elvisina

I'm moving with my husband. Hopefully getting the J-1, so he should be able to apply for a work permit. I'm really close to my family and know I'm going to be homesick at first. They're trying to be positive about me going away - 'great opportunity' and all that - but I know they secretly wish I was staying closer to home. We'll just have to be clever about finding bargain airfares!

DJH - are you a US citizen? If you don't mind saying, where is your husband from? I will be a student, but my husband is a professional and there's just no way we could survive if he was unable to work at all (which the F2 doesn't allow) - that's why we're going for the J-1. Anyway, I hope things are finally sorted for you - I know how hard these things are as my husband and I are also from different countries.

My old laptop has just died, so I'm looking forward to buying a nice cheap new one when I move over. Yay for cheap(ish) US electricals!

As I'm married, I requested J-1 status and luckily the dept I'm headed to have agreed to sponsor me. As far as I am aware it is very difficult to get a J-1. I think most depts issue F-1 authorisation as a matter of course unless a J-1 is specifically requested. Even then, getting J-1 approval takes some persuading! I also think there's a limit (possibly 5) on the number of J-1s a dept can sponsor each year. Basically, what I'm saying is that you might not have a choice between an F-1 and a J-1 - if I wasn't married, I would definitely have gone down the normal F-1 route. Like you say, the main differences are for those who are taking spouses/dependents with them.