CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: New Mexico
Our client is a citizen of China who initially came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in April 2004. She came with her ex-husband who held a J-1 Visa as a visiting researcher. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Later, she changed her status from J-2 to F-1 by pursuing her Ph.D. degree program. However, she was still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.
Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out and she eventually got divorced from her ex-husband. She remained in the United States and has continuously pursued for her Ph.D. degree under an F-1 student visa. She also has a U.S. citizen fiancé who is willing to file an I-130 petition for her once they get married.
She contacted our office, and our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver on April 30, 2014.
On May 16, 2014 the J-2 Waiver 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 was divorced from the J-1 visa holder.
On June 5, 2014, the DOS sent a recommendation to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for our client be granted a waiver. On July 10, 2014, the USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval.