Your J-1 teacher visa term ends on June 30 of your last year in the US.

Most teachers are offered the courtesyof a 3-year J-1 visa term – a privilege, not a right – so that if you are invited to return for the following year, you do not have to go through the long, tedious, expensive process of renewing the J-1 visa stamp in your passport and schedule another American Embassy appointment abroad every year.

This is a courtesy – not an entitlement.

If you choose not to stay at your current school for the full 3-year term, your J-1 visa status automatically ends on June 30 of the year you leave, which we explain verbally at your initial orientation and in booklets and other materials (such as this webpage).  The Cordell Hull Foundation controls your J-1 visa record in the SEVIS database.  We shorten your term.  In order to stay in J-1 visa status, you need an updated DS-2019 form every year with an updated travel validation, and you must be kept active in the SEVIS database.  The J-1 visa in your passport does not allow you to work; it is just a ticket to get into the United States.

The Cordell Hull Foundation has a non-transfer policy, which teachers agree to in writing as a condition of acceptance into our program.  There are a few very unusual circumstances which might allow a transfer, but in all cases you must ask our permission in advance, which is also explained numerous times and in numerous places (such as on this website).

To reiterate, if you quit your current position, your visa ends on June 30 of your last school year.  If you quit during school year 2020-21, for example, your visa ends on June 30, 2021.

If you are fired or terminated during the year, the J-1 visa regulations require you to return home immediately.  No 30-day grace period.