J-1 Visa Waiver.Procesing-Time Start to Finish.

aKalingan

Registered Users (C)
Chronological proceedings of J-1 Waiver process
Following dates are the "Actual" dates and have not been concocted. I have mentioned every simple worth while information that I could imagine, primarily to eliminate doubts arising then and there, during this long process. This is my real experience.

6th Jan 2003. Sent a letter and a Photocopy of my IAP66 Form / DS2019 and J-1 VISA to the following address requesting for "Advisory Opinion" from the waiver review division.
To
Ann Kavalou
Program Assistant
Waiver Review Division
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Visa Office SA-1, Room- L603
2401 E Street.NW
Washington DC 20520.

9th May 2003. Received advisory opinion indicating my profession is not exempted from 2year HRR ( home residency requirement) rule. They suggested me to apply for waiver. (Time consumed 4 Months & 3 days) I took some time to investigate this matter until I was sure about the documentation procedures and process durations.

15th July 2003 Sent NORI papers to Indian Consulate at Houston for attestations.
Instructions to apply, application forms and affidavit can be downloaded from this website
http://www.cgihouston.org/nori.pdf
http://www.indianembassy.org/consular/nori.pdf

28th July 2003 Received attested NORI papers from Indian Consulate, Houston.

8th August 2003. Sent NORI papers directly by registered post to (1) MHRD New Delhi, (2) State Home Ministry, Chennai and (3) Regional Passport office, Chennai at their respective addresses mentioned below.

FIRST
Mr.S.D.Sharma,
Section officer,
External Scholarship - 5,
Dept of Scholarship & Higher Education.
MHRD. A-1 / W 3 Curzon Road Barracks,
Kasturba Gandhi Marg.
New Delhi 110001.
India

SECOUND
A.P.Ganesan,
Deputy Secretary to Government,
Home Department,
Secretariat,
Chennai 600 009,
India

THIRD
Secretary-Government of India,
Ministry of External Affairs,
Regional Passport office,
26, Haddows Road,
Chennai
India

16th Sept 2003 Received NORI clearance-papers from MHRD New Delhi which was sent directly to my residential address in USA by ordinary post. (Time consumed was 38 Days without any follow up.)

25th Sept 2003 First step the CID Police verification came to my residence in Madras city. They had asked to fill up a questionnaire related to family details such as names of brothers and sisters, wife and children and their respective ages, date of birth and date of marriage for family members etc. Finally my Father was asked to sign on that questionnaire. (47 days consumed). Second Step the home department had verified the registration numbers and the authenticity of my certificates from all the departments / colleges where I had studied for my Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees. Finally they had obtained clearance from the University Registrar. So it is to our benefit that we provide these information on a sheet, mentioning the registration numbers, name of the colleges & period (from-to) of study, degrees obtained, and year of obtaining them and the awarding Institution / University.

5th April 2004. Received NORI clearance from Home Department by ordinary post at U.S.A. address. My NORI Clearance document was signed on 15th March 2004 (8 months and 8 days consumed) without any follow up. Relatively Tamilnadu government takes a longer time. [Some of my friends from West Bengal got it in 5 months, Madhya Pradesh-1week, Andhra Pradesh got it in 2 months and Rajasthan got it in 6 months].

To know the subsequent steps involved I had browsed many web sites. Among the so many websites I had seen, I consider the following website as the best one to understand this procedure thoroughly because, they have illustrated the procedure with a graphic depiction which enables us to understand the paper work, step wise and crystal clear.
https://www.immigrationsupport.com/pdf/J-1_Waiver_Procedures.pdf

5th April 2004. Sent (1) Covering letter (2) an application (DS 3035) along with fees 230$ (3) Photocopies of IAP-66 and DS 2019 (4) Photocopy of J-1 Visa, to U.S. Department of State, located at the following address by Express Mail. I had prepared these forms and kept them ready, much earlier.
To
US Department of State
Waiver Review Division
(Box 952137)
1005 Convention Plaza
St.Louis
MO 63101-1200
Reply letter received on 26th April, dated 16th April, stating my Case Number (Time consumed 21 days).This process of getting the "Case Number" is totally an independent process which neither requires any NORI Clearances from India nor any communication letters from Indian Embassy. This process can be initiated much in advance to save some time.

15th April 2004 Till this date I did not receive any communication from Chennai Passport Office despite several email reminders and faxes and phone calls. A few friends of mine also had the same experience, so do not waste time on sending reminder letters. Let them take their own time. Anyway they have to send it one day or the other.

4th May 2004 Through the Public Relations officer in Regional Passport Office, we came to know that NORI clearance was sent directly from Passport office, Chennai to Consulate General of India, Houston. I did not receive any copies of the letter neither at U.S.A. address nor at Indian (Chennai) address. We were told that the letter was faxed on 4th May to avoid further delay. There was no way of ensuring this fact. (Time consumed nearly 9 months).

