JENNYMG

hi
would it be wise or not to consider going to USA on a J visa with my family?
phoned a few immigration agents - one said it can be done, other laughed hysterically and asked were we wise!!!
advise greatly appreciated thanks

(i'm nurse by the way and would be going on a scholarship programme )
jenny

crg

Can you provide a little more background? How long would you go for? How would you support yourself? What is your long term goal? How many people in this family? What is the nature of the J-1 program as far as pay, and housing?

ian-mstm

Please don't make us search through all your prior posts to determine whether or not it would be wise. Give us the situation first.

Ian

JENNYMG

sorry
it would be a scholarship programme, university applying for j visa, part time masters programme in nursing with 20 hrs work at university hospital to consolidate theory to practise.
the programme is 2-3 yrs.
i 29 , a nurse with 6 yrs experience and bsc hons. i am married with 4 children.
the scholarship programme will pay for visas for me and hospital provide us with medical insurance etc however, families visas our responsibility as is getting housing.
having researched here, i am aware that j visas can be renewed and the waiver of 2 yrs return to home country is not enforced by UK ( i hope thats right) also that we need to maintain housing in UK which is concern as we need the money from selling our house to go also
i am a little concerned that my husband wont get a visa to allow him to work and that we are red flagged by immigration as we are travelling as a family and really if truth be told we do not want to have to come home to UK ~(all being well) we are simply using this as a means to get into the country initially as soon as than waiting for a green card which appear to be non existant for nurses or anyone for that matter.

any advise?
jenny

Noorah101

Your husband on a J-2 can apply for a Work Authorization Document (EAD) once inside the USA. It costs $340 to apply, and it takes about 90 days to get the EAD in hand. Then he needs to go get his Social Securty Number...the SS card comes in the mail about 2 weeks later. He cannot work until he has the EAD in hand. Even then, with economy the way it is, I imagine it will be tough to find a job...what does he do for work now?

The J-1 does not have a direct path to a green card, as you seem to know.

If your plan is to come to the USA for a few years to live and work on the J-1, J-2, then return home (sort of see it as an adventure), and you have the funds to make it happen for a family of 6 (just in case hubby can't find a job), then go for it.

If your plan is to use the J visas as a stepping stone to permanent residency in the USA, I don't see how that could work, unless your hope is to find a hospital or company willing to hire you at the end of your J-1, AND you don't have the 2-year home residency requirement.

Rene

crg

They have some rule where a J-2 can work, but not to support the J-1. For the life of me, I have no idea how they enforce that provision.

The OP may want to try getting into Canada, become Canadian, and then come to the US as a Registered Nurse under NAFTA. TN status for an RN is a slam dunk and only costs $50 every 3 years with no real application to complete.

meauxna

A family of six, trailing a student.... stop phoning visa 'agents' or whomever you've been calling and start talking to US immigration lawyers to make sure you're on track.
Not saying it's impossible, but oh my. It's also nagging at the back of my mind that there was a *very* similar thread within the past year.

edit, quelle shock, it was you!
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=598380

JENNYMG

pardon me for seeking advise! thought that was what board was for.

crg

If you stick to one thread, you have a better chance of getting useful advice. When you use multiple threads, people miss out on all of the background information from the previous thread.

ian-mstm

It's never a good idea to get pissy with the people you've asked to help.

Ian

Elvira

... especially if looking for FREE advice...

Noorah101

The thing is, nothing about your scenario has really changed, right? Aren't you basically asking the same question you asked in March? The same people visit this forum, so you won't really get any different answers on a new thread. It's better to just stick to one thread, and update it when something in your scenario changes.

Rene

augigi

I'm an international RN working in the US. I've never heard of such a scheme under J visa where you can work while studying nursing. I work in a large university hospital, and am studying for an MSN, and I don't know of any other nurses working in such a capacity. Otherwise tons of nurses would be doing that while the green card category is retrogressed! Sounds dodgy to me, and totally unfair to think you should be able to jump the queue over people who've been waiting for a long time.

Also sounds ridiculous to uproot children while hoping that you'll have the 2yr HRR waived, and hoping that someone will sponsor you for a green card.

Edit: For NAFTA visas, you still need to get the Visa Screen Certificate from CGFNS, which is $300-400 odd, every 5 years.

crg

Good point. Plenty of people had real problems when they neglected to get that certificate from the private evaluation entity.

Bob

I can't be arsed to search previous threads....but one thought, how old are the kids?

Bumming around without a clear plan if they are anywhere close to university could turn out to be an expensive wake up call if there's any thought to studying back in blighty and well, really expensive if they plan on studying here.