Section 4: Frequently Asked Questions

While it is not encouraged to switch roles, it is allowed. We recommend being in touch with our team before switching roles. If you were to accept a position at one company and complete your training plan (DS-7002), then decide to accept a different role later on, you would need to:

1. Have the new role approved (see Section 2),

2. Submit a new training plan, and edit your previous training plan to reflect your accurate end date. 

You should give your first employer at least a 2 weeks notice before leaving your role and we recommend waiting to communicate your change until your new position has been completely approved (we have signed and approved your new training plan). Therefore, it is best to make sure your start date for your new employer is far enough advance to allow this to occur.

There are certain visa requirements and regulations that are of particular relevance with startups that you should be aware of when considering job opportunities. In order to approve a role at a startup, we will need to verify the following:

• The company has an Employer Identification Number

• The company has state required Workers Compensation Policy

• The company has an address that can be verified through a third party, such as a website, brochure, etc. This cannot be a home address.

• There is an organizational employee structure that you can benefit from, that you are being provided continuous on-site supervision, and that there are sufficient resources/support to provide a learning experience for you.

Working from an employer’s home office would not be permitted in most cases for the following reasons:

1. Cultural Exchange: The current guidance from the Department of State is that 100% remote positions are not allowed. A large focus of the J1 Visa is cultural exchange, so an in-person component is required to ensure J1 Interns are experiencing the cultural exchange of working in a U.S. work environment and interacting with coworkers. 

2. Address Verification: We are required to verify the address of a host organization through a third party, such as a website, brochure, etc. If you were working for an employer who was working out of their home office, we would need to be able to verify this address is registered with the employer and verified elsewhere, such as a website.

3. Site Visits: We are required to conduct site visits for host organizations that have not hosted with us before and meet certain criteria (less than 25 full-time employees or less than $25 million annual revenue), therefore we may need to be able to visit a physical office/working space to conduct this visit. 

4. Safety: We are required to ensure your safety in the work environment, which is another reason we would not permit working from an employer's home if it is just the two of you, and not a formal office space. We do not want you to get into a situation in which you are unsafe or uncomfortable in your work environment. If the employer rents a shared work space, such as a WeWork, those may be considered in some cases, however working from the home of the employer is typically not permitted.

Although it is uncommon, we have had some J-1s share similar situations in which a role they thought was ideal later turned out to be different than was advertised, particularly among J-1s looking for marketing roles. To verify that a position would be a good fit for you/the visa, it is a good idea to clarify the role will meet the visa requirements (see Section 1) and ensure the employer understands and is willing to engage in the process for getting your role approved before you can start work (see Section 2). Some common red flags to look for in these situations include: 

• The employer has been inconsistent in how they describe the role

• The role description emphasizes that no experience is necessary and lists very few qualifications, and you realize they are hiring many people for the same position. 

• If the role description states that you will be “out in the community generating leads”, this may actually mean you will be out knocking on doors all day or holding signs outside of businesses. 

• The position is paid entirely on commission or paid by the day

If you have a bad feeling about an employer, it is generally a good idea to trust your intuition. If you are unsure about a role, you can always reach out to our team and we can take a look and give you feedback.

Yes! You can do multiple internships during your J-1 visa. You will need to complete a new DS-7002 for each internship. You have 90 days total for your job search. Therefore, the number of days it took you to secure your first internship would be subtracted from your 90 day deadline and you would have the remaining days to find your next internship. For example, if it took you 30 days to secure your first internship, you would have 60 days remaining in your 90 day deadline to secure your next internship.

We do not share the contact details about the companies that have previously hired J-1s on our program out of respect for the privacy of our employer contacts. At Rian we sponsor the visas of up to 500 J-1s each year, and if we shared the contact information about our previous employers with all of our J-1s, this could lead to our employer contacts receiving excessive unsolicited messages. Although we do not share contact details about our employer partners, we are available to support you with your internship search and can send your resume to our previous employer contacts on your behalf. Additionally, our team will reach out to you directly if one of our employer contacts shares a job opening that would be suitable for your area of study.

No, your current J-1 Visa cannot be extended beyond 12 months. At Rian we do not sponsor any other visas and cannot provide guidance on transferring visas. If you are interested in exploring this topic further, we recommend that you contact an immigration attorney.