Recent J1 waiver timeline 2017

[logisticamente 152]

20 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

 

Without the NOS there is no way to move it. Sometimes DOS seems to make the decision fast when the NOS takes too long to arrive. So the fact that your file is sitting there, helps you or at least it won't hurt you too much.

 

Are you in the US? If you are in the US you could go to DC and talk to people at the consulate. Try calling the consulate instead of the embassy, they are supposed to be available.  

 

On the other hand, the embassy is supposed to send your request to the Foreign Ministry in your country and they process it. Figuring out which office processes the NOS can be hard because a lot of countries do not have phone directories for each office, but if you are in your country you can also try to contact them or go there and ask people.  In my case, the office that processed the NOS seemed to be within the area in charge of all the consulates/embassies.

 

 

 

Thanks Coco8..

 

Trust me if I was in the US I would have gone to the embassy already!!

the ministry of foreign affairs is the entity in charge of issuing the NOS here in D.R. and they sent it to the embassy in Washington over a month ago..

This office is not in my city of residence so I cannot go.. but I have spoken many times with them and they say its on the embassy's court now (and that it should have been sent to the DOS already)... :/

So annoying.. this is not even the USCIS part!!

[Coco8 1,042]

2 hours ago, logisticamente said:

Thanks Coco8..

 

Trust me if I was in the US I would have gone to the embassy already!!

the ministry of foreign affairs is the entity in charge of issuing the NOS here in D.R. and they sent it to the embassy in Washington over a month ago..

This office is not in my city of residence so I cannot go.. but I have spoken many times with them and they say its on the embassy's court now (and that it should have been sent to the DOS already)... :/

So annoying.. this is not even the USCIS part!!

 

Oh, that is even more annoying! All the embassy has to do is send NOS by fax (or mail). If they send it by fax it will be updated in 2 days (that is what happened with mine).

 

I saw online that everyone on google reviews complains that they never answer the phone. I don't know if this would help (maybe they don't answer the phone either) but call the legislator in charge of the foreign policy committee in Congress (both the lower and upper chamber). Maybe you can complain to them and see if they have a phone number you can call. I am guessing the embassy has a number for government officials and they do pick up that phone. Or maybe the people at the foreign ministry have that type of number. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zey2017 0]

Hi, I applied to a no-objection waiver for J1. I want to share my timeline for others.

01/19/2017: Documents for application received by DOS

02/17/2017: No objection statement received by DOS

04/13/2017: Favorable recommendation sent by DOS

04/18/2017: USCIS received the application

06/08/2017: Final approval from USCIS arrived in the mail

 

 

[logisticamente 152]

25 minutes ago, zey2017 said:

Hi, I applied to a no-objection waiver for J1. I want to share my timeline for others.

01/19/2017: Documents for application received by DOS

02/17/2017: No objection statement received by DOS

04/13/2017: Favorable recommendation sent by DOS

04/18/2017: USCIS received the application

06/08/2017: Final approval from USCIS arrived in the mail

 

 

OMG Im soo happy for you!!! Congratx on your final approval!!

 

you got USCIS final approval fast compared to what others have said!! (4-6 months wait post UCSIS receipt)

Did you do anything that you think may have helped?

Also did you get your USCIS case number in the mail without issues or you had to call to get it??

Thanks

[LJauregui 1]

On 4/3/2017 at 9:25 PM, BrazilianJ1 said:

Here is my timeline with the H-1B processing time

 

- DS-3035 and all documents needed sent on December 8th, 2016

- No objection statement (NOS) from Brazilian embassy sent on December 9th, 2016

- DOS received the documents on December 28th, 2016

DOS did not update the NOS as received, I emailed DOS on January 8th, 2017. I received a reply on January 12th saying that DOS did not receive the NOS and provided me a number to ask my embassy to fax the NOS in my behalf. 

- DOS received the NOS on January 13th, 2017.

- DOS recommended my J1waiver application and sent to USCIS the letter on February 16th, 2017

- The USCIS received the DOS recommendation on February 23rd 

- My University got the DOS recommendation letter on March 6th

- H-1B premium petition was submitted on March 7th

- H-1B approval was update at the system on March 15th

- H-1B approval was received by my University on March 20th

- I received the H-1B approval documents on March 24th

- I had my US consulate interview on March 27th

- Start date at work on April 3rd.

Hi everyone and BrazilianJ1,

 

I am a post-doctor at Harvard University and Harvard has applied for me to the H1B visa by consular method. My H1B visa was approved back in March of 2017. I have also applied for the J1 visa waiver in March and I got the waiver recommendation from the DoS on July 7th and I am waiting for the waiver from the USCIS. I have not gotten the receipt number yet so when I call USCIS I can not get my case expedited. I am waiting for the waiver from USCIS so I can go back to my home country (Peru) and get my visa stamp. I want to ask you, how come you did not need to wait for the USCIS waiver approval?. How is your case different than mine. Did anyone else applied for H1B visa using the waiver recommendation from DoS instead of the waiver from USCIS?. 

