HELP!!! I-485 RFE for 2 year rule from J-1 visa

[jenB 0]

After going through the K-1 process fairly smoothly, my husband came over from the UK and we got married and filed for Adjustment of Status. Then we had an RFE concerning our joint sponsor which we took care of. Months have passed since then, our case was moved from Vermont to California, and now we have our 2nd RFE.

This RFE states that since my husband previously entered the US as a J-1 non-immigrant exchange visitor, "Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that persons who enter the US as a J-1 must return to their sponsoring country for a period of two years after their period of admission has expired so they can share the knowledge they acquired. As such, the applicant must comply with one of the following:

1) Submit evidence to establish that the applicant has fulfilled the requirements and conditions of his J-1 admission, as stated above, or

2) Submit evidence to establish that the applicant has been granted a waiver of section 212(e) two-year foreign residency requirement, or

3) Submit evidence to establish that the applicant is not subject to section 212(e) of the Act"

My husband actually entered the US under J-1 visa FIVE times between 2006 to 2011, in order to work at a YMCA overnight camp every summer before we got engaged. It's where we met. Now obviously since he returned back every summer, and they LET him, he cannot possibly be subject to the 2-year rule. My question is, how exactly can I prove this without a doubt to the USCIS? We have his passport stamped with all J-1 visas and K-1 Visas, and his readmittance each time to the UK, but we had already sent them this. Do we send it again?

Also, I have heard people talk about sending them the DS 2019 form which would have something checked off about whether the 2 year rule would apply? The only form we have been able to find that might come close is one from his 2008 J-1 visa: it is a "Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status" and down near the bottom it says,

"The Exchange Visitor in the above program:

1. Not subject to the two -year residency requirement (CHECKED OFF BY THE OFFICIAL!!! and STAMPED)

2. subject to two year residency requirement", etc.

I feel like this is our best proof, however it is only for his 2008 J-1 visa...I am sure the same applied for 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, but we do not have those papers.

Could sending in copies of his passport again, with this piece of paper, be enough to get us past this RFE?

It's silly because how could we get this far, and how could he have come back and forth so many times, if he was subject to this rule?

Do we need to prove that his job at camp was in no way funded by the government?

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for any help regarding this!!! We have till May 23, 2012 to reply to the USCIS.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

The fact that he came and went many times does not prove he is not subject to the HRR rule. This requirement to either fulfill or waive rule applies to people seeking immigrant status, not people who seek another non-immigrant visa. In the latter case the 2-year Req is just postponed.

The one from 2008 is good; I would focus on finding more evidence in that vein. Contact the agency that provided the visas, etc. The tricky thing is you will have to provide evidence for each visa. Good luck.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[paojack 41]

After going through the K-1 process fairly smoothly, my husband came over from the UK and we got married and filed for Adjustment of Status. Then we had an RFE concerning our joint sponsor which we took care of. Months have passed since then, our case was moved from Vermont to California, and now we have our 2nd RFE.

This RFE states that since my husband previously entered the US as a J-1 non-immigrant exchange visitor, "Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that persons who enter the US as a J-1 must return to their sponsoring country for a period of two years after their period of admission has expired so they can share the knowledge they acquired. As such, the applicant must comply with one of the following:

1) Submit evidence to establish that the applicant has fulfilled the requirements and conditions of his J-1 admission, as stated above, or

2) Submit evidence to establish that the applicant has been granted a waiver of section 212(e) two-year foreign residency requirement, or

3) Submit evidence to establish that the applicant is not subject to section 212(e) of the Act"

My husband actually entered the US under J-1 visa FIVE times between 2006 to 2011, in order to work at a YMCA overnight camp every summer before we got engaged. It's where we met. Now obviously since he returned back every summer, and they LET him, he cannot possibly be subject to the 2-year rule. My question is, how exactly can I prove this without a doubt to the USCIS? We have his passport stamped with all J-1 visas and K-1 Visas, and his readmittance each time to the UK, but we had already sent them this. Do we send it again?

Also, I have heard people talk about sending them the DS 2019 form which would have something checked off about whether the 2 year rule would apply? The only form we have been able to find that might come close is one from his 2008 J-1 visa: it is a "Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status" and down near the bottom it says,

"The Exchange Visitor in the above program:

1. Not subject to the two -year residency requirement (CHECKED OFF BY THE OFFICIAL!!! and STAMPED)

2. subject to two year residency requirement", etc.

