CASE: J-1 Visa Waiver (No Objection Statement)
NATIONALITY: Philippines
LOCATION: New York, NY
Our Filipina client came on a J-1 visa in July 2005. Upon completion of her J-1 program, she remained in the United States and changed her status to H-1B. However, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.
In April 2013, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver. She had to do this first before becoming eligible to adjust status.
Upon retention, our office prepared and filed a waiver request based on a possible No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States.
On July 15, 2013, the J-1 Visa Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the New York State Government to get authentication for necessary documents. Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippine Government) were sent to the Philippine Consulate in New York for further authentication. On August 2, 2013, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. The Waiver Review Committee eventually approved the No Objection request and forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement to the U.S. Department of State.
On November 26, 2013, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on December 2, 2013, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for her adjustment of status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition.