Not subject dos j-1 waiver decision
Thought I should share my ordeal since there is not much on the web about a similar scenario.
I am a J-1 research scholar whose DS-2019 states that I fall under the 2YRHRR based on the Skills List for my country (at least, according to the US Counselor in my home country who awarded me the J-1 VISA on my passport and stamped my DS-2019).
I was not funded by any agency (whether international or US) and hence had no ties to my home country.
I applied for a J-1 waiver on the basis of obtaining a no-objection letter from my embassy, which was easily done, in my situation.
Within a month from submitting all materials, the status for my J-1 waiver application on the DOS website changed from PENDING to NOT SUBJECT. I freaked out because I was not sure what the NOT SUBJECT meant (e.g. perhaps not subject to the waiver). In addition, I noticed there was a notice of 212(e) finding letter SENT.
Within less than a week, a letter from the DEPT OF STATE arrived at my address:
"The Department has determined that the above exchange visitor is not subject to the 2-year residency requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, based on the following data:
DS-2019 (IAP-66): MY NUMBER
Program Number: MY PROGRAM NUMBER
It appears there were no government funds involved in the program and the Skills List is not applicable in this case, therefore it is not necessary to process a waiver on the exchange visitor's behalf.
Should the exchange visitor wish to request a change in visa status, an application may be made directly to the District Office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services having jurisdiction over the exchange visitor's temporary place of residence in the United States.
We hope this information is helpful"
Needless to say, I was ecstatic, specially after hearing some of the J-1 waiver horror stories from different forums.
Good luck to you all - hope my journey was inspiring and helpful to some of you in the same situation.
09/20/2010 - ALL DOCUMENTS SENT TO DOS
09/20/2010 - NO-OBJECTION LETTER REQUEST SENT TO DC EMBASSY
09/27/2010 - DOS RECEIVED ALL DOCUMENTS EXCEPT FOR EMBASSY LETTER
10/05/2010 - EMBASSY NOTIFIED ME OF SENDING N.O. LETTER TO DOS
10/19/2010 - NO OBJECTION EMBASSY LETTER RECEIVED BY DOS (WEBSITE)
10/20/2010 - DOS RULED "NOT SUBJECT"+ 212(e) FINDING LETTER SENT
10/25/2010 - FINDING LETTER ARRIVED!!!!!