J-2 to F-1 (COS)

[drshahvet1]

Hi

I am a J-2 dependent subject to 2 year home country requirement (HRR). I am going to get admission to a PhD program and soon I will get I-20. I want to know
1) whether I am eligible to apply for F-1 even if I am subject to HRR?
2) If yes, whether I should go to India to apply for F-1 or I can also apply from Canada?
Please reply as soon as possible. Your valuable reponse will be highly appreciated.
drshahvet1@yahoo.com

 

[jk0274]

Perhaps you missed my response to your question on this page:
http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=233067&page=2

Anyway, here are some answers:
1- You will not be able to change your status from J-2 to F-1 while *in* the US because you are subject to the HRR.
2- You ARE eligible to apply for an F-1 visa abroad, even if you are subject to the HRR, because you will be treated as somebody who completed their J program and is now becoming a student, i.e. going to the US on a different program. However, once in the US on a F-1, you will still be unable to change to an H, L, or Green Card because you won't have fulfilled your HRR by virtue of your previous J visa, unless your J-1 principal obtains a waiver.
3- There is NO way to predict whether you will successfully obtain a F-1 visa, whether in India or in Canada. This is for 2 reasons: A) Visa applications from third countries (e.g. an Indian applying in Canada) have become much more troublesome after 9/11, and I believe there are some prohibitions on issuing visas to some categories of 3rd country nationals. You are welcome to apply in Canada, but your chances of success there (I believe) are very slim. B) Because you are a previous J-2, and want to become a F-1, the US consulate in India may consider this a greater risk of intent to immigrate, especially if your spouse is still on a J-1, so it will be riskier getting approved for a F-1 in India because of this, but not impossible. You will have to provide above-average amount of evidence that you intend to return to India. Again, there is no way to predict these things until you actually make an application at the consulate and go to your interview.
Good luck.