2 year restriction

[soco7tech 0]

My Fiancee, came to the United States from Poland on a J-1 visa issued November 2004. After working together for about a month here in the United States we decided to start dating and soon discovered we are true soul mates. She has a 2 year restriction on her visa which forced her to return to Poland November 2005. During the ensuing months we both came to realize that our feelings for each other stayed strong and true. I visited her in Poland from April 22 till May 5, 2006 and again October 2006. During our first reunion I proposed marriage to Moja Kochanie, with the blessings of her family, and she blessed me with her acceptance.

Does anyone have any advice on how best to proceed while she is still on this 2 year restriction? The restriction ends in November and I don't want to start the process just to have the restriction cause us to have to file again once it is over.

[JoeMama 0]

I do not know what you can do about the J1 restriction. Consult an attorney maybe if you do not find your answer here. If you discover there is nothing she can do about the restriction, both of you can use the time until November getting your case together by gathering evidence of your relationship from the beginning up-until-the-day you decide to submit for your K-1.

Please READ the GUIDES & FAQS sections of this website. Find out which visa you which will apply to you and learn all you can about it. This site has been great to all of us with all the information it has. Good luck!

Edited March 25, 2007 by altimixdj

[AUBGER 0]

My Fiancee, came to the United States from Poland on a J-1 visa issued November 2004. After working together for about a month here in the United States we decided to start dating and soon discovered we are true soul mates. She has a 2 year restriction on her visa which forced her to return to Poland November 2005. During the ensuing months we both came to realize that our feelings for each other stayed strong and true. I visited her in Poland from April 22 till May 5, 2006 and again October 2006. During our first reunion I proposed marriage to Moja Kochanie, with the blessings of her family, and she blessed me with her acceptance.

Does anyone have any advice on how best to proceed while she is still on this 2 year restriction? The restriction ends in November and I don't want to start the process just to have the restriction cause us to have to file again once it is over.

Well...I'm not totally positive about it. I was on a j-1 with a restriction a long time ago...but I think you can apply for a waiver in connection to the fiance/spouse related visa. Don't know for sure. As Joe said, try to contact a lawyer.

[tonyeck 0]

If you are on the 2 year restriction as far as I am aware, you cannot apply for a K1. So I believe you will have to wait till nov 07 Sorry

But I may be wrong!

[Minya's wife 24]

I may be wrong in my information, but the J-1 visa 2 year restriction only means that the person cannot leave their home country until the restriction is up. I'm not sure that it would necessarily make one ineligible for a K-1 visa. This whole process takes several months from filing to the visa being issued, so by the time the visa would be issued to your fiancee the two year restriction would be ending, making her eligible for the K-1

You should consult w/ a lawyer for details, but you may be able to file the petition now but your fiancee will have to wait until November (that's when you said the 2 year restriction will end?) until she can be issued the K-1 visa. Just my thoughts...

[rebeccajo 14]

As the restriction is for two years, I'm doubtful the consulate would place a visa in a passport until the restriction is up. A visa means - OK you are free to go.

There is a process for filing to have the restriction waived. I am unfamiliar with that process but common sense tells me that by the time such process were complete, November would have arrived.

A competent immigration attorney can clear the question up for you. I'm doubtful you should file before the restriction is up. USICS and DOS systems are not that well linked for them to connect the dots between filing before the restriction ends and non-issuance of the visa until afterwards.

[ladywhite 0]

I was a former J-1 holder, who is now doing my time in my home country. I departed the US on August 31, 2005, only a few months before your fiancee did. The J-1 restriction is called a "2 year home residency requirement (2 year HRR)" which means you are bound to return to your home country after your graduation (in my case) or whatever you do in the US and are physically present in your home country for a duration of two full years. During this time, you are not allowed (or eligible) to apply for a non-immigrant visa.

At this point, a J-1 waiver is not for you. She is already back in her country. You (in fact, your fiancee) could have filed for it long time ago while she was still in the US. If granted, she wouldn't have had to return to Poland.

