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 US
immigration attorney Nandini P Nair gives details of the
J-1 visitor programme
My friends and myself are medical students.
We wanted to know about the J-1 programme.
We would like to go to the US for our residency
programme and understand that the J-1 is our best option. Can you
please give us some details about the J-1 visa?
—Sachin Kulkarni
The J-1 visa is a nonimmigrant status for
an exchange visitor wishing to stay temporarily in the US. Within
the J-1 category, there are a number of different programmes. These
include: Trainee, student, professor or research scholar, short-term
scholar, non-academic specialist, foreign physician, international
visitor, teacher, government visitor, camp counsellor, au pair,
and summer student in travel/work programme.
The foreign visitor must be entering the
US to take part in an exchange visitor programme that has been designated
by the US Depart-ment of State (DOS).
There is a requirement that the ‘J-1’
applicant be fluent in English and maintain sufficient funds and
adequate medical insurance.
Certain J-1 holders are subject to the
two-year home residency requirement (HRR). If one is subject to
the HRR, he or she must return to the home country for two years
before being eligible to return to the US.
The exception to this would be a case in
which one is eligible for and obtains approval of a waiver of the
two-year home residency requirement.
A person in J-1 status, if subject to the
two-year HRR, is not eligible to change or adjust his/her status
from within the US (other than to A or G status) until the two-year
requirement is met or waived.
I have got my H1 stamped and it is valid till
2006. Now I am changing my job and the H1-B is getting transferred
by the new company.
Do I need to do stamping again since I have changed from my original
company? Kindly answer at the earliest.
—Roshan Pareira
No, you do not have to get a new visa stamped
on your passport if it is still valid. But make sure that you always
travel with the new H1-B approval notice for the new company and
some recent pay stubs to show that you are in valid status in the
US.
I am currently working for a multinational
corporation in Mumbai and I have been offered a position in our
office in the States.
My family and I would like to bring our servant. Is there any visa
category for this?
—Rehan Chowdhury
An attendant is eligible for the B-1 visa
if her or his employer seeks, or is presently in the US in a qualifying
nonimmigrant visa category.
The categories of qualifying nonimmigrants
who may legally apply for the B-1 visa for their domestic attendants
are those who are on: B, E, F, H, I, J, L, or TN status.
First, the B-1 attendant must demonstrate
that s/he has worked for the employer for at least one year abroad.
Alternatively, if he or she has worked for the employer for less
than one year, the B-1 attendant must have at least one year of
prior experience working as a servant.
In the second case, the B-1 attendant must
have worked as a domestic servant for the employer for at least
some period of time to qualify for the B-1 attendant visa. Second,
the B-1 attendant must prove nonimmigrant intent.
This is demonstrated, as with all pure non-immigrant
visa applications, by showing strong ties to the home country, such
as maintaining a residence abroad that s/he has no intention of
abandoning.
Where the employer’s visa classification
allows for dual intent, and the employer is pursuing an application
for permanent residence, the B-1 attendant may have difficulty establishing
that his or her intent is to remain in the US temporarily.
Once the employer obtains permanent resident
status, that person is no longer eligible to use the services of
the B-1 attendant.
There must be a signed employment contract, which guarantees the
greater of the prevailing wage or the minimum wage.
The employer is also obligated to provide
free room and board, and the employer must stipulate that he or
she will be the sole provider of employment for the B-1 attendant.
Nandini P Nair is a US Immigration Attorney
based in New York, US. E-mail: dininair@aol.com
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