Hi, I wanted to share my J1 waiver story and timeline, to give hope to those who are just starting their process or waiting for a decision. I went through the entire process myself, without hiring any lawyers, who wouldn't take my case anyway because they thought it was impossible to get a waiver in my case where huge govt funds were involved.
I was in the U.S. on J1 visa as an exchange student for masters degree and my program was fully sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. After spending 10 months in my home country (a former Soviet country) I started the waiver process based on a no-objection letter from my government. In my statement I considered three main reasons for the waiver:
1) my desire to continue my education in the U.S. I stated how detrimental it would be for my future professional goals to start my education now and not after my HRR is completed, and how the U.S. and my home country would benefit from it. I also made a connection between my educational ambitions and my J1 program;
2) my partial completion of the HRR, and my active work experience in my home country during this time and extensive community work; here I tried to state that, although partially, I have reached the goals of my exchange program;
3) my marriage to a U.S. citizen and our family relationship affected by distance separation. Here I also stated the reasons why my husband cannot join me in my home country at this point: he is currently enrolled into a degree program, it's important for his career to stay in the U.S. after graduation, lack of jobs of his qualifications in my home country, and my inability to support both of us if he does not find employment there.
Along with my statement I provided supporting documentation about everything I said in it: a letter from my employer in my country stating my salary, pictures showing my active involvement into community life, documents proving my physical presence in my home country during the 10 months of the HRR, marriage certificate, etc.
Getting a letter from the embassy was very time consuming and it took me 6 months to finally have the embassy issue a no-objection letter for me. Everything else is in the timeline below:
Statement of Reason with the application and fee: Received May 14, 2007
No Objection Statement: Received July 10, 2007
Request for Sponsor Views: Sent July 17, 2007
Sponsor Views: Received August 21, 2007
Recommendation: Sent August 21, 2007
Waiver Approval Notice from USCIS: Sent August 24, 2007
Waiver Approval Notice: Received August 31, 200
I also wanted to add that no other notices were received from either USCIS or Dept of State.
Good luck to everyone!
I was in the U.S. on J1 visa as an exchange student for masters degree and my program was fully sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. After spending 10 months in my home country (a former Soviet country) I started the waiver process based on a no-objection letter from my government. In my statement I considered three main reasons for the waiver:
1) my desire to continue my education in the U.S. I stated how detrimental it would be for my future professional goals to start my education now and not after my HRR is completed, and how the U.S. and my home country would benefit from it. I also made a connection between my educational ambitions and my J1 program;
2) my partial completion of the HRR, and my active work experience in my home country during this time and extensive community work; here I tried to state that, although partially, I have reached the goals of my exchange program;
3) my marriage to a U.S. citizen and our family relationship affected by distance separation. Here I also stated the reasons why my husband cannot join me in my home country at this point: he is currently enrolled into a degree program, it's important for his career to stay in the U.S. after graduation, lack of jobs of his qualifications in my home country, and my inability to support both of us if he does not find employment there.
Along with my statement I provided supporting documentation about everything I said in it: a letter from my employer in my country stating my salary, pictures showing my active involvement into community life, documents proving my physical presence in my home country during the 10 months of the HRR, marriage certificate, etc.
Getting a letter from the embassy was very time consuming and it took me 6 months to finally have the embassy issue a no-objection letter for me. Everything else is in the timeline below:
Statement of Reason with the application and fee: Received May 14, 2007
No Objection Statement: Received July 10, 2007
Request for Sponsor Views: Sent July 17, 2007
Sponsor Views: Received August 21, 2007
Recommendation: Sent August 21, 2007
Waiver Approval Notice from USCIS: Sent August 24, 2007
Waiver Approval Notice: Received August 31, 200
I also wanted to add that no other notices were received from either USCIS or Dept of State.
Good luck to everyone!