The 18 month J-1 visas cannot be extended, however there are a couple of options which you should seriously consider as soon as possible.

If you hold a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, you may be eligible to change your status from a J-1 to an H-1B, provided there are H-1B numbers available at the time you apply. H-1Bs are limited to 58,200 new ones each year and this year’s annual numbers were used up on September 30, 2004. Because H-1Bs can be applied for up to six months in advance and because the government’s fiscal year begins on October 1st, April 1st was opening day for H-1B visas with October 1, 2005 start dates.

However, many people who have a Bachelor’s degree are unable to get an H-1B as the type of work must require the skills of a professional. For example, someone with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration will generally not be approved for the position of office manager since a person could become office manager without having obtained a degree.

Whether you have a Bachelor’s degree or not, you and your employer should investigate getting you on the road to a green card through the new PERM process which only began on March 28th. This new labor certification system should allow many people on temporary non-immigrant visas including, but not limited to, the J-1, H-1B, A, F, O and P visas, to get their green cards within a relatively short period of time. Even those who have very little or no time left on their J-1s may apply directly for a green card under PERM as J-1 visa holders are given “duration of status” to stay in the U.S. and without an actual date to have to leave by, they do not accrue unlawful presence under the current memorandum. However, if more than 180 days passes after the J-1 work authorization ends the penalty is the person must apply for the green card outside the U.S. at the Embassy in either Dublin or London.

For those considering changing status to an H-1B or extending an H-1B, there may be time to get through the PERM process without having to spend an enormous amount of money on government fees. The fees for the average H-1B visa are now $2,185 just to file the petition. With expedited (15 day) processing the total increases to $3,185. The base fee is $185, the new anti-fraud fee is $500 which applies to anyone not doing an extension with the same employer, an additional fee that employers must pay which is either $750 for employers with less than 25 employees or $1,500 for employers with more than 25 employees, an expedite fee is $1,000, and we haven’t even discussed attorneys fees to prepare the paperwork!

In order to apply under PERM, the employer must show that there is a shortage of qualified American workers in your occupation and that the employer has tried to find a worker to replace you and has been unsuccessful in their attempts. For nonprofessional positions like administrative assistants, assistant bar managers, carpenters, and most other contruction positions only two Sunday newspaper advertisements are required along with a 30 day CalJobs posting, a ten day posting (including salary) at the job site, and a prevailing wage determination from the California employment office. The employer is required to keep for five years all the supporting paperwork including the actual newspaper pages, CalJobs printouts, postings, the prevailing wage report, any resumes received, and the employer’s statement including a summary of how many people applied for the position(s), how many were hired, and why the others were rejected (i.e., no experience, no degree, no permanent right to work in the U.S.).

The ten page application is submitted either electronically or by mail to the Department of Labor (DOL). Within 60 days it will either be approved, denied, or selected for proof of recruitment documentation.

Even though it is expensive, most people hire an attorney to help them get a green card through work as the process is so complicated and the procedures are rarely publicized. Immigration attorneys know how to apply the constantly changing laws and regulations in this area to the particular facts in each person's case. This is an important responsibility because many of the requirements for a successful labor certificate application are counter-intuitive to "real world" employment recruitment. Because some rules are not looked at until near the final stage with the CIS, if the forms are done improperly at the beginning, it may be impossible to remedy.

The attorney will analyze the possibilities of a successful application and assist through the entire process, as well as keeping the employer informed of its obligations. While an attorney cannot guarantee what the results will be of any particular test of the job market, they can assist in drafting the proposed ad and postings, getting the prevailing wage, completing the application forms, answering requests for clarification or assessment notices, and everything else necessary to get the labor certificate approved. The only thing which an attorney cannot do is to interview any qualified U.S. applicants (if there are any); this can only be done by the employer.

In your situation with an approved labor certificate prior to the end of your J-1, you can submit your application to adjust status to green card holder with your employer’s immigrant visa petition (Form I-140) and 90 days later you will have a work card and travel authorization. At this stage, CIS will be interested in whether your employer has the money to pay your wage and your W-2 or employer’s tax returns (showing a profit) for the year your labor certificate was filed are required. At the moment, these applications are taking under a year if the file is not transferred to the local office for a personal interview.