My friend has a J-1 visa and is a sponsored intern at a hotel, can she also take classes?

Question

Her hotel internship job doesn't take up all her time and she's wondering if she can take some classes at the local university. Is this allowed under her J-1 visa? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

She can take classes for her own amusement. I'm assuming that the classes she wants to take would not be taken instead of participation in her program, right?

As long as she maintains her status as a J-1, she's free to take a class or two, perhaps at night, or to learn to swim, or to join a softball team, or to go to a hospital and be a baby holder, or to visit old people in old folks homes to cheer them up.

Any innocent activity which does not involve work/employment outside of the program would not get her into trouble.