CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: San Diego, CA
Our client, a citizen of China, arrived in the U.S. in August 2016 on a J-2 Visa, accompanying his mother, who held a J-1 Visa as a researcher. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, which mandated that they return to their home country for two years before they could apply for permanent residency or certain non-immigrant visas.
He turned 21 in November 2022. Obtaining a waiver would allow a prospective employer to petition for him to receive H-1B status. However, due to regulatory requirements, our client could not change his status within the United States without fulfilling the residency requirement or obtaining this waiver.
Our firm was retained to secure his J-2 waiver. The waiver application was filed with the Department of State (DOS) on January 13, 2025. We also sent a separate request asking the DOS to act as an interested government agency and recommend the waiver, arguing that since our client had reached the age of 21, he was no longer a dependent of the J-1 visa holder.
On July 30, 2025, the DOS recommended to USCIS that our client be granted the waiver. Subsequently, on September 24, 2025, USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.