
Ask HN: Has anyone sponsored a J1 specialist or trainee? - mezod
Hi, I&#x27;m trying to figure out how to sponsor a foreign professional for a J1 visa to work with us. All the info I find links me to https:&#x2F;&#x2F;j1visa.state.gov&#x2F;participants&#x2F;how-to-apply&#x2F;sponsor-search&#x2F;?program=Specialist , which is a list of designated sponsors, mostly universities and cultural organizations... Do I have to apply through them? Doesn&#x27;t make much sense...<p>Has anyone ever had to deal with a similar problem? We considered H1B but the process is costly and slow.<p>Any links, info or contacts are highly appreciated!! Thanks!
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jakozaur
I was in USA few times on J1 as an intern. It is the best visa, if you like to
hire someone for 3 months internship while someone studies at Universities.

Though this is not H1B replacement, as this visa require that trainee/intern
have intern to leave the USA after the program.

If you are employer, you need to contact sponsoring organization. For all
internships I used: [http://culturalvistas.org/programs/us/j-1-internships-
traini...](http://culturalvistas.org/programs/us/j-1-internships-training/)
(they got different name before "CDS International") The paperwork is light,
even startups with reasonable funding can get the visa.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer.

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jedisct1
I'm a French citizen, but I joined OpenDNS (acquired by Cisco since) on a J-1
Visa.

Most of the paperwork has to be actually done by the candidate, but the
process was pretty straightforward.

I had to pay about $500 for the express/priority/whatever-it's-called version
of the Visa, plus insurance coverage, plus the fee for a local third-party I
used for the application, for a total of about $1500 (that the company was
supposed to reimburse but never did).

Unlike the H1-B, the petition for the J-1 can be done at any time.

The J-1 can be extended twice, and is valid up to 1.5 years. It can be
upgraded to a H1-B, although this requires leaving the country for a couple
weeks in-between.

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tsaprailis
Not looking to hijack the OP thread here but could you provide some additional
information on your case?

I'm thinking of attempting this next year (try to get a J1 visa) when I finish
my Data Science MSc, so could you let me know how easy it was to find a
company, how long it took you to find the position, what was the reason for
your work (thesis, internship), what's your salary level compared to a normal
position in the company etc

Also regarding the J1 visa it was my understanding that you have to return to
your home country for 1-2 years before being able to apply for a H1B, is that
not the case?

Any information is welcome. Thanks in advance

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jedisct1
You need to return to your own country and wait for 2 years to get another J-1
after it expires (1.5 years).

But transitioning from a J-1 to a H1-B doesn't require waiting that much. I
was out of the country only for 1 month or so.

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coherentpony
> J-1 after it expires (1.5 years)

1.5 years might be for your case. For research scholars you can extend it for
up to 5 years.

> But transitioning from a J-1 to a H1-B doesn't require waiting that much. I
> was out of the country only for 1 month or so.

The current processing time for an H1-B visa is eight months. You also aren't
required to leave the country.

I'd be careful taking your experience and extrapolating it to all situations.
People here may be mislead by some of the information you provided.

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martell
I was on a j1 and missed the h1b lottery but I was told I was not required to
go home if I won.

A friend (also on a j1) who won the lottery never had to return home.

