NIW I-140 approved, but visa will expire soon, can I apply for J1

[throne]

Hi all,

My I-140 was approved last year and my employer is not going to sponsor me to get an H1B Visa. I would highly appreciate if someone could just advise me on following questions.

Currently I'm using F-1 visa with the extension (STEM) which will expire in a few months.

My H1B expired on Sep 30th 2015 but 1 month before that on August 31st I applied for change of status to H4 VISA based upon my wife's approved H1B visa. Currently my H4 VISA is pending. I still have 6 weeks of recapture time left on my H1B which I have not used yet.

My question is:

1. Can I apply for the extra 7-month extension of OPT ?

2. Can I apply for the J-1 visa?

3. If NOT, what type of visa could I apply other than H1B?

Thanks very much in advance!

best,

[JoeF]

A J1 doesn't allow immigration intent. That's also why an OPT extension is unlikely to get approved.