of them offer the trainee visa. If its possible, I would suggest going over to the US on the Visa Waiver Program (i.e. holiday) and looking for a job. Keep in mind you can't actually work during this time but you can go for interviews and get a real feel for what you want to do.

Julez

Hey, so got my interview for the Mon, 19th of July and flying out on Thurs, 29th of July. So, hopefully, I'll have enough time to get the passport back.
Just wondering if anyone has ever been denied the visa at the interview stage and if so why? Also what did people bring as proof that they were coming back? I really haven't a clue on what to bring? I can't think of any official documents I'd have? My whole family is here can that be used as some form of proof?

lil_lisa

Are you returning to college? Or have any job lined up? If you know anyone involved in a company who could write you up a mock letter stating that you've been offered a job for when you return, you should be fine, if you're not going back to college. They just want to see that you have strong ties in Ireland.

As for the interview, people might get refused a visa for criminal offences or lack of funds or even if they give any cheek to the person at the visa desk or if he has any suspicions towards you. As long as you have nothing seriously dangerous to hide, you have all the required documents and you don't act rudely or give cheek you stand a pretty decent chance of getting the visa.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

MEJ

Julez wrote: »

Hey, so got my interview for the Mon, 19th of July and flying out on Thurs, 29th of July. So, hopefully, I'll have enough time to get the passport back.
Just wondering if anyone has ever been denied the visa at the interview stage and if so why? Also what did people bring as proof that they were coming back? I really haven't a clue on what to bring? I can't think of any official documents I'd have? My whole family is here can that be used as some form of proof?

i asked in usit if anyone had been denied the visa and no one who has dealt with them has been denied so far so i think you'll be fine! i need proof of returning to but cant think of anything, could get my boss to write a letter or something but i dont think coming back to work in a bar part-time is something they'd think il 'definatly come back for