Previous J1 holders?

[Ilya R. 0]

just looked at the scan:

"BEARER IS NOT SUBJECT TO SECTION 212(E)"

that was close

[KIMCORENE 0]

Lol, lucky you! I wish I was in your shoes right now. I'm in the U.S. until November and I cant apply for AOS without my waiver. I applied to my home country for a no objection statement in May- have yet to hear anything about that. It took them a month and a half just to cash the money order, so that should tell me something.

Edited August 15, 2008 by KIMCORENE

[Ilya R. 0]

Yeah, I didnt know about that whole thing, scared the bejisus out of me!

[KIMCORENE 0]

Thats the thing I've noticed with the immigration process- the info is all over the place and theY make it so confusing. That's why sites like VisaJourney are so important- you get better and more accurate info here than from USCIS or even the DoS.

Edited August 15, 2008 by KIMCORENE

[Ilya R. 0]

I VJ

I EWOK

[KIMCORENE 0]

I VJ

I EWOK

I'm addicted,lol...I can see myself in the VJers Anonymous meeting: "My name is KIMCORENE and I'm a VJ-aholic."

[nginear2 1]

Okay, I've just recently learned about this 2 year rule and I have a few questions. I filed a K-1 visa in Feb of this year for my fiancee and her docs are currently in route to the German consulate for packet 3 and interview. She was here in the summer of 2007 doing a 6 month college internship and living with me. I have looked at the visa in her passport and it says nothing about being subject or not. She doesn't have a copy of the DS form. So how do I find out if she is subject to the rule or not?

We then looked at an older J-1 visa she had back in 2000 where it says right on it, " not subject to 2 year rule"

I have found this info from one of the links and she doesn't fall under any of these. She paid a private company(I beleive) to help find her an internship in the US. She paid for the visa herself, her own plane ticket to get there and recieved not government assistance.

<a href="http://" target="_blank"></a>Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement

An exchange visitor is subject to INA 212(e) requirement, if the following conditions exist:

• The program in which the exchange visitor was participating was financed in whole or in part directly or indirectly by the United States government or the government of the exchange visitor's nationality or last residence;
• The exchange visitor is a national or resident of a country designated as requiring the services of persons engaged in the field of specialized knowledge or skills in which the exchange visitor was engaged for the duration of their program (Exchange Visitor Skills List 9 FAM 41.62, Exhibit II);
• The exchange visitor entered the United States to receive graduate medical education or training.

If the exchange visitor is subject to INA 212(e) requirement, he or she cannot change his or status to that of H, L, K, or immigrant lawful permanent resident (LPR) until he or she has returned to his/her home country for at least two-years or received a waiver of that requirement. Such waivers can be obtained under five separate bases: No Objection Statement, Exceptional Hardship or Persecution, Conrad Program, or Interested Government Agency. For information, see Waiver of the J Visa Two-Year Foreign Residence Requirement 212(e). Edited August 21, 2008 by nginear2

[KIMCORENE 0]

As long as her documents state that she isn't subject, you are in the clear. For information's sake, however, paying for everything does not exempt you from this rule. I paid for my internship from my own funds, went through a private company and received no government funds, however, due to the fact that the skill area I am interning in is one wwhich my country is experiencing a shortage of people, I am subject to the rule. Those are not the only factors considered (government funding, etc.), but also if one's area of study is on your country's skill), as stated in the information you have above.

Edited August 21, 2008 by KIMCORENE

[nginear2 1]

Right, I checked the skill list and did not see anything listed for germany. Her field of study was business law and finance so I don't think that would be on there anyway. Thanks for the information. Best of luck to you.

[vacuum 1]

KIMCORENE, the other topic you posted has been very interesting to read. I would love to hear from more people who were lucky enough to get their immigrant visas before completing the 2 years. I have just started my second year in my country and the I-130 was just approved, we are now sending the DS-3032 form continuing with the process. It looks like I might get an interview before the 2 years are up, so I am just wondering if I should be calling the consulate to tell them that I am not finished with the 2 years and ask when to schedule the interview or I should just go to the interview and state that I have not yet completed the 2 years and hope for their mercy... After all, we do have a 3-year old child who is growing without his dad right now... Is it true that the worst that can happen is to be sent back and scheduled for a later interview date? I hope I will actually be issued a visa for later date, when the 2 years are supposed to be completed it. I guess if they cancel all other visas at the interview, they should be able to know when that date would be if I have no other ways of entering the country, right? I'd love to hear from other people in similar situation.

Thank you for the very informative thread!

BTW, I applied for a no-objection waiver and was denied... I had supporting documents from my work (I work for an NGO), our state's congressional delegation, and a no-objection letter and was still denied .

The rule for the 2YHRR is to spend 730 days in your country and that has to be proved with passport stamps, credit card receipts, bills, etc.

[nginear2 1]

I spoke with my Fiancee the other day and she found her ds-2019 form, and it says that she is not subject to the 2 year rule. I asked her like 4 times just to make sure Lol.

