I am a graduate student at USC and I am originally from Poland. I originally came to United States on J1 visa. I got a J1 waiver and changed to F1 visa. I don’t have any current visa in my passport. I need to travel home to visit my parents and was wondering how I should go about it? Will I have any trouble coming back to United States because I got the J1 waiver? Thanks.
Because you do not have a F1 visa in your passport, you will need to apply for a F1 visa at the US Embassy. While you should not have any additional difficulty in securing the visa simply because you obtained a J1 waiver, you will still need to prove to the satisfaction of the consular officer that you have strong ties to Poland and that you intend to return upon completion of your studies. This can be difficult to do if you do not have family or employment in Poland or you have already been in the US for an extended period of time.