I feel like this is our best proof, however it is only for his 2008 J-1 visa...I am sure the same applied for 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, but we do not have those papers.

Could sending in copies of his passport again, with this piece of paper, be enough to get us past this RFE?

It's silly because how could we get this far, and how could he have come back and forth so many times, if he was subject to this rule?

Do we need to prove that his job at camp was in no way funded by the government?

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for any help regarding this!!! We have till May 23, 2012 to reply to the USCIS.

are you completely sure the UK is not subject to the 2 year rule?? Like the previous post said, the fact that he came and went many times says nothing.. that's the first thing you need to find out!

I went thru the same hell over a month ago, I got a RFE for the same reason at my AOS interview last month. The IO could not match up the dates I was here on my J1 visa and since I had only the visa for the first year she could not confirm that I was here 'legally' on my second year (I didn't have the DS2019) so she started counting months of overstay and also telling me about the 2year home residence requirement(even though I know mexico is not and my visa says not subject!).. it was just a complete nightmare, you would think they have all that information in their system right? but she says that Immigration don't share information with DoS, which is ridiculous! Anyways, we walked out the interview with a RFE but thank Goodness the IO was able to figure it out and approved us a couple days later.

I have really no good advice to give you as I was as stuck as you are right now...... The only thing that the IO told me is that I needed to find the DS2019 since its where it says if you are subject to the 2year HRR or not. I also tried contacting Department of state since I did not have the ds2019 anymore but unfortunately they were not very helpful, you could try that too though. I wish you very good luck and hopefully your husband will be able to find the other documents from every year!!

Edited March 22, 2012 by paojack

[jenB 0]

thanks for the advice!

i am doing my best to locate DS 2019 forms for the other 4 summers he entered on a J-1 visa. I am also issuing an advisory opinion request to the State Dept. because it seems like that could also serve as evidence to submit to USCIS. let's hope that works...

but if anyone has any other thoughts on this or related experiences, I would love to hear them..

[paojack 41]

thanks for the advice!

i am doing my best to locate DS 2019 forms for the other 4 summers he entered on a J-1 visa. I am also issuing an advisory opinion request to the State Dept. because it seems like that could also serve as evidence to submit to USCIS. let's hope that works...

but if anyone has any other thoughts on this or related experiences, I would love to hear them..

for the advisory opinion I believe you need the DS-2019's, don't u?

[jenB 0]

for the advisory opinion I believe you need the DS-2019's, don't u?

yes....so I am submitting a copy of the one i have. telling them about the others that I don't have...but really i don't know what to do to prove the other years without the DS 2019s for them, i called the state dept and they said i have to get an advisory opinion, if i can't end up locating the other DS 2019s then i am not sure how else to prove them. i need to call the uscis with my husband present, they would only give me really general info unless he is there since he is the applicant. so this isn't the over yet...

i am at least going to go for the advisory opinion on the off chance that they can help with the other ones too. it might be a longshot.

Edited March 23, 2012 by jenB

[jenB 0]

are you completely sure the UK is not subject to the 2 year rule?? Like the previous post said, the fact that he came and went many times says nothing.. that's the first thing you need to find out!

I went thru the same hell over a month ago, I got a RFE for the same reason at my AOS interview last month. The IO could not match up the dates I was here on my J1 visa and since I had only the visa for the first year she could not confirm that I was here 'legally' on my second year (I didn't have the DS2019) so she started counting months of overstay and also telling me about the 2year home residence requirement(even though I know mexico is not and my visa says not subject!).. it was just a complete nightmare, you would think they have all that information in their system right? but she says that Immigration don't share information with DoS, which is ridiculous! Anyways, we walked out the interview with a RFE but thank Goodness the IO was able to figure it out and approved us a couple days later.

I have really no good advice to give you as I was as stuck as you are right now...... The only thing that the IO told me is that I needed to find the DS2019 since its where it says if you are subject to the 2year HRR or not. I also tried contacting Department of state since I did not have the ds2019 anymore but unfortunately they were not very helpful, you could try that too though. I wish you very good luck and hopefully your husband will be able to find the other documents from every year!!

also, as far as being sure the UK is not subject to the 2 year rule, i don't think it has everything to do with the country, i think it has more to do with the fact that the government did not pay for his exchange. he simply came over here to work as a camp counselor for five summers, and summer camps in the US regularly hire foreigners for this, it is a common way of people coming over to america, and many, like my husband, came back to do it again multiple times. so in my husband's case, yes, i am absolutely sure he is not subject to this 2 year rule.

