might be a naively optimistic plan, but hear me out

[aliko54]

Hello everyone! I am not sure this is the right forum for this msg...I've applied to about 10 programs in comparative literature..If I get accepted and get decent funding, I want to go the US with my girlfriend (we don't believe in long distance relationships )..We've agreed that we could marry "on paper" (we don't believe in marriage either) to meet the visa requirements for her...The only piece of info I found out is that she has to have a J1 in order to be able to work in the US...Does anyone know anything about the process?

[fuzzylogician]

If you are the one applying, you'll either get a F-1 visa or a J-1 visa. The F-1 visa is more commonly given to PhD students but some universities also give J visas, that's something to ask the department and the international student office after you have an acceptance offer. Your girlfriend will get a dependent visa: F-2 or J-2 based on her marriage to you. You'll get forms to fill out after you've accepted an offer; issuing the visa takes a few weeks and you can enter the US on your student visa 30 days before the program's official start date as it appears on the visa.

The F-2 will not allow your girldfriend to work or study, but the J-2 does allow work (she will have to apply for a permit which takes about 3 months to obtain). Another option is for her to find work independently - if she can find an employer who is willing to take care of issuing her a work visa then she can also work, of course, and you two won't need to get married if you don't want to. It's very difficult to find a job without an appropriate visa or work permit, however, so getting married is probably the better option for you.

[aliko54]

Thanks FuzzyLogician, that was really helpful. Do you know whether it is difficult to get a J1 visa?

[fuzzylogician]

Schools need to be approved by the government in order to be able to issue visas and I believe that there is a separate process for F-1 and J-1 visas. Typically F-1 is the appropriate visa for students in long-term programs so any credible school should be able to issue that visa. J-1 is less common but the only question that is relevant for you is whether or not the school has permission to issue it or not. If not, they will not go through the process just for you and your only option will be to get an F visa. If they are, you may be able to negotiate something. This is something you should be able to find out pretty easily by simply writing the international students office at the univesities you applied to. They will be able to tell you what kinds of visas they issue for their students.

[nehs]

Another option is to ask her to apply to a program too. That will give her work authorization at the end of her program. Ofcourse, this might work out expensive for her though.

As fuzzylogician has mentioned - J1 is rarely issued , F1 is the more common student visa. As your dependent , She can apply for F-2, but she will not be able to study or work in the United States on F-2 status.