Question regarding J1 Visa Waiver and Change/Adjustment of Status

[erik_23ph 12]

Good Day to all! I have a question and I hope someone can answer me. Im in the process of obtaining J1 Visa Waiver and my application is based on No Objection.

I used to be a J1 Visa holder and subjected to the 2 year home residency requirement based on the skill list of my country.

Septmber 2014 I got married to a US Citizen. My spouse is going to petition me to become a Permanent Resident but Ithe home residency requirement first must be waived first.

So I started the application in November 2014. First, I made a request for a No Objection letter from my home country and it was approved in January 2015.

After I got approval for No Objection letter, I submitted all paper work and requirements to US Dept of State ( DS-3035, Passport page, Statement of Reason, Application Fee, etc). About the same time our embassy in Washington DC forwarded the letter to the US Department of State.

In February 2015, the US Department of State approved my application and gave me a Favorable Recommendation, which was then forwarded to USCIS for final approval.

March 2015, I then received I-797C Notice of Action and a Receipt No. Now I can check the status of my case online. Its been only 3 weeks since I received the letter from USCIS so there is still no update on my case other than 'Your application is received'.. From what I read online it will take 6-8 weeks or more for USCIS to make a decision so I still have to wait few more weeks. From what I read also, 99% of cases based on No Objection that earned favorable recommendation from US Department of State eventually gets approval from USCIS but I dont want to be over confident at this point.

Here is my question. Now that my J1 Visa Waiver application is with USCIS, can I submit my application to change or adjust my status? Or should I wait for the actual J1 Visa waiver approval before I apply to adjust my stauts? Change or Adjustment of Status for US citizen immediate relative wait is 5 months.

Thank you for your time reading my post and I will appreciate any response/reply.

Best regards.

[awe787 6]

USCIS recently approved my J-1 waiver 10 days after it received favorable recommendation from the state department. So I am sure, they would be approving yours soon too. You can go ahead and apply for AOS because you have received favorable recommendation based on No objection. I personally waited to receive the actual approval from USCIS.

[erik_23ph 12]

Thank you awe787.

May I ask you when did USCIS received the favorable recommendation from US Department of State? Mine was March 2 2015

Thanks again.

USCIS recently approved my J-1 waiver 10 days after it received favorable recommendation from the state department. So I am sure, they would be approving yours soon too. You can go ahead and apply for AOS because you have received favorable recommendation based on No objection. I personally waited to receive the actual approval from USCIS.

[awe787 6]

Hi, First, my waiver was based on hardship, so i was expecting my case to take long. USCIS received my favorable recommendation case on Jan 16th 2015 and approved it on Jan 26th 2015.My case was processed in California service center, which is usually pretty fast.They usually perform background checks, so it will depend on how quick yours go through, but you should receive something soon.

Once you receive a favorable recommendation for DOS based on No objection, there is no way USCIS will deny your waiver.

[erik_23ph 12]

I really appreciate your replies. Thank you.

By the way congratulations for your successful J1 Visa Waiver application. Yes, I read that application process based on hardship and persecution are much longer and very difficult to obtain.

I'll be patiently waiting. After all, patience is a virtue.

All the best to you!

Hi, First, my waiver was based on hardship, so i was expecting my case to take long. USCIS received my favorable recommendation case on Jan 16th 2015 and approved it on Jan 26th 2015.My case was processed in California service center, which is usually pretty fast.They usually perform background checks, so it will depend on how quick yours go through, but you should receive something soon.

Once you receive a favorable recommendation for DOS based on No objection, there is no way USCIS will deny your waiver.

[awe787 6]

I really appreciate your replies. Thank you.

By the way congratulations for your successful J1 Visa Waiver application. Yes, I read that application process based on hardship and persecution are much longer and very difficult to obtain.

I'll be patiently waiting. After all, patience is a virtue.

All the best to you!

Thanks and Good luck to you! Be patient, you are almost done.I sure was glad to get rid of the 2yrr curse.lol

[blahblahblog 36]

How long did it take for the DOS to update the J1 visa waiver status website in your case, erik_23ph? My home country embassy sent the No Objection Statement a month ago but the website didn't acknowledge that yet. They also didn't respond to my inquiry within the 5 business days, but I don't want to keep bugging them when I know I just need to be patient. I'm sure the staff is overworked and they'll get to my application and inquiry eventually. I'm just being over anxious.

I find mildly annoying that the clock starts ticking after all application materials have been received, but they take about a month to "receive" mail. Do you guys know if this delay is baked in the 6-8 weeks estimates or the actual timelines are more like 10-12 weeks?

[erik_23ph 12]

Hi. Based on my case, my embassy forwarded the No Objection Statement (NOS) letter January 2015. Then after a month, the US Dept of State website indicated that it received the NOS letter and then 21 days later updated the status of the case from 'Pending' to 'Favorable Recommendation'. 7 weeks all in all.

On your case, you want to make sure that US Dept of State received your NOS letter from your embassy. You may contact your embassy to confirm that they sent it, or request to resend it again to US Dept of State incase the letter got lost on the way...

