J-1 Question for Exchange Trainee

If a Canadian participates in a 18 month exchange visitor "trainee" program in the US is he/she subject to a 2 year home residency requirement at the completion of the program?

Will this have any affect on obtaining another visa (ie H1 or TN) imediatly following the J-1 completion?

Thanks,
Dan

I too am curious about this... Also, just inquiring as a graduate from a 2-year college of social services and with approx. 1 year experience in the field, as a Canadian am I eligible for a work visa? I know I'm exempt from a TN visa because that requires a 4-year degree but are there any other options?

Usually it depends on whether there was any govt. involvement, such as sponsorship and so on as to whether the 2-year restriction applies. Often you can get H-3 rather than using J-1 in these situations and H-3 doesn't have the limit.

This FAQ has more information.

If a Canadian participates in a 18 month exchange visitor "trainee" program in the US is he/she subject to a 2 year home residency requirement at the completion of the program?

You are only subject to the 2 year home residency requirement if the program is financed either wholly or partially by a government agency (either US or your home country), if your field is on the exchange visitors skill list (which I don't think applies to Canadians) or if you are coming to the US for medical training of some kind.

My husband was on a J-1 last year, and changed into an H1-B visa this year. First we asked whether we needed to get a waiver for this, which took about 2-3 months before we received a reply. They said we needed the waiver, so we sent that in (can't remember if it's a form or just a self-written letter) and waited another 4 months or so before our waiver arrived in the mail. Then we could start processing the H1B. My husband says that there is info online about this, as well as who to talk to about it.