Are employers allowed to hire someone in the US on a J1 visa?

12-30-2003, 10:06 PM

Greetings,

I've been trying to read up on J1 visas but I didn't notice any
mention of the employer side of the J1. Err, meaning, if someone is
already here on a J1 visa, can a company hire that person without any
problems? Or, is the employer supposed to fill out paperwork/sponsor
the J1 person and/or is the J1 person supposed to apply for an EAD,
etc???

Thank You for your help.

01-03-2004, 12:09 AM

"Briana" <> wrote in message
news:...

    > I've been trying to read up on J1 visas but I didn't notice any
    > mention of the employer side of the J1. Err, meaning, if someone is
    > already here on a J1 visa, can a company hire that person without any
    > problems?

There are several categories of J-1 (student, research scholar, specialist,
trainee, physician, au pair, camp counselor, summer work/travel, etc.). All
of these require a J-1 sponsor. The J-1 sponsor could be a university, an
employer authorized to issue J-1 certificates (like Disney, for example), or
an independent agency. The J-1 sponsor may or may not be the actual
employer.

The answer to your question depends on your category. Even if you are
"already here" based on a J-1 from an agency and a job offer from an
employer, you are supposed to get permission from the agency to change to
another employer. Now, the employer might not know this, but ignorance is
no excuse, so you had better insist on the approval of the agency.

Or, is the employer supposed to fill out paperwork/sponsor
    > the J1 person and/or is the J1 person supposed to apply for an EAD,
    > etc???

J-1 holders do not obtain EADs.