CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Saudi Arabian
LOCATION: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Our client is a citizen of Saudi Arabia who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in April 2017. She came with her husband who held a J-1 Visa as a researcher. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.
She got divorced from her husband in March 2021 and went back to Saudi Arabia. Our client wanted to be petitioned for H-1B by her prospective employer; however, she cannot do it unless she fulfills the two year foreign residency requirement or obtains a waiver.
She retained our firm to do her J-2 waiver. On March 30, 2021, the J-2 Waiver (DS-3035) 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. Eventually, on September 30, 2021, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. Finally, the USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval notice on November 12, 2021.