How long did it take for the DOS to update the J1 visa waiver status website in your case, erik_23ph? My home country embassy sent the No Objection Statement a month ago but the website didn't acknowledge that yet. They also didn't respond to my inquiry within the 5 business days, but I don't want to keep bugging them when I know I just need to be patient. I'm sure the staff is overworked and they'll get to my application and inquiry eventually. I'm just being over anxious.

I find mildly annoying that the clock starts ticking after all application materials have been received, but they take about a month to "receive" mail. Do you guys know if this delay is baked in the 6-8 weeks estimates or the actual timelines are more like 10-12 weeks?

Edited March 23, 2015 by erik_23ph

[erik_23ph 12]

Hi again awe787!

What you said is correct. I was reading some information online regarding J1 Visa Waiver process and discovered this from ILW.com and NOLO.com

I will still wait for the final waiver from USCIS but at the same time will prepare all docs and requirements to adjust/change my status. That way no time is waisted.

I hope you having a great day.

USCIS recently approved my J-1 waiver 10 days after it received favorable recommendation from the state department. So I am sure, they would be approving yours soon too. You can go ahead and apply for AOS because you have received favorable recommendation based on No objection. I personally waited to receive the actual approval from USCIS.

Edited March 26, 2015 by erik_23ph

[awe787 6]

Hi again awe787!

What you said is correct. I was reading some information online regarding J1 Visa Waiver process and discovered this from ILW.com and NOLO.com

NOLO COM J1 Waiver Process.JPG ILW J1 WAIVER FLOW CHART.JPG

I will still wait for the final waiver from USCIS but at the same time will prepare all docs and requirements to adjust/change my status. That way no time is waisted.

I hope you having a great day.

Thanks! Yeah...go ahead and start gathering/completing your paper work for AOS.You can in fact complete your Medical form(I-693) now while you wait. Some doctors usually take a couple of weeks (like in my case) to fill it out. Good luck to you!

[erik_23ph 12]

Hi blahblah, any update on your J1 Visa Waiver application?

How long did it take for the DOS to update the J1 visa waiver status website in your case, erik_23ph? My home country embassy sent the No Objection Statement a month ago but the website didn't acknowledge that yet. They also didn't respond to my inquiry within the 5 business days, but I don't want to keep bugging them when I know I just need to be patient. I'm sure the staff is overworked and they'll get to my application and inquiry eventually. I'm just being over anxious.

I find mildly annoying that the clock starts ticking after all application materials have been received, but they take about a month to "receive" mail. Do you guys know if this delay is baked in the 6-8 weeks estimates or the actual timelines are more like 10-12 weeks?

[blahblahblog 36]

They responded to my previous inquiry to confirm that they received the DS-3035 but didn't address the question of my NOS. Then I wrote a second inquiry specifically about the NOS but the online website showed today that they received the NOS, so that inquiry is moot. I'm glad that they received all the paperwork and all I can do is wait.

How is your process going? Are you sending the AOS now?

[erik_23ph 12]

Thats good to know. Based on my case, from the day Dept of State received the NOS from our embassy, it took 21 days for them to give me a favorable recommendation. Faster than I expected.

However, I am still waiting for the final approval from USCIS. I read from other forums that some applications that USCIS received on Feb 26 were approved on Mar 13 (15 days) and Mar 20 (22 days). USCIS received mine's on Mar 2 and its been 22 days but no update yet.

We started gathering / preparing application for AOS already. And I may start with the medical exam just like awe797 suggested.

Have a great weekend to you. Hope you can update us about your application here. Thanks!

They responded to my previous inquiry to confirm that they received the DS-3035 but didn't address the question of my NOS. Then I wrote a second inquiry specifically about the NOS but the online website showed today that they received the NOS, so that inquiry is moot. I'm glad that they received all the paperwork and all I can do is wait.

How is your process going? Are you sending the AOS now?

[blahblahblog 36]

Also on more informative notes, in 2010 the DOS informed that:

The WRD has eight adjudicators with four of them working on no objection applications, two on exceptional hardship and persecution, one on Conrad waivers and one on advisory opinions as to whether an exchange visitor is subject to the two-year home residence requirement. The division also has four waiver assistants and one data entry clerk.

(from AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 11010669)

So in that year, the 4 employees adjudicated about 5000 "no objection statements" based waivers (http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/waivers/INA212eRecommendation_FY10.pdf), a work load of 1250/adjudicator over a year or about 50 petitions a day (assuming 250 working days per year). And if the one data entry clerk is the one responsible for input of everything into the system, then he's working on ~250 petitions a day! That's a very heavy workload! I feel bad for keep sending inquiries now. I wished the DOS would hire a couple more analysts do deal with this, but oh well.

[blahblahblog 36]

Thats good to know. Based on my case, from the day Dept of State received the NOS from our embassy, it took 21 days for them to give me a favorable recommendation. Faster than I expected.

However, I am still waiting for the final approval from USCIS. I read from other forums that some applications that USCIS received on Feb 26 were approved on Mar 13 (15 days) and Mar 20 (22 days). USCIS received mine's on Mar 2 and its been 22 days but no update yet.

We started gathering / preparing application for AOS already. And I may start with the medical exam just like awe797 suggested.

Have a great weekend to you. Hope you can update us about your application here. Thanks!

If you're in particular hurry to avoid being out of status, maybe you should apply for the AOS with the I-797C? Or alternatively try to contact the service center after a month?