My fiance's J-1 2 year HRR as a Fullbright Scholar from Palestine

US_Palestine

New Member
Hello,
I am new to this site but my fiance and I have been regulars at reading threads on how to tackle the 2 yr HRR. We applied for the J-1 waiver with the no objection statement from her home country in Palestine. Of course, her government had no issues with her remaining in the US (realistically, in becoming a US citizen). However, after submission of our waiver forms etc. we were denied.

She is currently back home in Palestine fulfilling her 2 yr HRR. We were both heartbroken over this. Unlike other countries, our unique circumstances of the Palestinian/Israeli relations, coming and going from Palestine to the US (or anywhere) is nearly impossible and would take months or even years to even be granted temporary visas. We've decided that she wouldn't leave and knock out the 2 year HRR in one chunk. This was and still is the hardest decision that we had to make as our graduate studies came to the end. I will be going over regularly to visit and at some point within the 2 years will try to live temporarily there in order to quell family concerns about our unconventional relationship (unconventional due to cultural and religious reasons).

I joined this forum because I am unsure if there are other routes to exempt the 2 year HRR given our unique situation. Not sure if anyone on here is following current events in the Middle East, specifically Israel and Palestine, but the fighting has gotten much more severe and intense (I am biting my tongue due to my choice of not making this a political debate). Technically, she is living in a conflict zone and I am wondering if there are any types of exemptions or exceptions that we might be eligible for due to these circumstances.

I thank everyone on here for sharing their stories, happy and sad. I know that each of us is going through these hardships with different circumstances but in the end we are all experiencing very similar consequences from the US's archaic and hypocritical immigration laws. Any help with our situation would be accepted with gratitude and hope.

Feeling_Hopeless
 
There are several ways of J-1 Waiver besides No Objection Statement.
Have you tried Extremely Hardship? Or others?
The following is from DOS:
Review the Waiver Eligibility webpage, which explains in detail the five bases set forth in U.S. immigration law under which you may apply for a waiver of this requirement. You may only apply under one waiver basis, so select the one basis under which you believe you qualify for a waiver or that applies to your situation. The five bases for recommendation of a waiver are:

 
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