CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: Atlanta, GA
Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in July 2007. She came with her 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 completed her high school and was admitted to the University to pursue her bachelor’s degree. In July 2009, she went back to China and got her F-1 student visa at the U.S. Embassy in China and came back to the United States with her F-1 student visa.
She turned 21 in November 2011. She is now married to her Chinese citizen husband and her husband is a recipient of an approved I-526 petition (EB-5 immigrant visa). However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client could not apply for permanent residency.
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 June 2, 2014. On June 10, 2014, 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 June 30, 2014 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On August 7, 2014, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.