Right now, like the above post said, you can start filing your petition, but you need to do the math. NOA2 is valid for 4 months, so if you file too early, it may expire before Nov 2005 where your fiancee is eligible for a k-1. In other word, estimate time well so that her interview is still within the 4 months of NOA2 and after November 07. I know I sound kind of confusing, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

We had to wait 19 months to file I-129F. He just mailed out the peition this past Saturday. We estimate that it would take about 4 months to get NOA2 (assuming everything goes well and no delay) which would be around late July or August. I would have about a month to apply and gather all required documents in my home country and then schedule my interview, which has to be on September 2, 2007, or later (i entered the country on Sept 1, 2005).

I hope this helps. Start collecting all required documents you need for the petition. My fiance spent nearly 2 months to get everything they need (hopefully he got everything )

You may IM me if you would like to talk more.

Good Luck to both of you. You have come close to when she will be free.

Ladywhite

[ladywhite 0]

I was a former J-1 holder, who is now doing my time in my home country. I departed the US on August 31, 2005, only a few months before your fiancee did. The J-1 restriction is called a "2 year home residency requirement (2 year HRR)" which means you are bound to return to your home country after your graduation (in my case) or whatever you do in the US and are physically present in your home country for a duration of two full years. During this time, you are not allowed (or eligible) to apply for a non-immigrant visa.

At this point, a J-1 waiver is not for you. She is already back in her country. You (in fact, your fiancee) could have filed for it long time ago while she was still in the US. If granted, she wouldn't have had to return to Poland.

Right now, like the above post said, you can start filing your petition, but you need to do the math. NOA2 is valid for 4 months, so if you file too early, it may expire before Nov 2005 where your fiancee is eligible for a k-1. In other word, estimate time well so that her interview is still within the 4 months of NOA2 and after November 07. I know I sound kind of confusing, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

We had to wait 19 months to file I-129F. He just mailed out the peition this past Saturday. We estimate that it would take about 4 months to get NOA2 (assuming everything goes well and no delay) which would be around late July or August. I would have about a month to apply and gather all required documents in my home country and then schedule my interview, which has to be on September 2, 2007, or later (i entered the country on Sept 1, 2005).

I hope this helps. Start collecting all required documents you need for the petition. My fiance spent nearly 2 months to get everything they need (hopefully he got everything )

You may IM me if you would like to talk more.

Good Luck to both of you. You have come close to when she will be free.

Ladywhite

I forgot to mention that, according to an immigration attorney my fiance consulted, we are allowed to file a petition while I am still on the 2 year HRR. But the visa can't be granted to me if my interview date is still within my HRR.

Good Luck to you both.

[zyggy 9]

As the restriction is for two years, I'm doubtful the consulate would place a visa in a passport until the restriction is up. A visa means - OK you are free to go.

There is a process for filing to have the restriction waived. I am unfamiliar with that process but common sense tells me that by the time such process were complete, November would have arrived.

A competent immigration attorney can clear the question up for you. I'm doubtful you should file before the restriction is up. USICS and DOS systems are not that well linked for them to connect the dots between filing before the restriction ends and non-issuance of the visa until afterwards.

Yep.. the process takes a minimum of 6 months... save your money on te waiver and wait for November to roll around... but you can file the petition and have the interview and everythng in place... just the visa cannot be issued until the HRR is fulfilled...

Edited March 26, 2007 by zyggy

[rebeccajo 14]

As the restriction is for two years, I'm doubtful the consulate would place a visa in a passport until the restriction is up. A visa means - OK you are free to go.

There is a process for filing to have the restriction waived. I am unfamiliar with that process but common sense tells me that by the time such process were complete, November would have arrived.

A competent immigration attorney can clear the question up for you. I'm doubtful you should file before the restriction is up. USICS and DOS systems are not that well linked for them to connect the dots between filing before the restriction ends and non-issuance of the visa until afterwards.

Yep.. the process takes a minimum of 6 months... save your money on te waiver and wait for November to roll around... but you can file the petition and have the interview and everythng in place... just the visa cannot be issued until the HRR is fulfilled...