[KIMCORENE 0]

KIMCORENE, the other topic you posted has been very interesting to read. I would love to hear from more people who were lucky enough to get their immigrant visas before completing the 2 years. I have just started my second year in my country and the I-130 was just approved, we are now sending the DS-3032 form continuing with the process. It looks like I might get an interview before the 2 years are up, so I am just wondering if I should be calling the consulate to tell them that I am not finished with the 2 years and ask when to schedule the interview or I should just go to the interview and state that I have not yet completed the 2 years and hope for their mercy... After all, we do have a 3-year old child who is growing without his dad right now... Is it true that the worst that can happen is to be sent back and scheduled for a later interview date? I hope I will actually be issued a visa for later date, when the 2 years are supposed to be completed it. I guess if they cancel all other visas at the interview, they should be able to know when that date would be if I have no other ways of entering the country, right? I'd love to hear from other people in similar situation.

Thank you for the very informative thread!

BTW, I applied for a no-objection waiver and was denied... I had supporting documents from my work (I work for an NGO), our state's congressional delegation, and a no-objection letter and was still denied .

The rule for the 2YHRR is to spend 730 days in your country and that has to be proved with passport stamps, credit card receipts, bills, etc.

If all else fails, I am prepared to do my time Considering how long this whole process takes, you'll more likely than not have completed your 2 yrs by the time you get an interview date. But, I guess if not, you can beg and plead I would wait to see what happens before calling the consulate. I'm sorry to hear your child is growing up without a dad right now, but everything will work out. We have to have faith, right. I've been hoping there were other people with this/similar situations, so we could commiserate- I posted in the thread for Jamaica, but no one responded- sadly. I'm just dying for this long, slow process to end and I get that waiver. If you don't mind- on what grounds was your waiver request denied? And I see you had a change of status to HB- I thought you couldn't get an HB if you had the 2 yr requirement?

Edited August 23, 2008 by KIMCORENE

[vacuum 1]

KIMCORENE, it was denied by the DOS on the grounds that the original sponsor (USAID in my case) recommended that I get denied. When I got my H-1B I transferred from an F1 to it in the country so I just changed status while in the US. Had I gone to my home to apply for the visa stamp, I would have been denied so I never did and never left the country because I had no way of getting back in. When my waiver was denied we reevaluated our situation and decided that instead of filing for extension of the H-1B it would be better for me to go back and do the 2 years.

As far as the NVC process now goes, one can never be sure about it... I just spoke with someone who had it over within 6 weeks and someone else - in 8 months. Either way it goes for me, I would not have completed my 2 years...

[Lianne1014 0]

Hello! I just wonder if this forum is still active. I do have a pending J1 waiver application and it is killing me. Is sent the package in September 2008 and got posted. It's been 10 weeks now and I haven't heard from them yet. I had no funding whatsoever and I was under the teacher category. I just believe that I am beyond the normal processing already. Thanks!

[DModeMD 0]

I also have a potential fiance' subject to the 2year FRR and have been researching past threads on this issue. I see on Vacuum's sig timeline which is showing as it is now and not when the post was made, you can see that the visa was approved pending the 2yr being up.

I still have these questions that it seems everyone has and here is what I have seen so far:

1) Can you apply for a K visa prior to the 2 year FRR being completed.

I saw one person cite a very specific rule that you are ineligible to "apply", however we have seen lots of cases where people have applied successfully. When you think about it, does the SC really know much about the beneficiaries visa history? They only have a name and birthdate. They could do some checks but not really be sure. They dont have the passport at that stage and really dont have enough info to even determine if a J1 is subject to the 2yr FRR so I dont imagine anyone getting denied from the SC. I have seen NO cases here of that happening.

2) Can you INTERVIEW before the 2yr FRR is up?

We have seen some examples here that you CAN interview before the FRR and in some cases the visa was granted even with the VO having knowledge of the FRR. This is good news.

3) Can you get the interview with an effective date set to the end of your 2yr FRR?

It seems maybe vacuum got this?? Anyone know of any situations of this occurring? Or, is the interviewee blue slipped to submit proof later once the 2yr FRR is up? I would think the latter would be more likely because even if you still had time left and they gave you the postdated visa, you still could go abroad and stop the 2yr clock. Your 2yr end date is NOT a given at the time of your interview.

It seems as I suspect in that since this is not very common, many V.O.s may do different things so your results may vary. The good news is that there appears to be no harm in trying! Go ahead and file, go ahead and interview... move the timeline forward as much as you can.

I am also interested in any stories of success in visiting during the K visa being in process. We have no problems with her getting B visas and she has a superb track record. We will time it to make sure she has a B visa in force prior to the I-130 going in. However, there is a risk at POE she could be turned away if they feel suspicious. I am betting that with her track record that they wouldn't do that to her but the risk is certainly there. Anyone know of any situation where someone was turned back at POE with a valid B1/B2 because a K visa was in process?

Lee