DOS Restricts 2013 J Visas

Maggio Kattar

As a result of an apparent policy change at the U.S. Department of State (DOS), many J-1 visa sponsors now have a limited number of DS-2019 (Certificate of Eligibility) forms available for J-1 Trainees and Interns with program start dates in 2013.

The J-1 Trainee/Intern sponsor used by many employers, The Council for Global Immigration (“the Council”, formerly known as ACIP), is approaching its limit of available DS-2019 forms for J-1 Trainees. The Council is still accepting applications at this time and will continue to issue DS-2019 forms on a first-come, first-served basis, but it is possible that its Trainee limit will be met very soon. Once the Council’s remaining J-1 Trainee forms have been used, it will not be able to issue new DS-2019 forms for Trainees until 2014. For the time being, the Council still has DS-2019 forms available for J-1 Interns, and it will also continue to process amendment and extension requests for both Trainees and Interns.

The DOS will provide DS-2019 forms for 2014 training programs in early November, and at that time the Council will be able to issue DS-2019s for trainee programs with 2014 start dates.