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Mbbs 10 Jul, 2024
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International students intending to study in the United States have access to a wide range of visa alternatives. The most popular visa choices among them are the F-1 and J1 visas for entry into the US. Other names for the J1 Visa in the US include Exchange Visitor Visa and J Student Visa. Any person who is not a US citizen who wants to spend a brief period of time in the US for an internship, study, or hands-on training may apply for a J1 visa. Interested parties may work and study in the US simultaneously under the J1 visa programme.
Approximately 1,70,000 people with J1 visas are now employed, students, or teachers in the US. The J1 student visa falls into a number of types. A visa granted under the J1 Exchange Visitor Programme permits an overseas applicant to travel, work, study, or train in the United States, depending on their category. This post will cover all there is to know about the Exchange Visitor (J) non-immigrant visa, commonly referred to as the J1 student visa. Topics covered include eligibility requirements, what is needed to study in the US for a J1 visa, and how to submit an application along with the necessary paperwork.
For anyone living outside of the US who wants to participate in study abroad and work-related exchange programmes that have been approved by the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, there is a visiting visa known as the J1 Visa US. Typically, a sponsoring organization—which might be a non-profit or educational institution—has an application for a J1 student visa.
If you're not a citizen of the US, you usually require a visa to visit the country. If they are enrolled in one of the J1 Visa programmes, participants may enter the country for a limited time on a J-1 exchange visitor visa. In order to participate in any of these programmes, you must locate a sponsoring organisation and submit a J1 visa application. This is a comprehensive how-to guide for applying for a J1 visa:
The primary prerequisite for obtaining a J1 student visa is having a non-personal sponsor for your programme. Finding a sponsor who is prepared to provide funding for the programme should come first. The United States Department of State must accredit the sponsor.
Submitting the DS Form is required upon programme acceptance and sponsor finalisation. For J-1 status, the form serves as the Certificate of Eligibility. Make sure you get the correct form; if you are travelling with any dependents, there is a separate version. Your chosen sponsor should be the one to issue the necessary documents.
In addition to the programme price, there are other costs associated with the application procedure that you must pay. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must receive payment for the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) I-901 charge.
A charge for issuing visas and a processing fee for non-immigrant visa applications are two further extra costs. You may pay for both of them at the US embassy in your nation of origin. In the event if your programme is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) or the Department of State, or is a US government-funded educational and cultural exchange programme, there is no need for you to pay the fees.
For your application to be accepted, a consular official from the US Embassy or Consulate in your community must conduct your interview. You should plan your interview around the possibility that various nations would require varied amounts of time to process visa applications.
Only after an interview in which the consular official attempts to ascertain your purpose for entering the US will the J1 visa application fee be authorised for the US. The following are some of the most common visa interview questions:
What made you decide to pursue this specific subject?
Do you intend to continue your study here in the nation?
What occupation do your parents hold?
Who is paying for your schooling?
Will you be going back to work in your current employment after the exchange programme?
What are your current career objectives?
What makes you want to participate in an exchange programme?
Generally, there are fifteen categories for programme kinds or positions that qualify. They are listed in the following order:
To communicate with the campers, the candidate for the J1 visa type of camp counsellor must speak English fluently. The same advantages that apply to all of their American counterparts will also apply to them.
A candidate for a teacher category visa must be eligible to work in a school. They must hold a degree that is comparable to any bachelor's degree awarded in the United States in the academic field they plan to teach.
The applicant must be at least 15 years old, however they cannot be older than 18 years and 6 months prior to the start of the programme.
The candidate must be between the ages of 18 and 26 in order to be eligible for a J1 visa for the US under the Au Pair programme. They will spend a full year living with a host family. In order to be better equipped, they must first complete a training programme for dealing with children.
For the candidate to be eligible for this J1 visa category, they must be chosen by the US Department of State. The candidate is required to participate in training, research, consultations, and observation as an international guest. They have to be well-known in a certain field.
For a maximum of one year, a person can enter the US on a J1 visa under the expert category. They ought to be authorities in their domains and not be seeking full-time employment in the United States.
