F-1
vs. J-1 VISA INFORMATION
1.
 Are the eligibility requirements the same for the F-1 and J-1 categories?
No.
To be eligible for J-1 student status, you must have funding, at least
at first, that comes substantially from any source other than personal
or family funds, in the words of the regulation. Otherwise, to be
eligible for J-1 status, you must participate in an exchange program formally
established by a written agreement between governments, or between the
University and a foreign government or institution. Thus if your
funding comes from your own resources or from your family, and you will
not be participating in an exchange program, you will be ineligible for
J-1 status, and will have no choice but to come as an F-1.
2.
Will both the F-1 and the J-1 categories give me enough time to finish
my degree program?
Both
will allow you to remain in the United States for as long as your academic
program requires, provided that you maintain full-time registration in
that program, and, if necessary, that you apply for extensions before the
date of expected completion shown on your visa document. Note, however,
that if you hold J-1 status from an agency rather than from the University
itself, that agency will have full authority to impose time limits.
3.
Which status, F-1 or J-1, will make it easier for me to get work permission
in the United States?
Keep
these important points in mind.
1.You should not assume that you can cover any part of your expenses by
working at a part- time job.
2. If you are a J-1 student, no employment of any kind is possible without
the annual written approval of your J-1 sponsor, which is the agency or
institution that issued your visa document Form IAP-66.
3. The procedures to obtain work permission are quite different, but the
employment privileges of F-1 and J-1 students are very similar.
Both can work on campus up to 20 hours a week when classes are in
session (full-time during breaks), at jobs that are related to study, for
example an assistantship, or are unrelated to study. In theory both
can work off campus, part time, in jobs unrelated to the field of study.
In practice, however, that kind of work authorization is severely
restricted and very rare. Both are eligible for off-campus employment
in the field of study. For F-1 students this means up to 12 months
of practical training(PT), for J-1s up to 18 months of academic training
(AT). Both F-1 PT and J-1 AT are available for up to 20 hours
a week when classes are in session, but may be full-time during breaks
and during the annual vacation. An important difference: F-1
students do not become eligible for PT until they have studied full-time
for an academic year. J-1 students face no delay, but they may work
only as long as they have studied. Thus if you come to the University
as an F-1 for one quarter only, you will not be able to work, but if you
come as a J-1 you will be eligible for up to three months of employment
under AT. After completion of a course of study lasting an academic year
or longer, F-1 students are eligible for any unused portion of the
12 months of PT, and J-1 students may use the remainder of their
AT, either 18 months or the length of full time study, whichever is shorter.
If, as a J-1 student, you learn a doctorate in the United States, you may
be eligible for up to months of postdoctoral AT or research, minus any
prior AT.
4.
Will my dependent spouse be eligible to work in the United States?
The
F-2 dependents of F-1 students may not work under any circumstances. The
J-2 dependents of J-1s may apply to the Immigration and Naturalization
Service for work authorization after their arrival in the United States,
but, by regulation, they may not use their earnings to pay the tuition,
fees or living expenses of the J-1, nor can their anticipated salary be
considered as a source of their own support, for purposes of the University
Financial Resources Statement or the issuing of Form IAP-66. Status
as an F-2 or J-2 dependent permits full-time or part-time study.
5.
Would I have any obligations as an F-1 that I would not have as a J-1,
or as a J-1 that I would not have as an F-1?
Your
tax obligations to the United States government would not be affected by
your choice of F-1 status over J-1, or of J-1 over F-1. There are
differences in health insurance requirements, but those differences will
not affect you if you have no dependents, and if you buy the University
student health insurance. Finally, some J-1s are subject to a
requirement that they spend two years in the home country before they become
eligible for immigrant status in the United States, or for long-term employment
as a nonimmigrant.
6.
What are the J-1 health insurance requirements?
Universities
requires students, American and foreign, to carry health insurance, and
urges coverage for their dependents. For J-1 students and their dependents,
however, health insurance is not only wise, it is required by federal regulations
enforced by the United States Information Agency (USIA). Thus if
you, as a J-1 student, willfully fail to carry health insurance for yourself
or your J-2 dependents, you will be violating your own J-1 status, and
the University will be required to terminate your participation in its
exchange visitor program. That would put an immediate end to any
employment, and possibly to your registration in the University as a student.
Note that high cost is not a valid excuse; the regulation implies that
if you can't afford health insurance, you can't afford J-1 status in the
United States. As a J-1 student you may purchase other insurance
for your dependents that is less than equivalent, as long as it meets USIA
stipulations.
Insurance
Requirements for Exchange Visitors Minimum coverage shall provide:
(1)
Medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness;
(2)
Repatriation of remains in the amount of $7,500;
(3)
Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor
to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000; and
(4)
A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.An insurance policy
secured to fulfill the requirements of this section:(1) May require a waiting
period for pre-existing conditions which is reasonable as determined by
current industry standards;
(2)
May include provision for Co-insurance under the terms of which the exchange
visitor may be required to pay up to 25% of the covered benefits per accident
or illness; and
(3)
Shall not unreasonably exclude coverage for perils inherent to the activities
of the exchange program in which the exchange visitor participates.Any
insurance policy secured to fulfill the above requirements must, at a minimum,
be:
(1)
Underwritten by an insurance corporation having an A.M. Best rating of
or above, an insurance Solvency international, Ltd. (ISI) rating of
or above, a Standard & Poor Claims- paying Ability rating of or
above, a Weiss Research, Inc. rating of B+ or above, or such other rating
as the Agency may from time to time specify; or(2) Backed by the full faith
and credit of the government of the exchange visitor home country; or
Part of a health benefits program offered on a group basis to employees
or enrolled students by a designated sponsor; or(4) Offered through or
underwritten by a federally qualified Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
or eligible Competitive Medical Plan (CMP) as determined by the Health
Care Financing Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.Quoted from the Federal Register, March 19, 1993 page 15201, and
July 7, 1994, page 34761.
7.
If I am unsure whether my insurance meets USIA requirements, how can I
find out?
Show
this sheet to your insurance provider, and ask for assurance in writing.
8.
What is the J-1 two-year home-country residence requirement? Will I be
subject to it?
If
you hold J-1 student status in the United States, you will be subject to
this requirement IF
(1)
you receive financial support from your home government, the government
of the United States, or an international agency, OR
(2)
you study in a field that is listed under your home country on the Exchange
Visitor Skills List published by the United States information Agency,
OR
(3)
you work in the United States as a medical resident or intern. If
you are subject, you will have to spend two years back in your country
(not just outside the United States) before you become eligible for status
as a nonimmigrant H-1B temporary worker or L-1 intracompany transferee,
OR as an immigrant or permanent resident. If you are subject, then
so are your J-2 dependents. F-1 status will not make you subject
to this requirement. Note, however, that a J-1 student who is subject,
and who leaves the United States and reenters in F-1 or any other status
before spending two years in his or her home country, has not satisfied
the requirement and therefore remains ineligible for status as an H-1B
or L-1, or as an immigrant.
9.
Can I change my status, from F-1 to J-1, or from J-1 to F-1, after my arrival
in the United States?
Probably
not. Some changes are prohibited by regulations, and others are possible
only in very special circumstances. As an alternative to changing
inside the United States, it is sometimes possible to go home, obtain a
new visa stamp in the other category, and reenter in the new status.
Even if you go all the way home, though, the consulate may refuse
to give you the category of visa that you want.
10.
Which status is recommended, F-1 or J-1?
No
recommendations are made. Most Universities will follow your preference
as long as you are eligible for it.
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