He is going home for the holidays however and may now have to go to an embassy
to have his passport done before returning to the US. Will know in the new
year if this is the case.

~~~
coherentpony
> He is going home for the holidays however and may now have to go to an
> embassy to have his passport done before returning to the US. Will know in
> the new year if this is the case.

Yes. If you leave the US without a valid (and appropriate) entry visa stamp in
your passport, you will need to go to a US embassy to get one.

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swalberg
My understanding of the J1 is that it is a cultural exchange visa and that the
intent is that it's very short term work and specifically not as an
alternative to the H1B.

Another caveat is that the position could be designated as subject to the 2
year residency rule, and therefore your employee would not be allowed to work
in the US for 2 years after their J1 expires.

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martell
I'm an Irish Citizen. I was on a j1 graduate visa for 12 months. I just
arrived back in my home country this week.

The process is straight forward but you will lose the first month waiting for
approval of the placement. Depending on the country you might need to have the
position approved before your SERVIS start date.

A friend of mine from Catalonia like you (according to your github account)
applying from Spain had to have his placement preapproved.

He managed to get a h1b half way through the year, the transition over to h1b
mid j1 was actually very easy without him having to return home which is
interesting, due to the dual intent of the h1b. If he does go home however he
has to then go to an embassy to get the visa inserted into his passport.

Also you are not always subject to the 2 year rule. It did not apply to my
application nor my friends. If I go back for a second j-1 as a trainee it will
be subject to it next time however.

Feel free to asking any questions.

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capnrefsmmat
Note that the person you sponsor will most likely be subject to the two-year
home residency requirement: after their J1 expires, they are required to
return to their home country of residence for at least two years before
converting to any US immigrant visa (i.e. any visa which could lead to
permanent residency or citizenship).

If your employee doesn't intend to stay in the US, that's fine, but if they,
say, get married while in the US, they'll have significant obstacles in their
way.

There are certain circumstances in which this requirement doesn't apply or can
be waived, but I won't presume to know if they apply to you.

[https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/study-
exchange/stu...](https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/study-
exchange/student/residency-waiver.html)

~~~
tehlike
I was a j1 trainee thrice. lifting 2 year residency condition was a
prerequisite for h1b. Clearing it was a beurocratic but straightforward
process which involved mailing some papers to my own country's consulate. It
probably depends on the origin country, but for me since my funding was given
by the us school i was interning at, and since there was no involvement of my
government, it was rather straightforward.

Good thing that is all over now :)

~~~
binoct
Glad it all worked out for you!

I would definitely recommend any J1 candidate take a careful look to the
2-year residency requirements and their particular situation. Sometimes it is
relatively painless paperwork to have it waved, however in some situations
they can pretty seriously enforce it.

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smartician
J-1 trainees get sponsored by a third party exchange organization, not the
company they will be interning at. Typically you (as the host company) and the
candidate work with the exchange organization to complete the paperwork to get
the visa.

When I did my J-1 internship back in 2001, I used CIEE, which was pretty
painless and straightforward:
[https://www.ciee.org/intern/](https://www.ciee.org/intern/)

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uiri
I've been on a J-1 multiple times with different employers and they've always
used Cultural Vistas. Cultural Vistas has to be the worst, most bureaucratic
organization with which I've ever had the displeasure of interacting. All of
their employees lack basic critical thinking skills to the point that I've
often wondered if I'm dealing with an automated system written by government
contractors.

Are there any sponsoring organizations for J-1 that are not such a pain on the
intern/trainee's part?

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jaredhansen
We have done this multiple times at Breezy. You won't want to go it alone but
the fees aren't astronomical. I can make good intros; my email is in profile.

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chank
[https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/study-
exchange/exc...](https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/study-
exchange/exchange.html)

[https://www.ice.gov/sevis/overview#wcm-survey-target-
id](https://www.ice.gov/sevis/overview#wcm-survey-target-id)

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chillydawg
I think with this kind of situation the best thing for you to do is lawyer up.

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muramira
Lawyers cost money to fill the same long-ass forms that you can fill up
yourself!

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madman2890
The J-1 visa is going away, according to Trump. Just a heads up...

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dorianm
I'm on my second J1 Visa, it's pretty straightforward:

\- proving to be a student

\- proving that the job fits with the studies

\- proving that the job is gonna be done in good conditions

\- proving to have enough money to live there

\- etc.

~~~
jedisct1
You can get one even if you are not a student.

The only requirement to be a "trainee" is to be less than 40 years old.

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wprapido
i was in the states twice on a J1 visa. highly recommended. easy to get. there
is age limit though

