J-1 waiver USCIS timelines 2016

JAY.ESS21

New Member
Hi, it seems that some of us here are waiting to receive approval on their I-612 from the USCIS. My case is based on 'no objection' and it may be helpful if we post our timelines here. Mine is below.

I received my receipt notice in early January (dated Jan. 4th, hardcopy received Jan. 7th). Complete silence since then...
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  • 11/2014: J-1 waiver advisory opinion sought from DOS
  • 12/2014: Married USC spouse in 12/2014 , so need J-1 waiver for family-based green card
  • 05/2015: DOS notice 'subject to two year home country residency'
  • 05/2015: No objection statement sought from home country
  • 09/2015: No objection statement 1 sent to DOS from country of citizenship (India)
  • 10/2015: No objection statement 2 sent to DOS from country of last residence (Switzerland)
  • 12/21/2015: Contacted local senator and congressman's office for expedited DOS processing
  • 12/22/2015: Congressman's office sent a letter to DOS to expedite processing (Senator's office did not respond)
  • 12/24/2015: J-1 waiver DOS favorable recommendation softcopy forwarded by Congressman's office
  • 12/24/2015: J-1 waiver online status updated to 'favorable recommendation'
  • 01/02/2016: J-1 waiver favorable recommendation hardcopy from DOS dated 12/23
  • 01/07/2016: J-1 waiver USCIS receipt received in the mail dated 01/04
  • ? : J-1 waiver approval by USCIS
 
Any luck? Did you travel while waiting for the final waiver? I am wondering if I can go home to renew my visa before I get my waiver.
 
Good afternoon,

I'm Brazilian and I went to the U.S. in August 2013 and moved back to Brazil in December 2013. I participated in the Brazilian Government`s program called 'Science without Borders' (Ciência sem Fronteiras). I started my J-1 Waiver process as soon as I got in Brazil (January 2015) but CAPES (the Brazilian Government sponsor) just gave me the No Objection letter in July 2016. So, I would like to share with you guys my current timeline and I would like to ask those who already got their final Waiver letter some questions:

  • How was the Favorable Recomendation sent to your address? Did they use the self addressed envelope? Did you guys got it while in the USA or in your home country?
  • How was the USCIS receipt received? Self addressed envelope or just a common post office letter?
  • How was the final Waiver lettter received? Self addressed envelope?
  • How long did it take since the Favorable Recommendation letter until the final Waiver Letter?
Here is my current Timeline:

Department of State Advisory Opinion Finding: Favorable Recommendation
Item Action Date

  • Recommendation Sent July, 28 2016
  • No Objection Statement Received July, 08 2016
  • Fee Received January, 20 2015
  • Form DS-3035 Received January, 20 2015
  • Form DS-2019 Received January, 20 2015
  • Passport Data Page Received January, 20 2015
  • Statement Of Reason Received January, 20 2015
  • Other Received January, 20 2015
 
Good night,

I'm so frustrated with USCIS Customer Representatives. Every time I call USCIS trying to get the Receipt Number for my process they have no idea of what I'm talking about. I tell them I filed the DS-3035 and the only thing they say is: "This isn't a USCIS form. You need to contact the Department of State".

I explain to them that the process starts in the Department of State but I already got my Favorable Recommendation and it says the case was forward to the USCIS and that I need to contact USCIS to know about my case. It looks like they don't know about the No Objection process. They always ask me if I filed the I-612. Looking online in the I-612 form webpage it is clear that I don't need to file it if I'm applying for a No Objection Waiver.

I don't think I'm getting my Receipt Notification by post mail because I just sent ONE self-addressed envelope and the address on the envelope doesn't match the address of my DS-3035.

Can someone advice me what to do now?

Sincerely,
 
So guys, I got good news.
Eventually I realized that USCIS deal just with I-xxx forms and I realized that once the Department of State sends the Favorable Recommendation to UCSIS an I-612 form is assigned to it. So, if you call USCIS to know about your process just tell them that you filed the I-612 to get your receipt number. I told the Customer Representative that I've filed the I-612, my Full Name, my Date of Birth and my address and he found my receipt number.
As I was expecting I accessed USCIS Case Status webpage and it says they got my case on August 1st and they mailed me a notice.
I never got the notice because my Brazilian address was defined as my mailing address. Maybe the notice is still coming. Anyway, I changed the mailing address to an American address then the final waiver document is going to be received faster. Now I'm waiting for the final decision.
Sincerely,
 
Hi guys,

Has anybody had filed a J1 waiver based on persecution? What exactly do they look for for granting a waiver for people in a situation where they will be persecuted? Any experiences? BTW, this is a waiver for US State Department-funded exchange program.

Thanks in advance.
 
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