The U.S. government provides a legal stay period of one month after the expiration date of certain visa types, granting individuals the permission to remain in the country during this time. This period, also known as the Grace Period, is part of the Work and Travel program and begins after the end date of your SWT J1 visa, which is the date when your work authorization expires. During this 30-day period, you are allowed to stay in the U.S., but you no longer have work authorization. If you work even for a single day during this period without valid work authorization, you will be considered illegal. If this situation is noticed, the chances of obtaining a visa again in the future will be very low.
For example, if your visa’s expiration date is September 24th, you can legally stay in the country until October 24th without work authorization. However, one-month travels are not very common due to the high costs and the fact that schools usually start during this period. If you are planning such an extended travel, we recommend not waiting until the last day to leave the country in case unexpected issues arise.