CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)
NATIONALITY: Philippines
LOCATION: Williston, ND
Our client came to the United States as a J-1 exchange visa holder to work as s speech language pathologist. His current U.S. employer filed an I-140 petition in 2018 for him and this petition was approved by the USCIS. Our client and his family members filed their adjustment of status application in December 2018. However, it was not clear whether his program was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. His J-1 visa page clearly states that he is not subject to the requirement; though his wife’s J-2 visa page states that she is subject to the requirement. In order to clarify it, our office filed an advisory opinion request to the Department of State in January 2019. The DOS responded that our client is subject to the 2-year foreign residency requirement.
If someone is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he or she cannot get a green card in the United States until he or she fulfills the requirement or obtains a waiver. Our client needs a waiver and sought for our legal assistance on this matter.
Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.
On May 9, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the North Dakota State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents. Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippines Government) were sent to the Philippines Consulate General in Chicago for further authentication. On May 22, 2019, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. Then, the Waiver Review Committee forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.
On the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on October 31, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.