Gents,
Its all a matter of how the rules are interpreted. If you hold an FAA PPL with more than 50hrs logged, you will not be eligible for a J-1 visa. Unless you find the "right" flight school.
If you hold a JAR ATPL with 50,000hrs P1 on A380, you can still get a J-1 as long as the US authorities don't know about your foreign license.
Right or wrong?!? Thats how it works, have seen it working on several occasions (not with 50,000 A380 hrs though)