2018 J1 WAIVER TIMELINE

[JWaiver_2019 21]

33 minutes ago, orpheus said:

Actually that's pretty common. I sent my stuff on 11/8 and they just received on 12/17. I know it's weird to wait that long,  but that how it goes for most of us. Personal advice: looking all the time for updates just makes you more anxious.

This is very nice of you that you shared your experience.

Actually, website suggests if you have completed all steps 1-3 then status should be updated in one month otherwise send email with questions to 212ewaiver@state.gov ..... 

The only concern is if they have received things in time and should update the status as per timeline and that we don't need to worry if something has been lost on the way to DoS.

But this is nice experience sharing! Appreciate it.

By the way, joining this forum to kill some of wait time

[Royalpalla 0]

Hi all,

 

DOS sent a favorable recommendation on January 10, 2019.

 

I received it in the mail January 22, 2019.

 

I did NOT receive anything from USCIS. How long is it gonna take to receive the Notice of Action? I would like to have the receipt number to accompany my case in USCIS.

 

Please let me know how long it took for you.

 

Thanks

Edited January 23, 2019 by Royalpalla

[Gonzala 9]

28 minutes ago, Royalpalla said:

Hi all,

 

DOS sent a favorable recommendation on January 10, 2019.

 

I received it in the mail January 22, 2019.

 

I did NOT receive anything from USCIS. How long is it gonna take to receive the Notice of Action? I would like to have the receipt number to accompany my case in USCIS.

 

Please let me know how long it took for you.

 

Thanks

For me, it took 12 days after I received the DoS letter in the mail.

[Katykats_md 0]

If you received a Case Receipt number or NOA, Does that mean you already have the I-797? 

 

If I check my case online this is what it shows? What does it mean? Did my name change delay my approval? 

[GKT 3]

On 1/23/2019 at 6:25 AM, Gonzala said:

For me, it took 12 days after I received the DoS letter in the mail.

I received favorable recommendation (fv) on 7 Jan, and called USCIS on 22 Jan (~ 2 weeks) for NOA.

USCIS officer said that it could take up to 30 days for one to receive NOA.

 

Anyway, the officer was very helpful to check it up for me after I provided her some info (name, DOB etc),

and managed to provide me the case number.

 

According to my status online, USCIS received the fv letter on 17 Jan and NOA was mailed on 18 Jan.

 

Hope it helps.

[Katykats_md 0]

What’s a good number to call USCIS to ask about updates? It’s been 6weeks for me but I havent seen any updates yet. I am still waiting for my i-797 approval.

[GKT 3]

On 1/23/2019 at 6:53 AM, Katykats_md said:

If you received a Case Receipt number or NOA, Does that mean you already have the I-797? 

 

If I check my case online this is what it shows? What does it mean? Did my name change delay my approval? 

No, NOA (notice of action or I-797c) just to notify you that USCIS has received your case, and provided you a case number so that you can track the progress online.

I-797 (= final waiver) will be issued only after they approved your case.

[GKT 3]

2 minutes ago, Katykats_md said:

What’s a good number to call USCIS to ask about updates? It’s been 6weeks for me but I havent seen any updates yet. I am still waiting for my i-797 approval.

I called this one: 1-800 375 5283

(FYI, I am currently in the USA).

 

Then, press "1" for "checking status of your case".

 

 

[Katykats_md 0]

I am in the US as well. Thank you so much. I’ll try to call them tomorrow.

[GKT 3]

On 1/22/2019 at 8:57 AM, okland said:

Hi,

I sent my package through FedEx and they received it on Dec 22nd. The NOS from home country was submitted electronic on the 18th. 

 

So far my case online was not updated. It has been a month already. Is that normal? I emailed them and got no answer back.

"So far my case online was not updated." - Do you mean it did not state "NOS was received" or they already received it but the case is still pending?

 

For my case, my home country embassy also emailed NOS to DOS (which made me a bit nervous because I thought DOS requested it to be mailed).

The system showed "NOS received" 3 days after the embassy officer sent the email.

[okland 31]

Thank you all for the answers. Definitely the best course of action is "forget" about your case for a while.

 

3 minutes ago, GKT said:

"So far my case online was not updated." - Do you mean it did not state "NOS was received" or they already received it but the case is still pending?

 

For my case, my home country embassy also emailed NOS to DOS (which made me a bit nervous because I thought DOS requested it to be mailed).

The system showed "NOS received" 3 days after the embassy officer sent the email.

 

My case was not updated at all. It doesn't show any information about the waiver. It only shows the Advisory Opinion that I submitted back from 2016.

 

When did your embassy sent the email to the DoS?

[GKT 3]

3 minutes ago, okland said:

Thank you all for the answers. Definitely the best course of action is "forget" about your case for a while.

 

 

My case was not updated at all. It doesn't show any information about the waiver. It only shows the Advisory Opinion that I submitted back from 2016.

 

When did your embassy sent the email to the DoS?

The email was sent on 14 Dec 2018 (cc to me), and "NOS received" was shown online on 18 Dec.

Sorry, that should be 4 days then including weekend.

Edited January 24, 2019 by GKT

[okland 31]

3 minutes ago, GKT said:

The email was sent on 15 Dec 2018 (cc to me), and "NOS received" was shown online on 18 Dec.

3 days before my email was sent... I wonder if I should ask for another email from my Embassy...

 

Is there a way to contact the DoS besides that email that they provided? I sent one a week ago and got no answer back.

Edited January 24, 2019 by okland

[GKT 3]

11 minutes ago, okland said:

3 days before my email was sent... I wonder if I should ask for another email from my Embassy...

 

Is there a way to contact the DoS besides that email that they provided? I sent one a week ago and got no answer back.

" I wonder if I should ask for another email from my Embassy..." -  My life quote is "no harm to try", so why not?

 

Just FYI, my case was shown online/updated ~ 2 weeks after DOS received my application package.

You may also check timeline posted by others on this forum.

 

 

[bibble 0]

Current timeline. Waiting now since October 24th. I sent an email at the 8-week mark and got a generic response. Just sent another last week at the 12-week mark, and still waiting for a response. My J-1 is up on March 3rd and I have a premium processing H1-B packet sat with my university ready to go. Starting to feel really stressed!

 

Anyone else looking at a similar timeline?