CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Vietnamese
LOCATION: Stamford, CT

Our client is a citizen of Vietnam who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in August 2008.  He came with his wife (now, his ex-wife) who held a J-1 Visa as an exchange visitor.  Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, while they are residing in the United States, his marriage did not work out well. Eventually, he got divorced from his ex-wife in August 2018 in Vietnam. Prior to their divorce, our client changed his status from J-2 to J-1 (his J-1 program is not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement). He wanted to file the waiver so that he can be petitioned for H-1B by his current employer.

Our client contacted our office and retained our firm to do his J-2 waiver on December 3, 2018. On December 7, 2018, the J-2 Waiver (DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client was divorced from the J-1 visa holder.  Eventually, on March 25, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. Finally, the USCIS issued I-612 waiver approval notice on May 15, 2019.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Korean

LOCATION: Columbus, OH

Our client is a citizen of South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in February 2005.  He came with his father who came on a J-1 Visa for his research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

He turned 21 in October 2011.  He plans to file his adjustment of status with NIW petition.  However, because of his two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change his status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in October 2011.

Our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver, and on January 18, 2019, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on March 22, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On May 7, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: I-130 (Petition for Mother) and Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client retained us to petition for her mother for her green card. Our client was born and raised in India, but was naturalized in the United States in 2014. She contacted our office in November of 2018 and discussed with us the green card process. After consultation, she retained our office on November 20, 2018.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Applications on November 28, 2018 for her mother.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and a work permit all came on time. On April 12, 2019, our client appeared at her I-485 adjustment of status interview at Cleveland, Ohio USCIS Field Office. Attorney JP Sarmiento accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, on the same day of her interview, our client’s mother’s adjustment of status application was approved. Now, she is a green card holder.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Korean

LOCATION: California

Our client is a citizen of South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in February 2004.  She came with her father who came on a J-1 Visa for his research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in January 2006.  This year, she became an Assistant Professor with a tenured track; thus, her employer is willing to file the H-1B petition for her.  However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in January 2006.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on February 27, 2019, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on March 22, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On April 5, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: California

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in January 2012.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in March 2013. She would like to get a waiver because she has a U.S. citizen spouse who can file I-130 petition for her. She can file adjustment of status application along with her husband’s I-130 petition. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot adjust her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in March 2013.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on February 20, 2019, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on March 18, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On April 2, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Pennsylvania

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in 1995.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in May 2010. She would like to get a waiver because she has a prospective employer who will file an H-1B petition for her. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in May 2010.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on January 28, 2019, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on March 4, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On March 19, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement – Hardship

NATIONALITY:  Iranian

LOCATION: Alabama

Our client came from Iran as a J-1 short-term scholar in 2011.  In 2012, he got his F-1 status as a Ph.D. Student in the United States. His J-1 visa made him subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Our client would like to file his adjustment of status application along with his I-140 NIW application; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first.

Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue his waiver under No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). Our client also received government funding for his research programs which made his case tougher for the No Objection Statement or IGA waiver route. Our client, though, would like to pursue his J-1 waiver based on exceptional hardship standard. In fact, our client’s U.S. citizen daughter is experiencing exceptional medical hardships.

According to 8 C.F.R. Section 212.7(c)(5), “an alien who is subject to the foreign residence requirement and who believes that compliance therewith would impose exceptional hardship upon her spouse or child who is a citizen of the United States… may apply for a waiver on Form I-612.”

Some of the factors in analyzing extreme hardship are as follows: age of the subject, family ties in the U.S. and abroad, length and residency in the U.S., health / medical conditions, conditions in the country of removal – economic and political, financial status – business and occupation, position in / ties to the community. Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978).

After he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through an exceptional hardship basis. On September 7, 2017, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  Thereafter, our office prepared affidavit of our client, extensive brief in support for our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents. Our client provided us with extensive medical documents and doctor’s reports for his U.S. citizen daughter’s medical conditions.  On September 25, 2017, our office filed I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommends this waiver based on the fact that our client’s daughter would experience exceptional hardship if our client needs to go back to Iran for two years.

However, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence on July 5, 2018 and requested more hardship evidence from our client. Our office filed Response to RFE on July 19, 2018.

Eventually, the USCIS approved his I-612 waiver on March 4, 2019. Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can file his adjustment of status application along with his NIW I-140 self-petition in the United States.  

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Nepalese

LOCATION: Chicago, IL

Our client is a citizen of Nepal who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in July 2002.  She came with her father who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in August 2011. She would like to get a waiver because she has a prospective employer who will file the H-1B petition for her next year. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in August 2011.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on November 27, 2018, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on December 13, 2018, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On January 25, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: New York

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in July 2011.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in November 2011. She would like to get a waiver because she has a prospective employer who will file the H-1B petition for her next year. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in November 2011.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on November 21, 2018, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on January 7, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On January 30, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Indiana

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in 1999.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in August 2018. She would like to get a waiver because she has a prospective employer who will file the H-1B petition for her next year. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in August 2018.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on November 6, 2018, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on December 3, 2018, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On December 14, 2018, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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