J1 to O1

[bzz]

Hello everyone!

I read a lot of message about the possibility of changing from J1 to O1 without fulfill 2-year residency requirement. I am wondering if anyone can tell me that this change is supported by Federal Codes Regulation, USCIS or any other government document. I tried to find something to persuade the company lawyer because he said it is impossible to do that even by third country visa process.

Thank you in advance!

[sakaton]

I was on J1, then I was in my home country for 6 months and my future institution filed for O1 and I got it.

So it is possible this way. Not sure if you can do it without a trip to your home country.

And yes, if you get O1 visa, you basically can ignore 212e of your J1. It overrides it.
O1 is hard to get. The advantage is that you bypass the 212e and you can renew for more then 6 years without having EBx status. You can't do H or EB since you did not fulfill your 212e.

In the long run, you need 212e waiver - either no objection statement or IGA (inter. gov. agency).