Help

[Amitha]

I am currently dating a guy from India who is here on a J1 Visa that expires in May. I cannot bear the though of being seperated from him as he has to go back to India & I will remain in the US. We wore thinking of getting married before he leaves so he can apply for the J1 waiver for hardship on my part. I have lived in US for 17 1/2 yrs but not a US Citizen but a Legal Permanent Resident. I would love to follow him to his country but dont think I could live elsewhere especially in these hard times (job wise) & US is my home. Does anyone have any suggestions or maybe similar stories you can share? Also was wondering if there is a time limit you need to be married before applying for the J1 waiver? Would appreciate any feedback I can get back. Thank you

 

[tabaliya]

I am currently dating a guy from India who is here on a J1 Visa that expires in May. I cannot bear the though of being seperated from him as he has to go back to India & I will remain in the US. We wore thinking of getting married before he leaves so he can apply for the J1 waiver for hardship on my part. I have lived in US for 17 1/2 yrs but not a US Citizen but a Legal Permanent Resident. I would love to follow him to his country but dont think I could live elsewhere especially in these hard times (job wise) & US is my home. Does anyone have any suggestions or maybe similar stories you can share? Also was wondering if there is a time limit you need to be married before applying for the J1 waiver? Would appreciate any feedback I can get back. Thank you

The hardship route for J-1 waiver is a tough one.

The better option for you is to become a citizen (takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years depending on your luck) and then sponsor your fiancee/spouse on a K-1/K-3 visa. In the meantime you will have to apply for a J-1 waiver (try the No Objection route).

My advice is to schedule an hour with a good immigration attorney who can paint the big picture for you in terms of all options you could potentially pursue. It might cost you $200-300 depending on the attorney but would be time well spent, providing you some clarity on the matter. That's how I went about preparing the J-1 waiver application for my fiancee.

AP

 

[sadia anjum]

hi my name is sadia i have come in usa in august 2007 on j-1 visa (2 years rules applies )(i have one year visa)as Montessori teacher i m working on this visa can i get married with green card holder boy or i can only get married with citizen bcoz i dont want to go back from here and want to get married as soon as possible please tell me what to do and how to do ???my visa is going to be finished in july 4,2009 i m worry about it please let me know if u know somthing..

 

[Amitha]

Thanks Tabaliya for your imput. I was also thinking of that but figured that would be a longer process. So how long is the wait for a J1 waiver? What the difference between filling no objection & hardship? Also does my boyfriend have to return back to India for those two years or can he go to another country?

 

[tabaliya]

Thanks Tabaliya for your imput. I was also thinking of that but figured that would be a longer process. So how long is the wait for a J1 waiver? What the difference between filling no objection & hardship? Also does my boyfriend have to return back to India for those two years or can he go to another country?

J-1 waiver process (assuming no objection):

There are multiple steps:
1. You send four NORI forms to Indian Consulate for attestation three of which come back to you (2 weeks)

2. You send NORI forms to three different offices in India to get the No Obligation to Return to India endorsed by them. The three offices willeither send you or the Consulate directly the three NORI certificates. (2-4 months - sometimes longer, depending upon your luck)

3. You open a case number at the DOS (Dept of State) website for the J-1 waiver (anytime during the process but preferably after step 2 above). Supply them all the documents (DS2019, DS3035 and any other supporting docs as required)

5. You send the three NORI certs (originals - in our case we got all three paper copies) to the Indian Consulate along with passport

6. Indian Consulate issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and forwards to the Indian Embassy in Washington DC to issue the final NOC (2 weeks)

7. The Indian Embassy issues the final NOC to the Dept of State (DOS) which then completes your application process at the DOS. (2 weeks)

8. DOS issues the J-1 waiver recommendation to the USCIS (2 weeks to several months)

At this stage you may apply for AOS or H1B etc.

9. USCIS issues the final J-1 waiver (2 weeks to one year)

So as you can see it is a long process, even with the No Objection route. The most optimistic scenario, from start to finish, is six months.

If applying under hardship or persecution, it might take longer than six months. In any case, this is a necessary step to immigration if one dos have the 2 Yr HRR on their DS2019 or visa stamp in the passport.

As for the 2 years, this has to be time spent in INDIA, not anywhere else.

I'm not familiar with the hardship cases - I think you have to go well beyond the seperation of husband and wife situation. In our case it was a simple "No Objection" case since she had not received any US or Indian Government funding and it was just a matter of the Indian Govt issuing the NOC. We didn't also write any detailed Statement of Reason which some people seem to do a lot (by reading on this forum). All we wrote for the Statement of Reason was "No Obection from the Govt of Home Country" or something like that. We did hire an attorney (one of the best in our area) to do the paperwork for us but did our own research on the side to learn all the issues.

Hope this helps.

AP

 

[Amitha]

So now I am wondering if I do become a US Citizen & fill out the paperwork for him to come here. Does he still have to complete his 2yr requirement to live in India before actually being allowed to come to US?

