J1/J2 Question

E

ERDoc

Registered Users (C)
Hi all

I had a question regarding working on the J1. I will be doing my residency on a J1, and will be bringing my (soon to be) spouse over on a J2.

Thing is, she is a doctor too, and will eventually be beginning her residency in a year or so, i.e. while I'm still a resident. Can she do her residency on the J2 with a work authorization, or does she have to change status? If it is the latter, then how does that affect the home country requirement period?

Thanks for any advice!

ER Doc
 
Sir...

whatever you do, stay away from J1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Most hospitals will require her to have J1 to start residency.
 
J1/J2

I wish I could, and I tried like anything to, but unfortunately, the cards didn't play my way.

So anybody with any advice about my original question?

Thanks
 
Yes she can work on a J2 with work authorization and this is definitely better than a J1 because she will automaticallly move to H4 when you apply for a waiver and switch to H1. The main disadvantage is that the J2 work authorization takes about 3 months in some cases and this has to be done each year after you get your IAP-66 for the following year. Therefore some programs avoid taking residents on J2 but a lot of programs do accept J2 with work authorization. I have been thru this so if you have any questions you can get in touch.
 
Dear nephdoc

Thanks for your info and your offer to help.

Anyhow, so my take on your posting was that when I apply for a continuance on my J1 each year, I would have to apply for a separate work authorization again for my wife. When is the best time to file the papers so that we can both continue working legally the following July? Forgive my ignorance, but I am completely new to this!

Also, if I complete my residency and manage to get a waiver job, and get an H1, she gets an H4, but what if she has not completed her residency by that time? As I understand it, a person on an H4 cannot work or apply for work authorization. Is this the case?

Thanks again for your help! Much appreciated!
 
the best time to file for your spouse's ead is after you get your iap 66 (DS2019) for the following year, which should probably be around feb/march. file for ead asap. this will take between 2 to 3 months on an average (sometimes as short as 3 weeks!!). hopefully your spouse will get the ead in time to start work on july 1.

if you switch to h1, then your spouse will need sponsorship for an independent h1 as she will not be able to work on h4.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top