J1 or J2 visa for post-doc Me and my husband both are accepted from US universities for post-doc. The universities will not pay us for post doctoral work. My husband won a scholarship from our country for 1 year, but unfortunatelly I couldn't. He will apply for J-1 visa. My question is can I do post-doc with J2, or should I apply for J1? As applying seperately for J1 requires more personal foundation, we would prefer J2 for me. As I will not receive any payment from the university should I apply for working permission (EAD) for J2? Or is it best to apply for J1 at the beginning? Thanks for your answers..
You should apply for J-1.

I had exactly this question when my wife got accepted for a postdoc in the USA.  She started before me.  I was told that although it may be possible to work on a spousal visa, it is far easier to get J-1 directly.

Note: One difference was that we both got paid.  An unpaid postdoc sounds quite exploitative to me, to be honest.