J2 Visa Work Permit

[MedStudent28]

My spouse will be starting a residency program in July. I have a professional job here in Canada and wondering what are my chances of getting a work permit under a J2 visa to continue a professional career under a US employer. Has anyone had any experience with applying for a work permit for a professional job? Is it something that is difficult to get? How do US employers receive J2 visas? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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[f_w]

My spouse will be starting a residency program in July. I have a professional job here in Canada and wondering what are my chances of getting a work permit under a J2 visa to continue a professional career under a US employer. Has anyone had any experience with applying for a work permit for a professional job? Is it something that is difficult to get? How do US employers receive J2 visas? any help would be greatly appreciated.

You have to show that the J2 spouses income is not necessary to support the livelyhood of the J1 holder. This is an issue for graduate students on J1 because their income is often just above federal poverty level, with a regular residency stipend (40-50k/year) it is easy to proove to the immigration service that the primarys income is sufficient.

The employment authorization document (EAD) is not tied to a particular job. You apply for it, and once you have it in hand you can go off and look for a job. The good thing is that you can mark 'I am authorized to work in the United States' on employment applications. Your employer doesn't have to do anything, you have that little pink plastic card and that is it (they aren't even allowed to ask about your immigration status after you have shown them a genuine EAD. For all they know you are in the 'adjusment' stage of getting a green-card).

Once you work, it is a good idea to keep separate accounts and to pay all living expenses out of the primary J1s account. That way, if the goverment ever asks, you have an easy time to proove that your income was just for fun.

 

[MedStudent28]

Hi F_w, thanks for your reply.

I am not sure if I understand your first paragraph correctly. Are you saying that because the primary J1 visa income is sufficient to themselves (J1 holder) it should be easy to attain a J2 work permit?

I am kind of paranoid with this process because I have a good job and I would like to continue my professional career in the US. I just want to make sure I can easily get a J2 work permit. My wife's residency contract is 3 years and If I cannot find a job its going to be a long 3 years for me.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[cool_vkb]

Hi F_w, thanks for your reply.

I am not sure if I understand your first paragraph correctly. Are you saying that because the primary J1 visa income is sufficient to themselves (J1 holder) it should be easy to attain a J2 work permit?

I am kind of paranoid with this process because I have a good job and I would like to continue my professional career in the US. I just want to make sure I can easily get a J2 work permit. My wife's residency contract is 3 years and If I cannot find a job its going to be a long 3 years for me.

Thanks for all your help.

why dont u also apply for some Phd program.You will automatically get a good stipend and in the mean time you will get a PhD. And there are no Visa problems. If you get accepted. you can easily convert your J2 to F1.

 

[harrynthia]

It is relatively easy to get J2 work permit for Canadians, at least from my experience. I came to US last year as J1 holder, and my wife got the work permit only one month after application (somebody told me it usually takes 3-6 month). Just state that your purpose to work is not for support of J-1 holder since J-1 holder has its own salary for self-support. Once you get work permit, you can start seeking for your professional job. Even during the application, you can start looking for jobs. As you have known, with J2 work permit, you can actually look for any job not only your professional job. The cost of work permit is $170. Hope it helps.

 

[f_w]

why dont u also apply for some Phd program.You will automatically get a good stipend and in the mean time you will get a PhD. And there are no Visa problems. If you get accepted. you can easily convert your J2 to F1.

You are still bound to the foreign residency requirement of the primary J1 visa holder.

If the OP wanted to study, he/she would probably be better off to get his/her own J1. Depending on the field of study, he would not incur a foreign residency requirement. (actually it would be possible to get his 'non-hrr J1' and obtain a work permit for the spouse. so neither of them would incur a foreign residency requirement).

 

[MedStudent28]

Thanks for all your replys!

f_w was kind enough to give me some feedback regarding J2 work permit. He/She suggested to get a TN visa instead of a J2 because it does not limit you to working in the US for 3 years. My wife's intention is to work in a underserviced area so we can eventually get a green card. I am told that once she finishes her residency and starts to work in a underserviced area the visa that she will have to get is the H1B. The spouses get the H14 which does not allow the spouse to work. My questions is whether I can work in the US for 3 years on the J2 visa and then once my wife starts working int he underserviced area can I then apply for the TN visa so I can continue working?

Does anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks again guys.

 

[harrynthia]

J2 work permit allows you to work until the expiration of J-1. For your case, you can work 3 years with J-2. TN visa is also workable for you but need a letter from your future employer for visa application; however, if you have J-2 work permit, you do not need to bother your future boss for letter. Both TN and J-2 permit need annul renewal (basically no problem). For Canadian Citizen, there is no 2-year home country residency requirment. Therefore, your wife can change to H1 from J-1 without leaving US. You then can apply for TN or your own J-1 or H1 if you want to work at that time. With H1, you guys can apply for green card. Good luck!

 

[f_w]

For Canadian Citizen, there is no 2-year home country residency requirment. Therefore, your wife can change to H1 from J-1 without leaving US.

This is most definitely false. Canadian or not, receiving graduate medical education funding triggers a home residency requirement.

(I guess the canadian J1s that work on their waivers around here missed the memo)

 

[MedStudent28]

I guess I am not 100% clear with what can and cannot do. Can someone suggest a website? or perhaps an immigration lawyer to figure out what we can do in terms of my future employement in the US.

Any suggestions?
Thanks for your time guys.

 

[rics86]

Hi MedStudent,

I am in a similar situation as you were in 2007 when you posted the question here. The only difference, though, is that I am already in US on my F-1 (student) visa and my wife is pursuing her residency training under J-1 visa. I am planning to convert my visa to J-2 visa and get an EAD so that I can continue to stay in US and work here. It would be very helpful if you can share your experience.
Particularly, I was looking for following questions:

1) How long did it take for you to get the J-2 once you apply, a rough estimate would be great?
2) Did you apply for EAD (employment authorization) based on J-2 visa. How long did it take to get EAD on J-2.
3) How long is your EAD validity. I heard you get it for one year at a time, and one has to renew it every year. Is that true, and if yes then is it difficult to get it renewed or just a formal process to be done.

Sincerely appreciate your help. Thanks.