[paojack 41]

yes....so I am submitting a copy of the one i have. telling them about the others that I don't have...but really i don't know what to do to prove the other years without the DS 2019s for them, i called the state dept and they said i have to get an advisory opinion, if i can't end up locating the other DS 2019s then i am not sure how else to prove them. i need to call the uscis with my husband present, they would only give me really general info unless he is there since he is the applicant. so this isn't the over yet...

i am at least going to go for the advisory opinion on the off chance that they can help with the other ones too. it might be a longshot.

Your husband should request a letter from the agency(or program) he used to come to the US explaining all the details (date, place,visa,etc) of when he was in the US on his j1, and send that to DoS along with the other required documentation for the advisory opinion. I'm not sure that will help or not but that was one of the things I was told to do by DoS when I was trying to fix my situation.

It is the sole responsibility of the exchange visitor (EV) to retain copies of his/her IAP-66/DS-2019 forms. Therefore, if you cannot find your copy, the Department’s Waiver Review Division (WRD) will accept a signed letter from your program’s responsible program officer (RO), which gives complete information about your program and your participation in it.

[jenB 0]

Your husband should request a letter from the agency(or program) he used to come to the US explaining all the details (date, place,visa,etc) of when he was in the US on his j1, and send that to DoS along with the other required documentation for the advisory opinion. I'm not sure that will help or not but that was one of the things I was told to do by DoS when I was trying to fix my situation.

It is the sole responsibility of the exchange visitor (EV) to retain copies of his/her IAP-66/DS-2019 forms. Therefore, if you cannot find your copy, the Department’s Waiver Review Division (WRD) will accept a signed letter from your program’s responsible program officer (RO), which gives complete information about your program and your participation in it.

ok that sounds like a good idea. question: do you think his employer (the summer camp) in the U.S. would be sufficient to provide this information, or should we contact the actual agency he had to come through? There were different ones for different years - CampAmerica, CampCounselorUSA...

[milimelo 4,541]

Since you have all his passports with J-1 and other visas, can't you make copies of the visas and highlight the section below it with notes: it should say something like Bearer is NOT subject to section 212 (e) rule.

Also contact the employer - they'll often have copies of IAP 66/DS-2019.

[jenB 0]

Since you have all his passports with J-1 and other visas, can't you make copies of the visas and highlight the section below it with notes: it should say something like Bearer is NOT subject to section 212 (e) rule.

Also contact the employer - they'll often have copies of IAP 66/DS-2019.

i will be contacting the employer... as far as the visas in his passport, none of them mention anything about the section 212 (e) rule. i read that they might, but they just aren't mentioned anywhere on any of his visas.

[paojack 41]

Since you have all his passports with J-1 and other visas, can't you make copies of the visas and highlight the section below it with notes: it should say something like Bearer is NOT subject to section 212 (e) rule.

Also contact the employer - they'll often have copies of IAP 66/DS-2019.

In my case, my old j1 visa does say ''not subject....'' but that was not enough for the IO, she needed to confirm it with the DS-2019.

[paojack 41]

OP, did u figure it out?

[jenB 0]

OP, did u figure it out?

We have a plan - After the advice from here and also consulting with an immigration lawyer, we contacted my husband's two visa sponsors he used over the five summers he worked at summer camp - CCUSA and Camp Leaders. They have both now issued us letters with all the details of his stay in america, the dates, his status, etc, and today I will be overnighting these to the dept of state for an advisory opinion request.

the advisory opinion request typically takes 4 to 6 weeks to respond, but they should hopefully come back with the affirmation that he was not subject to the 2 year HRR and then this is what we will submit to the USCIS. To be safe I will also submit all the papers we submitted to the DoS.

The DoS, for an Advisory Opinion, asked for us to snail mail a letter stating why we wanted the Advisory Opinion, all DS-2019 forms, and a self-addressed stamped envelope for their reply. We included the one DS 2019 form we had, and lacking the other four, we have our letters from the visa sponsors. Just to cover all my bases, I also decided to include copies of all the pages in his passport, including all J-1 visas.

I advised them that we are short on time, so hopefully they will get back to us before the deadline USCIS gave us to respond to this RFE....

thanks for your help everyone!

also - neither visa sponsor agency had DS-2019 forms anymore - CCUSA said that they do not keep copies more than 3 years (he used them 2006 and 2007), Camp Leaders simply said they were our responsibility to hold onto.

[paojack 41]

hopefully that will work! good luck! keep us posted!