J-1 visa with spouse - how difficult is it?

[hitahguja]

I am an international student (Australian) applying to humanities PhDs in the USA and have a partner (soon-to-be spouse) that I'd like to move with if I am admitted. I have a couple of questions I am hoping other international students with a similar situation/experience might be about to answer:

• Is it hard to secure a J-1 visa with a university PhD offer as opposed to an F-1? Are universities generally happy to support either, or could requesting a J-1 deter the admissions team? https://vlc.onl/
• Has anyone moved with a partner on this visa? How difficult was it to get Employment Authorization for you or your J-2 spouse/dependent? For context, my partner works in film and is probably not established enough yet to secure an H-1B visa.

I'd really appreciate any advice/experience!