j1 visa

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danielsan

Registered Users (C)
hey´everyone,
i will be going to USA on a j1 visa to spend sometime near my girfriend who is an american citizen, and we are planning on getting married during the first semester. i will be arriving in december and my visa should expire around may. if i get married and start my GC filing process will i lose my j1 status and lose my permission to work?
i wanna take the chance to work as much time as i can possibly can to save as much as i can.
thanks for the attention
 
I would be careful if I was you... Your case could be denied if immigration finds out of your intent to marry prior to entering the country. I don't think they can deny you solely for the intent but in the lack of further evidence, they might have a case. Do you have a history with the USA and/or your girlfriend that can be proven?
 
yes, i met my girlfriend in Baltimore last year. We used to work together as i was on a H2B visa. we´ve been dating since june of 2005. i do have evidence of my stay in Maryland and that we both worked at the same company. do i still have the risk of having troubles?
 
Hi,

I am in a similar situation to you.

Briefly, as I understand it:

You may well have trouble entering the US on your J1 (especially the first time), if you tell immigration that your intention is to get married and apply for a green card. This is a question that may be asked, especially if/when you travel with your g/f. When asked why you're coming to the US, it might be prudent to go with the reason on your DS-2019 (study, summer camp etc).

Upon applying for a GC, you become a "Permanent Resident pending". This removes your J1 privileges, including any work authorisation you've arranged thru Academic Training (I'm not sure on the situation if your intention is to work for the school you're attending, as this is separate to AT). But you should be able to get temporary work permission while your GC application is in process.

Hope this helps!
 
thanks y´all
well i will not tell any officer about my intentions even cause they are, as for right now, simply plans, but my question was if i should either wait till my j1 status is over or if i should do it while i was on the j1 status. guess i should wait till the ending dates of my visa since i do have the 30 days grace period. any othr thoughts are more than welcome.
:D
 
danielsan said:
yes, i met my girlfriend in Baltimore last year. We used to work together as i was on a H2B visa. we´ve been dating since june of 2005. i do have evidence of my stay in Maryland and that we both worked at the same company. do i still have the risk of having troubles?
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In that case, u all should be good. Just dont say anything about wedding plans prior to your arrival. I would suggest that you get married and file lil' prior to expiration of your visa. FYI: forget about the grace period, some officers are legally illiterate. Overstays are not a big deal in general, but it could screw u up if you travel abroad prior to AOS and while in AOS process.
The last thing, are u subject to 212 (e)? What does ur visa say?
 
okay, so if my visa expires for example on may 12th, what date would be the best for me to get married, i don´t want to overstay. i want everything to be clear as water. plus, will it sound suspicious not to plan anything and get married as soon as my visa expires? i have so many questions it´s actually annoying, but it´s the first time i am doing this. thanks for y´all´s help.
 
by the way, i don´t have the 2 years requirement on this j1. I am from Brazil by the way and can´t stand being away from her. :(
 
danielsan said:
by the way, i don´t have the 2 years requirement on this j1. I am from Brazil by the way and can´t stand being away from her. :(
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My question to you is, do you really want to come here for the purpose of your J1? Do you really have intent to fulfill the purpose of that visa? Or is that simply a way of getting into the US for purposes of doing AOS?

I guess, what I would want to know is, let's say you never met your g/f --- would you still have come here on the J visa?

USCIS will examine your intent based on your actions. If you arrive on J1 and get married shortly after, it certainly suggests a different intent.

From your post, I am not really sure what your intent is and want to give you the benefit of the doubt.
 
My intention is Not to make a shortcut to get a Grenncard. i do want to get married with her and cannot stand being away from her any longer. i thought a J1 visa would be a good way of being close and work at the same time, since i do have the opportunity since i am a college student. save money and see what happens from there. maybe i find a school to attend and get a student visa.
maybe i really get married. i do want my actions to seem sneaky or shady but i since it´s my first time in this situation (dating an american girl) i don´t really know which route to take.
By the way i don´t know if it matters but i do have a tourist visa good till 2009, but i don´tthink it´s the best option. it sounds like a good idea to be able to make some money and save. and besides that, we are not even sure if we want to live in Brazil or USA. as i mentioned before, as for right now, i only have plans.
gees, i am getting confused... :S
 
"i do want my actions to seem sneaky or shady but i since it´s my first time in this situation (dating an american girl) i don´t really know which route to take." just correcting... I DO NOT want my actions to seem sneaky or shady or with any second intention plans.
 
If what you really want is to be with your Gfriend, why don't you just marry her. I am sure she can sponsor you and bring you here with some other visa type, like K-1, or K-3. Find out about those processes and their requirements.
USCIS might give you problems if you marry her rigth after entering with the J-1. They might...but then again depends on how you convince them you wanted to come here for the J-1 and then the marriage happened.
Also, I know you said you are not subject to the 2-year rule. But make sure you really are not...are you getting any financial aid from your goverment? any scholarship. etc. What major will you be studying?...I had my J-1 initially stamped as not subject to the 2-year...just to find out later that I was subject...it gave me a lot of headaches trying to get a waiver for that silly rule.
Good luck.
 
danielsan said:
"i do want my actions to seem sneaky or shady but i since it´s my first time in this situation (dating an american girl) i don´t really know which route to take." just correcting... I DO NOT want my actions to seem sneaky or shady or with any second intention plans.
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Dont worry about how this forum thinks about your real intentions. It is not our purpose to judge them (at least not mine). We are here simply to advice you how NOT to get in trouble with the immigration laws.
Remember Non-immigrant visas are given to people who show no intention to stay here. ;)
 
oh, by the way, i would not marry her right after i enter the country on a j1 visa. it´s gonna be a period for me and her to be together and take some time together. my j1 visa is not sponsored by anybody, i won´t be studying, only working. that´s it. it´s not regulated by any university or so, only by direct employers.
 
machelon said:
Dont worry about how this forum thinks about your real intentions. It is not our purpose to judge them (at least not mine). We are here simply to advice you how NOT to get in trouble with the immigration laws.
Remember Non-immigrant visas are given to people who show no intention to stay here. ;)
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We have been over this Machelon. Correct, his real intentions in his head does not matter for legal purposes ---- only his manifested intentions. However, the reason I asked him about his real intentions is that intentions are often manifested e.g. if he gets married immediately after J1 arrival. He needs to know the consequences that could result from that.

Briefly scanning his response to me, it doesn't seem as if he has any definite intent ---- he is coming to make some money, maybe get to know his g/f better, maybe marry later on --- that seems reasonable to me.

However, if the OP wants to marry soon, I would strongly advise doing the K1 route.
 
Piano Player, I think you might be right. I was J-1 too, but my situation was different. I came here as au-pair (had no intention to stay), met my husband shortly after. We fell seriously in love :) and decided to stay together. Afterwards, we were studying our legal options and realized that AOS was the best option for us. Our case is strong because of the time we spent together and cuz of emotional and financial bond. I still can't help but wonder how so many people gets away with sham marriages. So he might be just fine if he is real. And if he is not, it's up to his conscience if he has any.
 
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