CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: Phoenix, AZ
Our client, a citizen of China, entered the U.S. in December 2012 on a J-2 visa. She accompanied her father, who held a J-1 visa as a researcher. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, which mandates that they return to their home country for two years before applying for permanent residency or specific non-immigrant visas, such as the H, L, or O categories.
The client turned 21 in June 2017. By obtaining a waiver, she would become eligible for her prospective employer to petition for her H-1B status. However, due to the residency requirement, she could not change her status within the United States without first fulfilling the requirement or securing a waiver.
While J-2 dependents typically cannot apply for a waiver independently, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for J-2 dependents who have reached the age of 21. Department of State (DOS) policy allows for this independent process in specific circumstances: 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 turns 21.
Our firm was retained to handle her J-2 waiver. On October 23, 2025, we submitted the waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documentation) to the Department of State. We also requested that the DOS act as an Interested Government Agency (IGA) and recommend the waiver based on the fact that our client, having reached age 21, was no longer a legal dependent of the J-1 visa holder.
On December 9, 2025, the DOS issued a recommendation to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to grant the waiver. Subsequently, on December 17, 2025, USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice, successfully resolving our client’s waiver request.