10th May 2004 Sent an Email to Consulate general of India @ Houston enquiring the receipt of my NORI Clearance from Chennai. I received reply on the same day indicating non-receipt of NORI Clearance from Chennai passport office. They asked me to send the other two NORI clearances based on which they will take action.

11th May 2004 Sent photocopies of two of my NORI clearances (Home & MHRD) to Consulate General of India, Houston by Express mail. I confirmed through online tracking system (www.usps.com)that it had reached the next day.

21st May 2004. Received (by ordinary post) (1)a copy of the letter (dated 18th May)and (2)a copy of the Waiver Certificate (dated 18th May)from Consulate General of India @ Houston which was forwarded to the Indian Embassy, Washington DC.( Time consumed 10 days).Looks like, upon receipt of the two clearances they have taken immediate action.

28th May 2004. Received (by ordinary post) (1) a copy of the letter (dated 24th May) and (2) a copy of the Waiver Certificate (dated 24th May) from Indian Embassy, Washington which was forwarded to the U.S.Department of State, Washington DC. (Time consumed 17 days)

7th June 2004.Sent (1)Self addressed 37 cents stamped envelope(2)photocopy of DS 2019 form (3)Statement of Reason (4) photocopies of the waiver certificates issued from Indian Embassy Washington and as well as Consulate General of India, Houston by express mail to U.S.Department of State, located at the following address.
To
CA/VO/L/W, Visa services
US Department of state
2401 E. Street, N.W. (SA-1)
Washington, D. C. 20520-0106
Through online tracking system (www.usps.com)I confirmed it has reached the next day (8th June). It was signed by Mr.T.Harrington.

18th June 2004.Online status on this website [http://12.172.51.143/],on June 18th (Friday) indicated the date of receipt of all the documents as 9th June 2004.I had observed and confirmed that the online status is updated only on Friday afternoons.( Time consumed 10 days) So check your status every Friday evening after 5.00pm.

16th July 2004.Online status checked on 16th July (Friday) indicated that a "Favorable Recommendation" was sent on 12th July 2004.(Time consumed 33 Days)

31st July 2004.Received a hard copy of the “Recommendation Letter " sent by USDOS, Washington D.C. to the Regional USCIS /BCIS Office located at the following address.
To
Ms.Evelyn M.Uprich,
Service Center Director
Texas service center,
DHS /USCIS
Attn: 212(E) Examinations
P.O.Box 850965
Mesquite, TX-75185-0965.
This letter of mine was Dated on 12th July, and signed by Mr.Pharas Davis, Waiver Review Officer, Waiver Review Division and posted on 27th July 2004.I do not know why they delayed it for two weeks ? On 31st July 2004 I received it by ordinary post in the same self addressed stamped envelope which I had sent to them. It indicated that a copy of this letter was also sent to the Indian Embassy, Washington. (Time consumed 19 days)

6th August 2004.Received by REGISTERRED MAIL,” Form I-797 Notice of Action" which was posted on 3rd August by USCIS, Mesquite, Texas. In this form, the "Receipt Date" is indicated as 31st July and that it would take 30 to 60 days for them to take a decision. It also stated that the status can be checked on-line on this website using my Receipt Number.

1st September 2004. Online status on this following Website https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/caseStat.jsp
Indicates "Case has been approved and an approval notice has been mailed"
(Time Consumed 30 days)

10th September 2004. Received hard copy of my Waiver sent by USCIS, Texas.

Finally I am thankful to many of my unseen friends (J-1 folks) for advising, sharing and seeking information on this forum and others. In the past it has helped me/many J-1 scholars and will keep helping the new comers in future also. By reading and answering these messages on this forum a lot of time and money is saved by taking a correct decision at appropriate time. So I urge every one to share this kind of issues/information through this channel. Email me (akalingan@yahoo.com) if you have any questions on this venture. With my limited experience I will try to answer them as much as possible and as soon as possible
Kalingan.A.E.
akalingan@yahoo.com
:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the detailed information.
It is really helpful especially for poeple like me who are caught up in this confusion of what to expect next .
 
Amazing!

Almost 2 yrs in the process...by the time you got the waiver you could have been donde with the HRR anyway...

THanks for the insight, it helps a lot!
 
Dear Kalingan,
Thanks so much for the detailed info. However, I have a question and I guess you are the best person to answer it. When I checked my status online, it shows following details:
Fee Received May 17, 2006
Form DS-3035 Received May 17, 2006
Form DS-2019 Received May 17, 2006
Passport Data Page Received May 17, 2006
Letter of Representation Received May 17, 2006 +++Don't know what!+++
Statement Of Reason Received May 17, 2006
Other Received May 17, 2006 ++Supporting letter from advisor++
--
Nowhere it shows the receipt of No Objection letter from indian embassy. Have you had such experience when you checked your status online? I would really appreciate your reply. Thanks.
 