I also contacted the Mass senator and she is emailing the USCIS but I don't know how much that can help.

Please, let me know. 

Thanks.

 

Here is my timeline:

Item	Action	Date
Recommendation	Sent	July, 07 2017
No Objection Statement	Received	May, 26 2017
Fee	Received	April, 19 2017
Form DS-3035	Received	April, 19 2017
Form DS-2019	Received	April, 19 2017
Passport Data Page	Received	April, 19 2017
Statement Of Reason	Received	April, 19 2017
Other	Received	April, 19 2017

[Coco8 1,042]

14 minutes ago, LJauregui said:

Hi everyone and BrazilianJ1,

 

I am a post-doctor at Harvard University and Harvard has applied for me to the H1B visa by consular method. My H1B visa was approved back in March of 2017. I have also applied for the J1 visa waiver in March and I got the waiver recommendation from the DoS on July 7th and I am waiting for the waiver from the USCIS. I have not gotten the receipt number yet so when I call USCIS I can not get my case expedited. I am waiting for the waiver from USCIS so I can go back to my home country (Peru) and get my visa stamp. I want to ask you, how come you did not need to wait for the USCIS waiver approval?. How is your case different than mine. Did anyone else applied for H1B visa using the waiver recommendation from DoS instead of the waiver from USCIS?. 

I also contacted the Mass senator and she is emailing the USCIS but I don't know how much that can help.

Please, let me know. 

Thanks.

 

Here is my timeline:

Item	Action	Date
Recommendation	Sent	July, 07 2017
No Objection Statement	Received	May, 26 2017
Fee	Received	April, 19 2017
Form DS-3035	Received	April, 19 2017
Form DS-2019	Received	April, 19 2017
Passport Data Page	Received	April, 19 2017
Statement Of Reason	Received	April, 19 2017
Other	Received	April, 19 2017

 

Hi: People in the US that apply for H1B inside the US can apply for it without the final decision from USCIS. Basically, once you have the USCIS receipt with the DOS decision you send the H1B application and they decide H1B+waiver at the same time.  

 

Yes, USCIS takes a while. Plus, there is a lot of variation on how long it takes to decide. There is also variation when it comes to how long the USCIS receipt takes to arrive too. Some people got it in a week and some in 3 weeks, probably due to how long the mail takes to arrive. 

 

I'm not sure it would be helpful, but if you e-mail DOS (the waiver email), you can ask them if they can give you an official letter with the final decision for your H1B application. I've read that some people got that. I am not sure if the USCIS number is on the letter but it might help you out. DOS takes a week to answer an email. 

 

PS: I am confused. If they have already approved your H1B then maybe you don't need a J1 waiver.  I have to send the waiver along with the H1B application. That is what the Brazilian guy did as well.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Coco8

[LJauregui 1]

4 hours ago, Coco8 said:

 

Hi: People in the US that apply for H1B inside the US can apply for it without the final decision from USCIS. Basically, once you have the USCIS receipt with the DOS decision you send the H1B application and they decide H1B+waiver at the same time.  

 

Yes, USCIS takes a while. Plus, there is a lot of variation on how long it takes to decide. There is also variation when it comes to how long the USCIS receipt takes to arrive too. Some people got it in a week and some in 3 weeks, probably due to how long the mail takes to arrive. 

 

I'm not sure it would be helpful, but if you e-mail DOS (the waiver email), you can ask them if they can give you an official letter with the final decision for your H1B application. I've read that some people got that. I am not sure if the USCIS number is on the letter but it might help you out. DOS takes a week to answer an email. 

 

PS: I am confused. If they have already approved your H1B then maybe you don't need a J1 waiver.  I have to send the waiver along with the H1B application. That is what the Brazilian guy did as well.

Thanks Coco8 for the information. 

My H1B visa has been approved by consular approval, but I have to go out of the US and get an interview at a US embassy in my country. I was told I need to show them my J-1 visa waiver, however I am not certain if the letter from DoS is enough or I need the form I-612 from USCIS. I know for H1B visa using the Change of Status method the letter from DoS is enough.

Thanks

[Coco8 1,042]

4 minutes ago, LJauregui said:

Thanks Coco8 for the information. 

My H1B visa has been approved by consular approval, but I have to go out of the US and get an interview at a US embassy in my country. I was told I need to show them my J-1 visa waiver, however I am not certain if the letter from DoS is enough or I need the form I-612 from USCIS. I know for H1B visa using the Change of Status method the letter from DoS is enough.

Thanks

Oh, OK. I think you need the USCIS final decision. That is what people who are applying for other visas have to show. Hopefully once you get the number the Mass Senator can expedite it for you. 

 

If you are in the US they should have done the H1B in the US. You could have stayed in the US and then go to Peru for the holidays and get the stamp on the passport. 

 

Good luck! All this is a pain in the a** I am in a very similar situation so I get it.

 

[LJauregui 1]

43 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

Oh, OK. I think you need the USCIS final decision. That is what people who are applying for other visas have to show. Hopefully once you get the number the Mass Senator can expedite it for you. 

