CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, Persecution
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: Kenosha, WI
Our client entered the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in December 2020 from the Philippines to work as a teacher. His J-1 visa subjected him to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Our client wished to file an adjustment of status application based on his U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition. However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he first needed to obtain a waiver.
Unlike our other J-1 clients, this client could not pursue a waiver through a No Objection Statement or an Interested Government Agency (IGA) recommendation. Furthermore, he did not meet the exceptional hardship standard for a J-1 waiver. However, he was eligible to pursue a J-1 waiver under the persecution category, as he believed he would be persecuted based on his same-sex marital relationship with his current spouse.
An individual can file for a J-1 waiver based on persecution if they believe they will be persecuted due to their race, religion, or political opinion upon returning to their home country. The Waiver Review Division will only recommend a waiver on this basis if USCIS finds that persecution is likely.
Our client believed he would be persecuted if he returned to the Philippines due to his marriage in the U.S., which is culturally and religiously condemned in the Philippines. After retaining our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request based on persecution. On June 16, 2023, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed with the Department of State. Subsequently, our office prepared the client’s affidavit, an extensive brief supporting his J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents demonstrating that he would be persecuted in the Philippines if he returned. On June 29, 2023, our office filed the I-612 application with USCIS, requesting a recommendation for the waiver based on the likelihood of persecution should he be required to return to the Philippines for two years.
Ultimately, USCIS issued his I-612 approval notice on March 10, 2025.