CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Filipino
LOCATION: Shannon, NC
Our client, a citizen of the Philippines, entered the U.S. in August 2018 on a J-2 visa as a dependent of his mother, who held a J-1 visa for her U.S. employment. Both individuals were subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement under INA § 212(e). This required them to return to their home country for two years before becoming eligible to apply for permanent residency or specific nonimmigrant statuses, such as H, L, or O visas. In November 2020, our client turned 21. Although he sought to file an I-485 Adjustment of Status application concurrently with an I-130 alien relative petition filed by his U.S. citizen spouse, the two-year foreign residence requirement barred him from adjusting his status without first obtaining a waiver or fulfilling the requirement.
While J-2 dependents generally cannot independently apply for a waiver, the Department of State (DOS) Waiver Review Division will consider independent requests from J-2 dependents under specific compelling circumstances. DOS policy permits this independent process if the J-2 dependent divorces the J-1 principal, if the J-1 principal dies, or—as in our client’s case—if the J-2 dependent ages out by turning 21. Our firm was retained to secure his independent J-2 waiver. On November 13, 2020, we filed the J-2 waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documentation) with the DOS. We requested that the DOS act as an Interested Government Agency (IGA) and recommend the waiver based on the client reaching age 21 and no longer qualifying as a J-1 dependent. Consequently, on February 26, 2021, the DOS issued a favorable waiver recommendation to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On April 9, 2021, USCIS issued Form I-612 approving our client’s waiver request.
Following the approval, the client retained our office to handle his permanent residency application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status application on May 14, 2021. The initial processing moved efficiently, with receipt notices and biometrics appointments arriving in a timely manner. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared the client and his spouse via conference calls. On May 19, 2026, our client attended his adjustment interview at the USCIS field office in Durham, North Carolina. On June 18, 2026, his green card application was officially approved.