Fulbrighters are 100% subject to HRR. Read the J-1 subforum.
first, what an idiot. Second, simply cutting his GC doesn't make him a non-resident. You have to surrender your GC at the embassy. Third, IMHO - being a US resident offers you many more opportunities than being a J-1 Fulbrighter (subjective, of course, depends on your country and your personal situation).
I wouldn't be so brave as to call him an idiot. If one takes a bit different perspective (although most people on this forum have one perspective: getting GC, and then US Citizenship), one can understand the action of this man (of course, I presume he didn't actually just cut his card, but notified authorities that had to be notified):
a) Being a researcher and finishing PhD on Harvard or MIT, via Fulbright (the chances of getting in either one of these Universities without Fulbright organization for a foreign person, even with GC is very, very slim) is really a big thing, and could be worth more than GC in ones life. Especially given the fact that PhD aquired on these Universities worths the same, if not more, outside USA.
b) Presuming that one got the GC before the Fulbright opportunity, we have to acknowledge the fact that for some people, especially for ones from developed countries, GC and US citizenship is not such a big thing. They can even be better off in their home country, or wherever outside US, with the aforementioned PhD, obtained via Fulbright grant.
Anyhow, opinions are not as valuable as facts regarding these topics, so here's what I've been told by the Fulbright lady in the embassy, and by the DV Visa guy (just off the phone with both of them):
Fulbright lady confirmed that there's no chance of defering or getting the Fulbright if we process the DV. Ever. Explanation: we become US LPR and we're not subject to the bilateral conditions of Fulbright grant - it is given to the
foreign citizens to do the research in USA (immigrant nature of DV excludes one from Fulbright).
There is 99% possibility of getting 2 year HRR if we go to US via Fulbright/J visa. Also, there is very low possibility of getting a waiver (as the lady said, the DOS will not give it out).
I was shy enough to ask what happens if I get the J1, don't get the 2 year HRR (1% chance of that), and procede with the DV.
I'd like to know would they take away my J1 and deport me out of the US, or I could stay and finish the work on Fulbright. If anyone knows, please provide an answer. I'm not fooling myself: it's obvious the chances are as slim as they could be for this to happen.
As for the guy handling the DV, he knew far less about the process than I hoped.
I asked about the processing, concerning the DV Case Number and the need for the forms to be sent to KCC ASAP.
He was vague about it, and said that the best thing is to send the forms ASAP (of course). On my question: is it more important to send the forms ASAP or does the CN have more impact (I mentioned the monthly bulletin from travel.state.gov), on which I didn't get direct reply..
It's unbelievable that nobody knows explicitly how the KCC handles the DV Lottery winners. It's obvious that CN plays great role, but one's always advised to send the forms ASAP...
I'd like for anyone who had problems sending the forms a bit later (say, until October, although there's been examples of people sending the forms even later, e.g. Catseyes, and everything was ok, although there was a bit of delay for the interview) and who had CN that came up as current at any point of time during the eligibility of DV that year, to post his/her problems regarding the matter.
Back to the track, the DV guy also explained that we have really good chances of getting an interview, not even asking me for the CN. I'm presuming he said so regarding the fact I'm in a country that has low number of immigrants to the US (he mentioned Ukraine, Bangladesh and Nigeria during the conversation about chances of getting an interview, as the countries with high immigrant number).
He also suggested to send the forms to KCC using DHL or FedEx just to be on a safe side.
When I asked about the chances of a successful interview, concerning the fact both of us, my wife and I, have higher education, but she as a petitioner will not have 2 year work experience, he said that not having 2 year experience doesn't minimize our chances and that interviews are different from case to case.
That's what I got from both of them.
One more question: my wife was single when applied for the DV, and now she's married, obviously. Should we just file the forms normally, or should we include some sort of explenation followed with our marriage certificate?