<p>Hello, I'm from Holland and I would like to study in the US.
If I wanted to have an off-campus job to earn a bit of extra money, should I apply for a F-1 or a J-1 visum?</p>
<p>When I get any of these, am I an in-state or out-of-state student?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Do you want to stay in the US after college or not? If you do:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>do not get a J-1 visa. Since you expect to receive government financial aid, a J-1 visa might force you to return to your home country for 2 years after your studies before you are eligible for another US visa.</p></li>
<li><p>do not work off-campus for more than two months. The total time that you are allowed to work off campus on an F-1 visa is limited to 12 months (on OPT). That time may be used during your studies or right after you are done with your degree. Unfortunately, you might need 10 months of OPT left when you graduate in order to apply for a work visa. (There’s a yearly cap on the number of work visas, and if that cap is reached before your degree is granted, you have to wait until the following April to apply for a work visa.) </p></li>
</ul>
<p>If you want to return home, ignore everything I said above.</p>
<p>You are an out-of-state student on either visa.</p>
<p>Ok thanks for the help!</p>
<p>So you wouldn’t encourage working off campus earn some money during my education if I wanted to return home after getting my degree?
If I want to work, study and go back after getting my degree, which visa should I take?</p>
<p>Are you sure that you would qualify for a J-1 visa at all? That would require you to get more than 50% of your support from an outside organization in the form of grants, scholarships or fellowships (not loans). It’s most frequently used for government-sponsored exchange programs (hence the two-year home stay rule).</p>
<p>Each of these Visas has different regulations about the amount of work you can do off campus and when you can do it. If you need to make money to help cover your expenses, and you are eligible for both Visas, then read the work regulations and decide which is better for you.</p>
<p>@ B@r!um, I didn’t know that applied for J-1 visa</p>
<p>I’ll do some more research then.</p>