I was speaking to a guy who went to a fixed wing school that issued J-1 visas. He did his private fixed wing Part 141 and then went on to get his FAA rotorcraft ratings at the same school.
Granted that the school that he went to was a fixed wing school and only had two helicopters, but he believes that he still got good training with a smaller price tag (fixed wing time).
This may be an option that you might want to look at. I think Florida Aviation Career Training in St Augustine in Florida can issue J-1 visas. (Oh, He did not go to this school)
Hope this helps....