Use and Abuse of the J-1 Visa

[jone]

It Never Really Happened:

For a long time, I have been promising myself that I would write this thread.  As I do so, over my shoulder, reading as I write, could be the recipient of a J-1 Visa who I met here in the United States.  I say "could be" because anything I write here today is hypothetical. 

To begin with, a J-1 Visa, in the United States, has, perhaps, the greatest amount of elasticity in interpretation of any of the visa types.  To be specific, here is the Wikipedia definition:

J-1:

The Exchange Visitor Program is carried out under the provisions of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, officially known as the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Pub.L. 87–256, 75 Stat. 527). The purpose of the Act is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges. The Exchange Visitor Program is administered by the Office of Exchange Coordination and Designation in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

In carrying out the responsibilities of the Exchange Visitor Program, the Department designates public and private entities to act as exchange sponsors. Sponsoring organizations facilitate the entry of foreign nationals into the United States as exchange visitors to complete the objectives of one of the exchange visitor program categories, which are:

Au Pair
Intern
Student, College/University
Student, Secondary
Government Visitor
International Visitor (reserved for Department of State use)
Physician
Professor and Research Scholar -
Short-term Scholar (maximum duration of participation in this category is six months; no program extensions are permitted)
Specialist (maximum duration of participation in this category is one year)
Summer work/travel
Teacher
Trainee (maximum duration of participation in this category is 18 months, except for agriculture programs (limited to 12 months) and hospitality training programs (limited to a maximum duration of 12 months, with any hospitality training program longer than six months required to have at least three departmental rotations).

I, hypothetically, have know of the importation of women under this program for the last four years.  And, hypothetically, the individual/company that did the importing, did so for a substantial profit.

Here is how it (hypothetically) worked:

A woman is interviewed in her native country about her desire to immigrate to the United States.  Upon mutual agreement, a classification as an Au Pair or Student is decided.  The company then constructs all of the necessary documents and the woman is granted passage to the US.  Once in the US, the woman is 'semi-controlled' by this company until she has paid off her debt to the company.  Control is done by a threat to rescind the visa status.  (I am 'hypothetically' not sure of the actual role of the company and the warranties delivered to the government that would make such a thread good.)

Typically, a woman who comes to the US on a J-1 has the obligation to return.  Once in the US, however, the women seeks out an eligible man and marries him to change her status to Immigrant Visa - however they choose to apply.

So?  How much does this hypothetical company get paid?  When I was first hypothetically made aware of the operation, the fee might have been $10,000.  Now, it might be substantially more.  Have I met more than one of the women who came over on such a dodge?  I might have.

The obvious question that is asked about a woman who comes to America with a $10,000 debt upon her head (or more) is what means she has to repay said debt.  The obvious answer is 'none'.  So, this hypothetical young lady might have nefarious means to obtain the clearance of her debt and secure her place in America?   It might be agreed upon that such is the case.

In the hypothetical model that I have established, one individual who brings young women to America might net upwards of $150,000 a year bringing one lady to America each month.

And what of these ladies?  Are they so desperate to come here that they will mortgage their souls? 

Ultimately these ladies make lives for themselves.  Here in this hypothetical city of Los Angeles, one could even speculate that there is a subset of the Eastern European immigrant society who migrated here under such a program.

Of course this is all hypothetical.  I'm sure it never really happened.

[Gator]

jone,

Interesting.  For several years I have noticed a number of young Russians (mainly females) working at American summer resorts (e. g., Ocean City, MD).   I can not believe that these women have promised to pay $10,000 for the opportunity.  They are there for a short period and are being paid little.

My stepdaughter  was enrolled in a Russian university for tourism.  She never paid such a fee.     An apprenticeship/internship was a graduation requisite.    She spoke German so she went to Austria and worked at a high end ski resort restaurant. 

The nearby university has several RW students, many with very wealthy parents.  A few of them are not serious about studies and are not serious about finding a husband.  They seem serious about breaking the record for most sexual encounters. 

[Lily]

The J-1 is the visa that I entered the U.S. in order to receive my Master's degree. There were no any other ways available fo me in order to study in the U.S. I applied, and received a full financing from the U.S. government. They paid everything including my TOEFL and transportation from my home city to Moscow and then to Chicago.
 
 Yes, I had an obligation to return to my home country when my program was finished. In my passport, I had this remark "Two years rule does apply to Russia''. At that time, this was exactly what I wanted, as the degree gave me good chances for a top job in Moscow upon return. I had little thoughts about possible immigration.
 
 This is not to say that I was not curious about what my odds to stay would have been if I found a job, or an American man who would like to marry me. I researched, and here is what I found out.
 
 There was a waiver option for the 2 years home requirement upon the favorable recommendation of the Secretary of State, and is adjudicated by the Attorney General. A waiver was granted in four situations:
 
(1) upon request of an interested U.S. government agency;
 
(2) upon a showing of “exceptional hardship” to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or child of the exchange visitor;
 
(3) upon a showing that the alien would be subject to persecution upon return to his home country; and
 
(4) on the basis of a “no objection” letter from the alien’s own government, stating that it does not object to such a waiver.

[jone]

jone,

Interesting.  For several years I have noticed a number of young Russians (mainly females) working at American summer resorts (e. g., Ocean City, MD).   I can not believe that these women have promised to pay $10,000 for the opportunity.  They are there for a short period and are being paid little.

My stepdaughter  was enrolled in a Russian university for tourism.  She never paid such a fee.     An apprenticeship/internship was a graduation requisite.    She spoke German so she went to Austria and worked at a high end ski resort restaurant. 

The nearby university has several RW students, many with very wealthy parents.  A few of them are not serious about studies and are not serious about finding a husband.  They seem serious about breaking the record for most sexual encounters.

I don't think these 'hypothetical' young females are coming to the US to work in a resort, or for that matter, to get an education.  I think they are coming to live in the United States and to earn their 'rite of passage' whatever the cost.

[alex330]

I don't think these 'hypothetical' young females are coming to the US to work in a resort, or for that matter, to get an education.  I think they are coming to live in the United States and to earn their 'rite of passage' whatever the cost.

When my wife first arrived here we met two RW who had married AM and arrived on the J1 to work in a resort. Funny enough I think it may have been in Maryland. Many women come to South Florida on the J1 or tourist VISA (B1?) and overstay their VISA, eventually marrying a blue passport holder. My friend just married one woman and her sister is actively seeking a man now. He must be Cuban though, as the VISA process is expedited in this case 

[roykirk]

When my future wife went to the Consulate in Moscow to apply for a B-1 to come visit me, she met many young women standing in line waiting for their interviews.  My wife thought that many of them were there for B-1 or K-1 interviews, but in talking with them she found out that quite a few of them were there for J-1 interviews.  The girls said that a J-1 was quite easy to get.  Their plans were to get one, move to the U.S., and not come back.  Indeed every single J-1 my wife spoke to was successful, while several B's were denied, including one heartbreaking scene she described where a woman in her 60s was sobbing on her way out because she kept applying for B-1 to go see her daughter and grandchild in the U.S., but she kept getting denied.  My wife was successful in getting her B-1, but she went thru a grilling in the process.  It made her all the more upset to think about how easy it seemed for the J-1 girls to waltz in and out with their visas. 

[Chicagoguy]

We usually have a fair amount around the resort area in Northern Wisconsin where we have another home. Some overstay and some return. And some come back each year. Last year there were not nearly as many as the U.S., for reasons I do not know, did not give out as many J-1 visas.
Maybe that was just our area ? I do know some of the employers and they liked the young foreign workers and they were upset.