Self help - J1 waiver process

BritishGuy said:
Me and my wife used a lawyer. A very nice guy, very professional, but don't think he was worth the money. He charged $700. He filed the paperwork which was easy - now we realize! As soon as he filed, the told us that we need an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the Pakistani Government. That is the hard part (and to be honest with you that's what I thought I was hiring him for). Anyway, after some major headbutting we managed (after 7 mths) to get an NOC. That is the HARDEST part. Once all the paperwork was with the state department then we just left things with them. Feb 14th 09 - Nov 10th 09 to get the J-1 Waiver. The longest wait was for the NOC.

My wife needed a J-1 Waiver. he did the paperwork, but to be honest with you, I now realize that it's not rocket science. I would do it myself next time if needed. After all we did 90% of the running around for the important stuff, the easy stuff 10% the lawyer did for which I paid him $700. Not worth it in my opinion.

Seriously, I find it funny how well educated people find it hard to fill out a form that has instructions attached to it. Using a lawyer does not mean 'approval' by any means. In complex cases, by all means, hand it to a lawyer, but for most peoples skill level the forms can be filled out and one can save a few hundred (sometimes thousand) bucks.
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Are you talking about J1 Physician waiver? $700 is quite cheap. And you don't need NOC..
 
m_img said:
Are you talking about J1 Physician waiver? $700 is quite cheap. And you don't need NOC..
Click to expand...

Some state health departments require a no objection statement. They do this to defend against the accusation of 'poaching' physicians from third-world countries to fulfill needs of their own.
 
Hello everyone,

This seems like a very informative forum but even after reading this the whole J1 waiver process seems very confusing to me. On top of that I have been told by many that I have started the process a little late :(. I am a physician who is just about to finish my fellowship in July 2010. I have applied for an extension on the basis of my oral boards due in September. One good thing is that I do have a job lined up that is willing to (and has done so in the past) help me acquire a J1 waiver. They have stated that I do not need to hire an attorney and sent me a set of instructions, the first of which is completing the DS3035 form online. I am stuck on the statement of reason portion. What constitutes an adequate reason to not return to your country? They did not fund my training but I had agreed to return and now have decided not to. I would really appreciate it if anyone could give me an example of what is adequate.

I think the folks who have been through this process and are kindly helping the rest of us muddle through it are Godsends! Thank you so much for taking the time to help us clueless people out. I would especially like to thank m-img and hadron- LOTS of helpful advice there.
 
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