CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, Hardship
NATIONALITY: Filipina
LOCATION: Peoria, IL
Our client entered the U.S. from the Philippines as a J-1 teacher. However, her status subjected her to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement. Although she wanted to file for Adjustment of Status concurrently with her spouse’s Form I-130 petition, she first needed to obtain a J-1 waiver.
Unlike many of our other J-1 clients, she could not pursue a waiver based on a No Objection Statement or an Interested Government Agency (IGA). Instead, she applied based on exceptional hardship to her U.S. citizen spouse due to his medical conditions.
After being retained, our firm prepared and submitted the waiver request based on exceptional hardship. On November 4, 2024, we submitted the J-1 waiver application to the Department of State. Our office drafted a detailed brief, a comprehensive affidavit for our client, and supporting exhibits, including medical records and physician reports provided by our client regarding her spouse’s conditions. On November 6, 2024, we filed Form I-612 with USCIS, demonstrating that our client’s spouse would suffer exceptional hardship if she were required to return to the Philippines for two years.
On March 25, 2026, USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) seeking additional documentation of the husband’s hardship. Our office prepared and filed a robust response to the RFE on April 27, 2026. USCIS approved her Form I-612 waiver on August 5, 2026.