 

[tabaliya]

So now I am wondering if I do become a US Citizen & fill out the paperwork for him to come here. Does he still have to complete his 2yr requirement to live in India before actually being allowed to come to US?

The only exception to the 2Yr HRR is a waiver. Else one has to spend two full years in India - no where else. One can also sometimes obtain an advisory opinion in one's favor from the DOS if it appears that the 2Yr HRR was imposed in error but this is extremely rare. Your best bet is the waiver.

As long as the person is not funded by the US Govt or the Indian govt then the waiver should be a straightforward thing. What's your BF's situation?

If it was a Fulbright or NIH or some other manner of US Govt funding then the waiver becomes very difficult (not impossible - some on this forum have reported success with it even with a Fulbright).

Bottomline is: if you don't apply for and get a waiver, yes, the two full years have to be spent in India.

AP

 

[mmed]

We wore thinking of getting married before he leaves so he can apply for the J1 waiver for hardship on my part.

Why you consider his marriage with you a hardship? From your post I think the reverse is true

 

[mmed]

can i get married with green card holder boy or i can only get married with citizen

You marry whoever you like to marry (for sure if he agree) and you think you will have good relation, this has nothing to do with immigration status or nationality

 

[Amitha]

Tabaliya, my bf got a J1 Visa through Marriott Hotel (he works for them as a chef). He was working in Dubai before US for 3yrs & then they sent him to US for research & development as a supevisor. My next question is does the 2 yr rule still apply if he is a Chef? Seems like when reading about the 2yr rule it states for the person to go back to their country of origin & share what they have learned. I could understand that if he was a in the medical field but being he is in hospitality, I do not think his skills are much needed in India. Next question is, I started filling out the paperwork and it asked this "Please write a statement demonstrating why "name" is eligible to receive a waiver of the two-year home country requirement of the exchange visitor program. The length of the statement may vary. ". What do I answer for that?

 

[tabaliya]

Tabaliya, my bf got a J1 Visa through Marriott Hotel (he works for them as a chef). He was working in Dubai before US for 3yrs & then they sent him to US for research & development as a supevisor. My next question is does the 2 yr rule still apply if he is a Chef? Seems like when reading about the 2yr rule it states for the person to go back to their country of origin & share what they have learned. I could understand that if he was a in the medical field but being he is in hospitality, I do not think his skills are much needed in India. Next question is, I started filling out the paperwork and it asked this "Please write a statement demonstrating why "name" is eligible to receive a waiver of the two-year home country requirement of the exchange visitor program. The length of the statement may vary. ". What do I answer for that?

I couldn't tell without looking at his papers whether he has the 2Yr HRR imposed on him or not. You will need to look at his DS2019 and his passport visa stamp to see if there is anything mentioned. On the DS2019 or on his passprt it should say something about INA 212(e) being applicable. In my experience, practically all fields from India are subject to this rule but you might want to check.

Like I said before, I'm not an expert, in fact FAR from it - my only experience with this is with my fiancee's recent No Objection waiver process. Each case is different.

I would suggest the following two course of action:

- Read through some of the many other posts on this forum - they will give you a broader perspective
- Consult with an immigration attorney - ALL your questions will get answered in one shot, rather than relying on us whose knowledge is sketchy at best

As for the Statement of Reason, like I mentioned in my post before all we wrote in our case was" "No Objection from the Government of the Home Country" - just those few words, that's all. No detailed essays. Some people on this forum, however, advocate writing detailed essays of why you should be given a waiver. All depends on your situation. Unfortunately I cannot provide a better answer for this.

Hope you can consult with an attorney and sort this out. It would be time and money worth spending.

AP

 

[Amitha]

Tabaliya or whom ever else can help
Got another question for you, once my boyfriends gets the waiver & does not have to spend 2yrs in India on what visa does he come back? As in what visa does he apply for after that assuming I still wont be an American citizen.

 

[tabaliya]

Tabaliya or whom ever else can help
Got another question for you, once my boyfriends gets the waiver & does not have to spend 2yrs in India on what visa does he come back? As in what visa does he apply for after that assuming I still wont be an American citizen.

Again, best answered by an attorney depending on the specifics of your situation, but any non-immigrant visa type (F-1, H1-B, B-2 (visitor)) should be ok as long as he can convince the US Consulate authorities and has a valid reason (job offer (H1-B), tourism (B-2), student (F-1) etc.). Once you have citizenship you may apply for:

K-1 visa (for fiancee outside of the US)
K-3 visa (for spouse outside of the US)
or if he is within the USA by that time you may petition for him by filing an I-130 along with all the other miscellaneous forms (I-485, I-131, I-864, I-765 etc.).

The best advice would still come from an attorney who can guide you precisely how to proceed and on what visa can your boyfriend come back. Even an hour's consultation would help.

DO NOT RELY ON THE ADVICE dished out here. This is not the most reliable means of planning your life's important moves.

Any luck with the J-1 waiver process?

My fiancee's came through and she also got the final I-612 from the USCIS.

AP