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I am currently enrolled as a non degree J1 student at an American University. My visa expires at the beginning of May but I have a research offer that would allow me to stay. Some employees at the immigration office told me that it might be that I have to come back to my home country and apply again for another visa. Is this true? Shouldn't I be able to get an extension without having to come back, quarantine and spend money on flights, applications and transport other than actual time?

simonegiancola09
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No. You have been given some incorrect advice by someone not very knowledgeable (I'm not sure what "immigration office" you have been talking to). A US "visa" (which is a sticker that takes up a whole page of your passport and says "VISA" on it) is solely for entry to the US. A US visa has no relevance to stay in the US, and you do not need a valid visa to stay in the US. What governs your stay in the US is your status as given on your I-94 and the regulations regarding your status. For J1 status, you are most likely admitted for "D/S" in your I-94, so your status does not have a fixed end date. You generally remain in J1 status as long as you have a valid DS-2019 and stay in good standing with your program. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to extend your DS-2019 or transferring to another program and get a new DS-2019. You also remain in status for 30 days after the end of the program.

A non-diplomatic US "visa" cannot be obtained from within the US. You can only apply for a non-diplomatic US visa from a US consulate outside the US. This is not a problem since US visas are solely for entry, and you only need to "enter" if you are outside the US in the first place.

Your question is not clear whether this research position you are getting would be on J1 status or not. If you will be getting a position on a different status (e.g. H1b or O1, etc.), you would have to either do a Change of Status in the US (which is only possible if your J1 doesn't have a 2-year home residency requirement), or go abroad to obtain a visa corresponding to the new status.

user102008
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  • Thanks. Fun fact, the immigration office is that of my university. – simonegiancola09 Mar 22 '21 at 14:18
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    It might be worthwhile to mention the possibility of applying to extend status for those who are not admitted for duration of status. – phoog Mar 22 '21 at 15:28
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    @simonegiancola09 I'm not surprised. I know people who spend months in limbo due to the immigration office at their US university screwing up. It always irks me that, given that people's livelihood depend on this, universities don't pay for qualified staff. –  Mar 22 '21 at 15:56
  • This seems dangerous advice. It hinges on the fact that working (?!) or studying (?!) under the "research offer" would be compatible with the current status. –  Mar 22 '21 at 18:42
  • Additionally, there's the pesky "Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement" that can prohibit any change of immigration status. These are really important questions/details that I would trust your international office more than random people on the internet. Even if they have a lot of reputation points... Maybe try the expat stack exchange rather than travel, since this is not really a travel related question. Here's a good online source for more details https://internationalcenter.umich.edu/important-information-about-j1-status –  Mar 22 '21 at 18:44
  • The key of this answer is "Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to extend your DS-2019 or transferring to another program and get a new DS-2019." and I suspect that the International Office specifically considered the circumstances in question and highlighted the fact that exactly this process may not be possible. –  Mar 22 '21 at 18:50
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    @user2705196: The question never asked about Change of Status, but about "extension" (presumably of J1 status). The 2-year home residency requirement has nothing to do with extension of J1 status. It's possible that the position that the OP is getting requires a different status and isn't aware of that, and I will update the answer to address that. But even if that is the case, it has nothing to do with the expiration of the visa, which is the impression that the OP seems to have. – user102008 Mar 22 '21 at 19:29