That means USDOS has not received it. If Indian embassy sends an NOC to USDOS they will send a copy to you.

Have you received a copy from Indian Embassy, if so send a copy of the same to USDOS.

Kalingan
 
Hi Kalingan,
Thanks so much for the reply. I did receive a copy of No objection letter from indian embassy 6 weeks ago. The letter has not received at the DOS yet according to the online status check. I am panic because I have an H-1B job offer and am eagerly awaiting a waiver recommendation from DOS. Why the heaven it takes so long for a letter to reach DOS from indian embassy? I have been trying to reach Indian embassy over phone for the past 2 weeks without any success. Well, I will send copy of my No objection letter to DOS directly and see what happens.
Thank you!
joe
 
Finally, after 7 weeks the No Objection letter reached DOS from Embassy of India.
No Objection Statement Received May 25, 2006. The DOS processed it on the same day!!

No Objection Statement Received May 25, 2006
Recommendation Sent May 25, 2006
Fee Received May 17, 2006
Form DS-3035 Received May 17, 2006
Form DS-2019 Received May 17, 2006
Passport Data Page Received May 17, 2006
Letter of Representation Received May 17, 2006
Statement Of Reason Received May 17, 2006
Other Received May 17, 2006
 
Yes. I did send a copy of No objection certificate along with my application. But, I don't think it really matters because DOS insists to have No Objection letter to be sent from the embassy directly.
 
A clarification regarding passport office waiver procedure:

For my waiver, the passport office sent my papers to SB-CID (Anna salai, Govt Estate). They held a separate verification (university and at my residence).

The home department also conducted verification at my residence separately through local police station.

I wonder if you got two verifications? maybe thats why you did not get the waiver from passport office
 
J1 Waiver recommendation lost in the mail

Hi everybody !! I worked in california for 18 months but i applied for the J1 waiver to late so i had to come back to my foreign country, I've checked my case and i have a favorable recommendation recommendation as you can see:

Department of State Decision: Favorable Recommendation

Item Action Date
Recommendation Sent April 04, 2007
No Objection Statement Received March 21, 2007
Fee Received March 05, 2007
Form DS-3035 Received March 05, 2007
Form DS-2019 Received March 05, 2007
Passport Data Page Received March 05, 2007
Letter of Representation Received March 05, 2007
Statement Of Reason Received March 05, 2007
Other Received March 05, 2007

Today is May 27th and I sill get nothing :( so i dont know whats going on.

Can somebody tell me if there is a way to have a copy of that waiver ??

I would really appreciate your opinions and advises
 
Can somebody tell me if there is a way to have a copy of that waiver ??
well, what was the address where the original waiver was mailed to? are there relatives, friends at that address?

you can write to the USCIS service center where your waiver will be issued, and ask to forward it to you at an address abroad or to the US embassy in your country (don't know if they would).
 
Hello to everyone, I need help please.... I need info. Am I able to apply for J-1 Visa more than one time in a life-time? Thanks in advance . . . :)
Best Regards,... ???
 
questions regarding j1-weaver

hello aKalingan

can you write me how much time it take for J1-weaver. I am in US for 2 years and i want to visit my family of India probably in the month of august or sept and would be staying there may be 2 months. so my question are-
1) if i apply now can i get this weaver before that.
2) Can i leave US after apply this weaver form?
3) How much money it cost and what documents i need to file this.(i mean can you pls write me in points).

with regards

raj
 
These informations are very useful and thanks to my friend for posting the time line. I would advise all future waiver applicants from India to be careful with passport offices. They are the most lazy ones and I had applied for NORI almost an year back and the RPO send the document, after so much follow up, to the indian embassy and did not provide me a copy of the same. So I am still after them to get a copy for myself.
 
addresses

Dear Kalingan,

It would be great if you could tell me the source where you found the addresses where the NORIs are supposed to be posted, by which I mean the (1)MHRD new delhi, (2) (2) State Home Ministry, Chennai and (3) Regional Passport office, Chennai .

I am a resident of mumbai so wanted to know the corresponding address in mumbai specially for (2) . I found the address of (3) in mumbai, but donno whom to address it to. In case of (1), I would like to know if it is still the same, I mean should I still address it to Mr. S.D. Sharma, cos there chances he might not be the section officer any more.

I know I am asking a bit too much, I guess if you could just tell me the original source from where you found these addreses, i would be really grateful.

Hope to get a reply fro you soon.

Sincerely,
Mufaddal Soni
 
You know there are so many postdocs coming from India on J-1 visa particularly from Madras there are many of them. I had five senoirs from madras city who came on the same visa and did the same processing.
I got the adresses from my seniors.

I agree the section officer might have changed by this time so do not specify the name.

For mumbai find out the state governemnt office and do research on Home Ministry.Usually it this home ministry who is in-charge of this clearnace.
if you can not find the office then write to the webmaster and he will help you.
Hope this helps.
 
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