[ankzap]

J1 waiver isn't too bad. Yes, it involves some paper-work, but nothing that would need an immigration lawyer. You can do everything yourself, and costs about $200 last I checked.

Also look into the O1 visa that doesn't require a waiver, and has no quotas.

[kartikkumar]

Ok, that's good to know. That's an order-of-magnitude less than I was told. I guess I should look into it in more detail. In the meantime I have accepted a postdoc position in Europe, so I'm in no immediate rush to get the visa situation sorted out. Would just be nice to be able to sort things out so that once my postdoc is done I've got a better chance of returning to the Bay Area.

With regards to the O1 visa, I've heard that you have to really stand out in your field of research, as the original article states, and unfortunately, during my PhD I haven't really achieved that level of success.

Thanks in any case for the info!

[ankzap]

Start the waiver process now. It is multi-staged, and takes several months if everything goes smoothly. You'll need a no-objection letter from the embassy of your home country. This is usually the most tricky part. Once the US Department of State gets this, you can track your status online. Start now so you are done with it by the time you finish your postdoc.

Re the O1, read up on the requirements, and work on publishing more during your postdoc.