The candidate must hold a professional certificate or a degree from an accredited university or an equivalent institution in order to be eligible for the trainee J1 visa US category.
If the candidate is enrolled in school right now or has recently graduated from an institution, they may apply for a J1 visa for the United States under the intern category. The internship is only available in a few designated fields.
For the length of the chosen educational programme, you may stay in the nation and study at the college or university in the US if you are applying for a J1 Student Visa US under the category of College and University Student.
The type of visa or programme you select will also affect how long you may stay in the US. An Au Pair and Research Scholar Programme, for example, can assist you in obtaining J1 visas that are valid for many years in the US, but a J1 visa US for a camp counsellor programme only allows you to stay for a brief summer visit of around four months.
After graduating, a US citizen with a J1 visa must return home and remain there for a period of two years. They won't be permitted to return to the US until they have fulfilled this prerequisite.
The applicant for this category must not have engaged in a J visa programme for the previous 12 months or longer, nor been a member of any professorship programme in the US over the previous 24 months.
Typically, a short-term scholar visa allows you to remain for a maximum of six months. They need to be a professor or research researcher, or have a comparable background in education and experience, in order to be eligible for this J visa.
To be eligible for this type of US J1 visa, a candidate must be fully educated and have had sufficient training in medicine.
The applicant must not be a candidate for any tenure-track post and cannot have participated in any professorship programme within the previous 24 months in order to be granted a J1 visa for study in the US.
During the SummerApplications for the programme are open to any student enrolled in a university's degree programme. To be eligible for this visa, they have to have finished the programme for at least one semester.
A government programme, the US, or both the home and foreign governments must sponsor the application and provide funding for their stay in order for them to be granted a student J-1 category visa.
A person may apply for a J-1 visa under the government visitor category; but, in order to travel and take part in activities aimed at fortifying their links with the United States, they must be chosen by their local government or a US federal agency.
The validity of the J1 visa for US visitors is equal to the length of their training or stay in the nation. A grace period of thirty days may be granted to the candidates following the end of their programme. The institution or college you are applying to requires proof of your financial situation. A 160 USD application fee for J1 visas is required by the US State Department. An applicant may reapply for a J1 visa to the United States, but there must be a two-year gap between the beginning of the current training term and the conclusion of the prior one.
The Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application (DS-160) form must be completed and submitted by the applicants, who must also pay a cost of $160 USD. After submitting their DS-2019 form application, students will then be eligible to study at a US university and obtain the visa.
1. Is it Possible to Work in the US with a J-1 Visa?
You certainly can! J-1 students are allowed to work while they are enrolled in classes as long as they have the proper paperwork. There are limitations, such as the 20 hours per week limits for part-time employment on campus. During breaks from school, students are allowed to work full-time.
2. What should you consider before submitting a J1 Visa application?
You must ensure that all of your documentation is accurate, up to date, and in order. You must also remember to adhere to all deadlines for each stage of the procedure. Be cautious, don't provide any forged paperwork, and give the interview your best effort.
3. How long is a US student visa valid?
The F1 Visa stamp that a student receives after it has been accepted usually lasts for five years. However, there are instances in which the F1 stamp expires in less than five years.
4. What are the J1 visa fees?
It costs about $160 (about INR 12,000) to obtain a J1 visa. The amount of the cost varies according to SEVIS rates. SEVIS fees might reach one hundred dollars.
5. Is getting a J1 visa difficult?
It is rather simple to approve a J-1 visa. Certain students visiting for academic purposes are granted a three-year visa, while others are only granted a three-month stay. But depending on the type of visa, extensions are possible.
6. What distinguishes an F1 student visa from a J1 US visa?
Despite their apparent similarities, J1 and F1 visas differ in a few key ways. A J1 student visa differs from an F1 student visa in that:
J-1 students must communicate with a Responsible Officer, who serves as their programme sponsor's point of contact.
Conversely, students on an F-1 visa can speak with a Designated School Official (DSO).
