I have a J visa and am subject to the two-year return home requirement, but I want to stay in the U.S. and change to an H-1B visa. What are my options?
You could apply for a waiver based on 1) fear of persecution if you returned to your home country; or 2) extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or child (hardship to them if you left, and also if they went with you); or 3) your country has “no objection”; or 4) an interested U.S. government agency wants to apply for you to stay here. Other options may also exist depending on your circumstances…
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