Work for an F2?

[WildeThing]

Hey guys,

I am currently doing an MA in the US on a J1 visa. I am planning on pursuing a PhD after that, which I believe will have to be as an F1. I want my partner to join me for the PhD but am faced with the issue that she would not be able to work as an F2, and a living stipend is unlikely to cover our joined expenses. Has anyone faced this issue? For context, she will have her PhD and some good experience by the time I start mine, so she would have a good resume for getting a job, the problem is whether anyone would actually offer her a work visa.

 

Has anyone dealt with these issues? If so, please share your experience and advice.

 

Thanks

[fuzzylogician]

Unfortunately spouses* cannot work on a F2 visa. The only advice I can give you is to look for programs that will agree to issue you a J1 visa instead of the F1. Schools aren't required to do this, but many will. Ask around (current students, the international students website) to see whether that is possible. Depending on the source of your funding, you may be subject to the 2-year home requirement, so keep that in mind. Another alternative is to apply for (and win) a scholarship such as Fulbright, in which case you shouldn't have any problem getting a J1 even at schools that are usually more reluctant. This is of course not a fool-proof plan, but you might try it anyway (in that case you will most likely have the 2-year home requirement, though). 

As for getting a work visa for your spouse, that is possible, but I wouldn't count on it. It's expensive and time-consuming for the employer (if possible at all), so it's unlikely that an employer will want to invest in that when they can easily find a local person that can start any time and doesn't cost that extra money. 

* Note: you have to be married! Your partner can't get a visa if you are not married. 

[WildeThing]

Yeah, that is in-line with what I have seen. I don't think I'll be able to get another J1 visa as I currently have one. I will see when I apply if programs can get a J1 rather an F1, or if my current sponsors are willing to renew i but it is very unlikely.

[fuzzylogician]

Maybe you can explain why you think that having a J1 already would be a problem. I don't think it's generally the case that being on a J1 visa should prohibit having another one for another program. You current sponsors may not be willing to sponsor you again, but your school might. 

[WildeThing]

If I understand correctly, a J1 visa is cosponsored by your government, which is why you must return there for 2 years. If you already have to do that, why would cosponsor you again? They would be gaining nothing from it. That said, it is definitely something I will enquire about.

[fuzzylogician]

7 hours ago, WildeThing said:

If I understand correctly, a J1 visa is cosponsored by your government, which is why you must return there for 2 years. If you already have to do that, why would cosponsor you again? They would be gaining nothing from it. That said, it is definitely something I will enquire about.

I don't think that is generally the case. The J1 visa documents need to be issued by your American university and the actual visa will be issued by your local US embassy or consulate. I have never heard of the US actually depending on the sponsorship of another government, but maybe I'm just not understanding what you mean by that. There are rules about where the funding needs to come from in order to make you eligible for the J1 visa, and one way to acquire it is to come with an external scholarship (funded by your home government, Fulbright, or another external source, just not your own savings), in which case often you will be subject to the 2-year home requirement. Some schools will also agree to use department/university-internal funding sources as good enough for J1 purposes, but that varies and is up to the school. In that case, I think that you aren't going to have a two-year home requirement. In any case, if you are already subject to this requirement because of your current visa, this detail doesn't matter. All it means is that you won't be able to get a dual-purpose or immigration visa after you are done studying, but you should still be able to get another non-immigration visa like another J1 or F1. If you ever want to have a more permanent position in the US (as a professor or in industry), at that point you'll need to either get an exemption (rare) or go back home and wait the two years out (and it's just two years, it won't become four if you get another J1 visa). In any of these cases, I don't believe that your immigration status in the US is something that your home country needs to officially sponsor. It's just not something that the US would want to do, they would want to decide based on their own criteria, not be dictated to. 

[WildeThing]

Thanks for the response! I'll keep it in mind and ask schools about it when I apply.

[TakeruK]

Hello! I was in a similar situation as you---when starting a PhD program in the US (I'm Canadian), I had to ensure I got J-1 status so that my spouse can work as a J-2. There was one school that was very good but refused to grant J-1 status to any student (only postdocs) so there was no way I would accept their offer. Oh well.

I just want to clarify a few things though, which might help you. Standard disclaimer: This is based on my own experience and knowledge and it's not an expert's advice.

1. The J-1 status is never co-sponsored by your home country. The J-1 status is a United States immigration status, and only United States entities can sponsor it and only the US can issue visas to enter the US. You are partly right about the 2-year home residency requirement though. You may (not certainly) be subject to the 2 year home residency requirement only if at least one of the following is true: i) you have government funding, ii) you are taking PhD training in a field that your home country listed as a "special skill" that they need (this list mostly exists in developing countries) and/or iii) you are undergoing certain types of medical training. 

Also, even if you have this requirement, you can apply to get it waived later. My DS-2019 document shows that I may be subject to this 2-year home residency requirement because I have government funding from Canada, however, I might be able to get it waived when I graduate. With a 5 year degree program, plus 36 months of Academic Training, we decided that it was better to take the J-1 status now and deal with the 2-year requirement 8 years down the road (who knows, a lot can change in 8 years). 

Finally, note that the 2-year home requirement is only a requirement prior to attaining an immigration-class status in the United States. The US cannot make you return to your home country, they can only deny you access to their own country. So, you can do a postdoc or take a job in any other country. You just need to be home for 2 years before coming back to the US on an immigration status.

2. You say that you cannot get another J-1 status since you are on J-1 for your masters now. I believe you are referring to the 12-month bar on J statuses (e.g. see: http://internationalcenter.umich.edu/scholars/j1-scholars/12-and-24-bars). This 12-month bar does not apply to you because you are going from one J-1 student status to another J-1 student status. As in my link, the 12-month bar only applies to people starting a "Professor" or "Research Scholar" status or people who are finishing that status. Check with your school's international office to be sure, but you should be able to attain J-1 status at your PhD program since these are student statuses, not Professor/Research Scholar. 

Good luck!

[WildeThing]

Cheers for that!

It seems that no one has managed to get a working visa for a partner then?

[TakeruK]

I'm not sure what you mean by a "working visa".

Sorry if I was not clear, I am on J-1 student and my spouse is a J-2. My spouse works in the US---they have their Employment Authorization Document (you apply for this as a J-2 after arriving in the US). So, if you meant to ask if my spouse has a status in which they are allowed to work, then yes, they do.

I do know some other students whose spouse actually has a separate work visa independent of the student though. Some people have spouses on H1-B or other visas that allow the spouse to work (generally the "2" visas are dependents). This is harder to get because these work visas are only granted for people who are already highly trained, e.g. doctors, engineers, people with PhDs already etc. But there are certainly students with spouses in this category.