The J1 Visa Expiration and the H-1B Change of Status, J1 Waiver, J1 Visa, H1B, H1B Visa, J1 Visa Expiration, H-1B Change of Status

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The J1 Visa Expiration and the H-1B Change of Status

Hi William,

As a visiting scholar, my J1 visa will expire at the end of this month. A company wants to hire me as a research engineer, and has applied the H1B visa for me to change the status. Due to the H1B visa yearly gap, the H1B application is pending, and I can work for the company only after October 1. Do you think I may have the status problem after the J1 visa expiration and before the H1B approval?

Answer,

After J-1 visa expiration, you have a 30-day grace period to remain in the US but cannot work. If an H-1B change of status is filed before the J-1 status (plus 30-day grace period) expires, you generally have a "stay authorized by the Attorney General". You cannot start working until the H-1B is approved.

To qualify for the H-1B visa approval to change your status from J1 to H-1B in the United States, you need to keep a legal nonimmigrant status on October 1. Since your J1 visa will expire at the end of this month, USCIS may approve the company's H-1B petition for an alien's worker, but you may not be able to change your status from J1 to H-1B in the United States.

If that situation happens, after the H-1B petition is approved for the employer, you need to travel to your home country to get the H-1B visa on your passport at an U.S. Embassy, and then return to U.S. to work for this company.

The 30-day grace period allows for legal presence in the U.S. to prepare for departure or a change of status, but you cannot work or travel outside the U.S. and re-enter during this time. If a H-1B change of status petition (Form I-129) is filed with USCIS before your J-1 grace period expires, you can legally stay in the US while it is pending, even if the decision comes after the 30 days.

You cannot work between the expiration of your J-1 and the start date on your approved H-1B petition, often creating a gap in employment. If subject to the J1 waiver home residency requirement, you cannot convert to H-1B without a waiver.