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F1 visa and spouse

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  • 06-07-2015 10:47pm
    #1
    Faith
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Hey there,

    I'm considering applying to a couple of PhD programs in the US for 2016. I understand that I'd need an F1 visa, which is grand. But my question is, can my husband work freely in the States on my visa, or would he need a H-1B visa of his own? Thanks!


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    #2
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    Faith wrote: »
    Hey there,

    I'm considering applying to a couple of PhD programs in the US for 2016. I understand that I'd need an F1 visa, which is grand. But my question is, can my husband work freely in the States on my visa, or would he need a H-1B visa of his own? Thanks!

    Afraid so...He would be on the F2, which is a dependent visa that doesn't allow the person to work.

    The H1-B would need to be sponsored by an employer in the US - he can't apply by himself.


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    #3
    Faith
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    iusedtoknow wrote: »
    Afraid so...He would be on the F2, which is a dependent visa that doesn't allow the person to work.

    The H1-B would need to be sponsored by an employer in the US - he can't apply by himself.

    Thanks a million for that. Not the answer I was hoping for, but good to know :(


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    #4
    iusedtoknow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭iusedtoknow


    Faith wrote: »
    Thanks a million for that. Not the answer I was hoping for, but good to know :(

    If he works for a company that has a US office he could also look into the L1 visa - it is an inter-company transfer. The downside is he would need to move to the office location (you can't be a remote worker on this visa)


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    #5
    Faith
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Sadly, he doesn't work in an industry that lends itself to inter-company transfers and the like. A H-1B would be very difficult also, as most employers in his field are small companies and most people just go self-employed. Seems that's that idea out the window!

    Thanks iusedtoknow :)


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    #6
    biddywiddy
    Registered Users Posts: 440 ✭✭biddywiddy


    Just a +1 on the H-1B visa. It can be challenging enough to get a company to sponsor you, but even then there's no guarantee.

    There is an annual cap of 85000 H-1B visas for for-profit sponsors, which is split: 20k for people with a Master's or higher from a US institution, and 60k for everyone else (including the Master's people who didn't get selected for the 20k). There's no annual cap for non-profit sponsors, such as universities. In 2015, there were over 230,000 applications for those 85000 visas, so it went to a lottery. Luckily my application was selected (can't believe my luck - I never win anything!), but lots were left disappointed.

    The US is a difficult place to move to and to stay in. I moved here on a J visa, which is now hard to renew since I got married, so I need the H visa to stay here.


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