Hello everyone!

I am married and will most likely apply for an LL.M in the U.S. for the academic year 2018/19. I am unsure regarding the type of visa my wife would be eligible for and wonder if anyone here has any experience (first- or secondhand) with taking their life partner with them for the year.

I would assume that she wouldn't be able to work which would basically limit her options to an online-degree somewhere (she is a pharmacist with an education equivalent to an MSc). Are there any other options available or does anybody have reliable information sources in this regard?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

[quote]Hello everyone!

I am married and will most likely apply for an LL.M in the U.S. for the academic year 2018/19. I am unsure regarding the type of visa my wife would be eligible for and wonder if anyone here has any experience (first- or secondhand) with taking their life partner with them for the year.

I would assume that she wouldn't be able to work which would basically limit her options to an online-degree somewhere (she is a pharmacist with an education equivalent to an MSc). Are there any other options available or does anybody have reliable information sources in this regard?

Thanks in advance for all the help![/quote]

Hi Leviathan:

(I'm sure you already figured this one out by now but it may be useful for other people with a similar question).

I did a 2-year masters in the U.S. some years ago (not an LLM). We researched that very question then and we figured we needed the J visa, not the F.

The F1 is the usual visa for students (and F2 for the spouses), but it forbids your spouse from getting a work permit. A J1 visa (and a J2 for the spouse) is an "exchange" visa and it does give your spouse the opportunity to get a work permit.

Basically, you can apply for a J1-J2 visa if most of your funding is coming from scholarships, either from your country of origin or from the US (the school or other institution). I don't know what the funding threshold would be to argue that "most" of your funding comes from scholarships but my guess is that they are flexible (in my case, I got most of my tuition covered for the first year but paid with our own money the life expenses).