Whether I can re-enter right before my J-1 visa expires
I’m working as a postdoctoral researcher. I entered the U.S. in 2019 and have been working continuously since.
I entered on a J-1 visa back in 2019, and right after entering, COVID hit, so I’ve never gone back to Korea — I’ve just kept extending my DS-2019.
My DS-2019 gets renewed yearly since my postdoc contract is 1 year at a time under school policy, and it looks like renewing again this year shouldn’t be a major problem depending on circumstances.
In this situation, if I go to Korea briefly in May or June (3 weeks to 1 month), I’ll need a J-1 visa to come back to the U.S. — I’d like to know if I’d be able to get the J-1 visa renewed at that time.
This is essentially reapplying for a J visa from Korea, and if the interview goes well, you can receive it. First, with about 2 months left, go ahead and just enter the U.S. If you need to extend to stay longer, I think it would be more advantageous to extend within the U.S.
Your visa remains valid even if you don’t reapply before entering.
If you want to extend further later, you can reapply after it expires.
If you’d like to reapply before it expires, just try reapplying directly through the U.S. Embassy in Korea.