Ok, well add that into my "things I learned today" category.

I am amazed to learn you can file with the restriction still in place.

Which leads me to another thing I have always wondered. Regarding prior visas.

Who does the 'backstory' research on these things anyway? If you have had a prior visa, does someone at the approving Service Center research that visa? NVC? Surely not the consulate...............

Or does ANYBODY research it? Who connects the dots?

[TracyTN 237]

Rebecca, did you see the thread yesterday where the lady posted that her fiance (the USC) had accepted payment for a prior K1 petition? Their case was then promptly sent to Honolulu. So I think the service center does the research.

[rebeccajo 14]

Rebecca, did you see the thread yesterday where the lady posted that her fiance (the USC) had accepted payment for a prior K1 petition? Their case was then promptly sent to Honolulu. So I think the service center does the research.

Yeah I saw that. Pretty wild, eh?

BUT....that's a search for a PRIOR PETITION filed by the USC. When IMBRA went live, it was disclosed that USC's would be checked for prior filings. I'm not sure how that's being done - common sense tells me they may be using the Social Security number.

Not the same thing as any prior visas held by the beneficiary. From my research, it can be quite difficult for USCIS to research info on old visas - records are stored in several places and the older the records are, the more likely they are to have little electronic cross-referencing.

[TracyTN 237]

Oh right, I see. I missed that part in your post.

I would suspect that the service center would have some information on previous visas, but maybe not. The service center phase seems to be a lot about the petitioner (although there are obviously checks done on the beneficiary). Maybe we need to ask Huskerkiev.

[AUBGER 0]

I was a former J-1 holder, who is now doing my time in my home country. I departed the US on August 31, 2005, only a few months before your fiancee did. The J-1 restriction is called a "2 year home residency requirement (2 year HRR)" which means you are bound to return to your home country after your graduation (in my case) or whatever you do in the US and are physically present in your home country for a duration of two full years. During this time, you are not allowed (or eligible) to apply for a non-immigrant visa.

At this point, a J-1 waiver is not for you. She is already back in her country. You (in fact, your fiancee) could have filed for it long time ago while she was still in the US. If granted, she wouldn't have had to return to Poland.

Right now, like the above post said, you can start filing your petition, but you need to do the math. NOA2 is valid for 4 months, so if you file too early, it may expire before Nov 2005 where your fiancee is eligible for a k-1. In other word, estimate time well so that her interview is still within the 4 months of NOA2 and after November 07. I know I sound kind of confusing, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

We had to wait 19 months to file I-129F. He just mailed out the peition this past Saturday. We estimate that it would take about 4 months to get NOA2 (assuming everything goes well and no delay) which would be around late July or August. I would have about a month to apply and gather all required documents in my home country and then schedule my interview, which has to be on September 2, 2007, or later (i entered the country on Sept 1, 2005).

I hope this helps. Start collecting all required documents you need for the petition. My fiance spent nearly 2 months to get everything they need (hopefully he got everything )

You may IM me if you would like to talk more.

Good Luck to both of you. You have come close to when she will be free.

Ladywhite

See I sort of disagree because I came home form being an Exchange student in June 2002. I graduated high school in my home country in May 2003 and went to Bulgaria to pursue college education in August 2003. In April 2004 I was granted another J-1 visa withought the 2 year restriction and I was in the US already in May 2004, 1 month before the restriction ended. After that I have been granted 2 more visas for the summers of 2005&2006. So respectively not only that I didn't physically stay in my home country but I actually got the visas.....

[rebeccajo 14]

See I sort of disagree because I came home form being an Exchange student in June 2002. I graduated high school in my home country in May 2003 and went to Bulgaria to pursue college education in August 2003. In April 2004 I was granted another J-1 visa withought the 2 year restriction and I was in the US already in May 2004, 1 month before the restriction ended. After that I have been granted 2 more visas for the summers of 2005&2006. So respectively not only that I didn't physically stay in my home country but I actually got the visas.....

So.....does this answer my question.....who does the 'homework' on this?

Looks like nobody in kinzaza's case.