 

If you are in the US they should have done the H1B in the US. You could have stayed in the US and then go to Peru for the holidays and get the stamp on the passport. 

 

Good luck! All this is a pain in the a** I am in a very similar situation so I get it.

 

I was so lucky that the international office could process my H1B visa around March 2017 few weeks before Trump stopped the premium processing for H1B visas. So my only choice was the consular processing. 

Good luck for you as well!. But it is really frustrating to wait for the waiver, I hope I could have done it earlier.

 

[Coco8 1,042]

11 minutes ago, LJauregui said:

I was so lucky that the international office could process my H1B visa around March 2017 few weeks before Trump stopped the premium processing for H1B visas. So my only choice was the consular processing. 

Good luck for you as well!. But it is really frustrating to wait for the waiver, I hope I could have done it earlier.

 

Thank you! The waiver division lost some of my papers and my waiver didn't move for 2 months just because of that! Overall, I've been waiting 4 months. Now I'm pushing them final decision because it was their fault and if I hadn't pressed them they wouldn't have acknowledged the mistake.

I also need to do an H1B but I'm going to try to get it expedited (there are cases in which you can do that even if there is no premium processing yet + ask a Senator to make them expedite it). Now they are accepting premium processing for MDs and federal agencies; they should just open it up to non-profits too! (universities are non-profits)

Edited July 19, 2017 by Coco8

[traveler2017 0]

I'm in the same boat. Waiting for USCIS to make the final decision (no objection -fav recommendation from DOS). I have a receipt dated June 30th, but there is not updates since then.

 

How did you contact your senators? What did you say to senators to expedite your case? Do I have to be in US to ask a senator for help?

 

Is there anyone who has cases dated around June? I'm curious how long it takes for USCIS to make a decision?

[Coco8 1,042]

6 minutes ago, traveler2017 said:

I'm in the same boat. Waiting for USCIS to make the final decision (no objection -fav recommendation from DOS). I have a receipt dated June 30th, but there is not updates since then.

 

How did you contact your senators? What did you say to senators to expedite your case? Do I have to be in US to ask a senator for help?

 

Is there anyone who has cases dated around June? I'm curious how long it takes for USCIS to make a decision?

To contact a senator you have to have an address in the US in the senator's state. I would only contact them if you have a reason for them to request the expedite, like hardship, otherwise it will be a lot of trouble for nothing. Requesting an expedite simply because you don't want to wait is likely to get denied. I think people were saying USCIS is taking 1-2 months. 

 

[traveler2017 0]

4 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

To contact a senator you have to have an address in the US in the senator's state. I would only contact them if you have a reason for them to request the expedite, like hardship, otherwise it will be a lot of trouble for nothing. Requesting an expedite simply because you don't want to wait is likely to get denied. I think people were saying USCIS is taking 1-2 months. 

 

I suspected that I had no legitimate reasons to expedite the process.

 

USCIS on their website lists "significant financial loss" as one of the reasons for expediting the review process. Do you happen to know what do they mean by "significant"? Would missing a job opportunity be one of it? I have an offer with start date in August, not sure if the employer would be willing to wait.

[logisticamente 152]

10 minutes ago, traveler2017 said:

I'm in the same boat. Waiting for USCIS to make the final decision (no objection -fav recommendation from DOS). I have a receipt dated June 30th, but there is not updates since then.

 

How did you contact your senators? What did you say to senators to expedite your case? Do I have to be in US to ask a senator for help?

 

Is there anyone who has cases dated around June? I'm curious how long it takes for USCIS to make a decision?

I agree with Coco8.. you need to have a valid point for the senator or congressman to get involved.. at first I didn't understand what was their role in all of this.. but I went into my congressman's website and it clearly states  that they will help with your application if you are encountering issues with the government agency or they are taking longer than they are supposed to.. since you are still under normal processing time, and don't have any special emergency situation they wouldn't do anything for you.

 

Please share your timeline so you help understand others your process.

Best of luck!!

[Coco8 1,042]

2 minutes ago, traveler2017 said:

I suspected that I had no legitimate reasons to expedite the process.

 

USCIS on their website lists "significant financial loss" as one of the reasons for expediting the review process. Do you happen to know what do they mean by "significant"? Would missing a job opportunity be one of it? I have an offer with start date in August, not sure if the employer would be willing to wait.

 

2 minutes ago, logisticamente said:

I agree with Coco8.. you need to have a valid point for the senator or congressman to get involved.. at first I didn't understand what was their role in all of this.. but I went into my congressman's website and it clearly states  that they will help with your application if you are encountering issues with the government agency or they are taking longer than they are supposed to.. since you are still under normal processing time, and don't have any special emergency situation they wouldn't do anything for you.

 

Please share your timeline so you help understand others your process.

Best of luck!!

 

Why exactly do you need the USCIS paper? Are you doing AOS? If it is to start AOS, you are not going to get your EAD by August anyway. I am confused because your profile says "removing conditions".

 

As @logisticamente said, can you share your DOS timeline too?