CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA
Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa. She came with his father who came on a J-1 Visa for his research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.
After our client came to the United States, she finished high-school as a J-2 visa holder and later pursued her Bachelor’s degree. Prior to the commencement of her Bachelor’s program, our client changed his status from J-2 to F-1 through the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. Currently, she is working for her employer under an OPT, but she would like to apply for a J-2 waiver so that she would not have any problem for her future change of status in the United States when her prospective employer files an I-129 petition for her in 2014.
Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent. The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in November 2011.
Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on October 24, 2013. On November 1, 2013, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore. Eventually, on December 5, 2013 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On January 29, 2014, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.