J1 to H1 status change and re-entery

[yavuzozge]

Hi folks,

I currently have a J1 visa, it is valid until Feb 2006. I applied for H1 and got acceptance. It will be valid on October 2005. My question is I'm planning to leave the country and come back BEFORE October 2005, so that I will be using my J1 for re-entry. I heard mixed things about re-entry. Some claim, after the status change one must get an H1 visa on the passport before re-entry, otherwise it may cause problems at the gate (like, they may reject your re-entry for the basis of not having H1 visa, or they may even cancel H1 status all together). Does anybody have prior experience or knowledge obut this?

Any help appreciated. Best,
Ozge

[preethibr]

how did u change to h1

Hi , i am on j2, my husband's visa got rejected in chennai on sep 13th, 05.can u please tell us how to switch to h1 from j1. that will be so helpful.

Preethi

[ASRK]

J1 visa holders usually have to stay 2 years in their home country before applying for any other visa. So, find out whether your husband also has to get it or not. It will be written in the visa stamp itself.

If your husband has to get the waiver, it applies to J2 visa holders also and you cannot change your status to H1. For the waiver, you have get no objection from 3 different government departments in India and then apply for the waiver with INS before it is approved. The process is very long drawn and usually takes more than a year to get the waiver.