Visa Lawyer Blog

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The J-1 visa is an exchange-visitor visa for persons coming to the U.S. as a student, scholar, trainee, teacher, professor, research assistant, or medical graduate to participate in a training, research or study program approved by the Department of State.

Given that there are no limits on the number of J visas issued annually AND the fact that, unlike an H1-B visa, applicant is not subject to any visa limits, the J visa is generally a great option for both applicants and sponsors. However, before applying for a J visa there are important considerations of which potential applicants and sponsors should be aware.

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As most of our readers of you are aware, there is an annual cap on the number of new H-1Bs that USCIS can approve. The cap opens up each year on October 1, the start of the government’s fiscal year. However, because H-1B petitions can be filed 6 months in advance of the employment start date, H-1B petitions for those subject to the cap can be filed as early as April 1, 2007.

Every year, since the cap was reduced to 65,000 H-1Bs per year, the cap has been filling up sooner and sooner. Last year, the cap was reached on May 26, creating a window of less than 2 months during which any new H-1B petitions could be filed for that year. There are 20,000 extra visas for applicants with Masters degrees from US Universities.

For those of you looking for work and a US sponsor, now is the time to update your resume and start networking.

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