J1 to F1

[jjb]

I am currently on a J1 visa to complete an internship, this visa expires on Dec. 31 of 2000. I would like to attend college in the USA starting january and change from a J1 to an F1. I was informed by one of the international student advisors that I could either apply for 'change of status', which would take almost a year to come through ( and would not receive the benefits of F1 status - i.e. being able to work on campus) or I could travel to my home country (the UK) and apply for the F1 there, the advisor seemed to think this would not take long and would be without complications as there are rarely problems with UK applications. Another alternative would be to go to one of the border posts in Canada and apply for the visa there. I am not sure which option is the safest? Any advice?

 

[usdeeper]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jjb:
I am currently on a J1 visa to complete an internship, this visa expires on Dec. 31 of 2000. I would like to attend college in the USA starting january and change from a J1 to an F1. I was informed by one of the international student advisors that I could either apply for 'change of status', which would take almost a year to come through ( and would not receive the benefits of F1 status - i.e. being able to work on campus) or I could travel to my home country (the UK) and apply for the F1 there, the advisor seemed to think this would not take long and would be without complications as there are rarely problems with UK applications. Another alternative would be to go to one of the border posts in Canada and apply for the visa there. I am not sure which option is the safest? Any advice?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You need to either read the conditions of your visa carefully or see an Immigration Attorney. There are certain J-1 visas that will not allow you to change to another status and forces you to return home for 2 years.