CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)
NATIONALITY: Philippines
LOCATION: Wharton, TX
Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in August 2015 to work as a teacher. Based on his DS-2019, he was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. His employer wanted to sponsor his green card and he consulted with our firm for his J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. 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.
We told him that he can apply for a waiver under the No Objection Statement category based on the fact that he has humanitarian reasons for doing so, based on the numerous hardships that his family (who were on J2) will experience if they return to the Philippines. 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 November 14, 2018, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State. We prepared the humanitarian arguments and sent the packet, with evidence, to the EVP Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. They eventually issued a No Objection Statement. On July 17, 2020, the Waiver Review Division of the Department of State issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on August 6, 2020, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.