2019 J1 WAIVER TIMELINE - New Applicants

[Chemres108 1]

Finally FR! It took exactly 16 weeks from the date the document reached to DOS (June 29).

 

Department of State Advisory Opinion Finding: Favorable Recommendation

Item	Action	Date
Recommendation	Sent	October, 29 2020
No Objection Statement	Received	September, 08 2020
Passport Data Page	Received	August, 17 2020
Fee	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-3035	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-2019	Received	August, 16 2020
Statement Of Reason	Received	August, 16 2020

[SRGBR 0]

19 minutes ago, Chemres108 said:

Finally FR! It took exactly 16 weeks from the date the document reached to DOS (June 29).

 

Department of State Advisory Opinion Finding: Favorable Recommendation

Item	Action	Date
Recommendation	Sent	October, 29 2020
No Objection Statement	Received	September, 08 2020
Passport Data Page	Received	August, 17 2020
Fee	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-3035	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-2019	Received	August, 16 2020
Statement Of Reason	Received	August, 16 2020

H! How long did it take for the DoS to receive the documents?

[Chemres108 1]

1 hour ago, SRGBR said:

H! How long did it take for the DoS to receive the documents?

It took 7 weeks almost. You can see they received it around Aug 16 (I sent it on June 29). 

[New_here 2]

3 hours ago, Chemres108 said:

Finally FR! It took exactly 16 weeks from the date the document reached to DOS (June 29).

 

Department of State Advisory Opinion Finding: Favorable Recommendation

Item	Action	Date
Recommendation	Sent	October, 29 2020
No Objection Statement	Received	September, 08 2020
Passport Data Page	Received	August, 17 2020
Fee	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-3035	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-2019	Received	August, 16 2020
Statement Of Reason	Received	August, 16 2020

When did your embassy sent the NOS? I have exactly same time line but no FR  

I sent my documents on June 27th  and my embassy sent NOS on August 4th and it showed on the DoS website on Sep 08th only. 

[MZQ 0]

3 hours ago, Chemres108 said:

Finally FR! It took exactly 16 weeks from the date the document reached to DOS (June 29).

 

Department of State Advisory Opinion Finding: Favorable Recommendation

Item	Action	Date
Recommendation	Sent	October, 29 2020
No Objection Statement	Received	September, 08 2020
Passport Data Page	Received	August, 17 2020
Fee	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-3035	Received	August, 16 2020
Form DS-2019	Received	August, 16 2020
Statement Of Reason	Received	August, 16 2020

My timeline is almost identical to you. All documents received on August 18 and the NOS showed up in the system on September 8. Still no FR!!

[dcj1waiver 0]

Hello! This thread has been a great source of information as I go through the J-1 waiver process. I just wanted to share my timeline in case it's helpful to anyone.

I am an Indian citizen and did not have any US govt funding. I sent my documents to the DOS lockbox on July 9, 2020. The NOS was sent to them before my case was active on the status checker, so I think they lost it. Had to have the Indian embassy re-send my NOS, which they did on Sept 8, 2020.

 

I am waiting for the hard copy of the favorable recommendation so that I can send in my H1-B application packet. Initially we were going to wait until I got the USCIS final waiver approval, but time is running out on my post-J1 grace period.

 

Hope that's helpful!

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by dcj1waiver

[Hardship waiver 20]

dcj1waiver, I had a similar situation. Uscis sent to DOS their recommendation but at that point I didn’t have an application with DOS, so, as you said, they lost it. Now I am trying to have USCIS send their recommendation, but nothing happened yet. They’re awfully slow and on purpose. 
 

Eventually and if everything goes accordingly, I want to adjust my status. I am on TPS status and one never knows when it will be cancelled. Can I apply to adjustment of status while also waiting on this waiver? I am thinking not but I would like to hear if anyone here has a similar story. 

[dcj1waiver 0]

59 minutes ago, Hardship waiver said:

dcj1waiver, I had a similar situation. Uscis sent to DOS their recommendation but at that point I didn’t have an application with DOS, so, as you said, they lost it. Now I am trying to have USCIS send their recommendation, but nothing happened yet. They’re awfully slow and on purpose. 
 

Eventually and if everything goes accordingly, I want to adjust my status. I am on TPS status and one never knows when it will be cancelled. Can I apply to adjustment of status while also waiting on this waiver? I am thinking not but I would like to hear if anyone here has a similar story. 

I read somewhere that when you reach out to the USCIS call center, the kind of service you get is really dependent on who answers the phone. Maybe try a couple of times with different people to see if you can get some timely help? I can empathize with the frustration and anxiety related to adjustment of status all too well. I wish you the best of luck!!

[Chemres108 1]

2 hours ago, New_here said:

When did your embassy sent the NOS? I have exactly same time line but no FR  

I sent my documents on June 27th  and my embassy sent NOS on August 4th and it showed on the DoS website on Sep 08th only. 

My Embassy sent on July 7 (took 2 months for that to show up in the system). You can email them and tell you are waiting for that for your AOS. I did the same in last friday and they replied me with FR even before it was showing up in the system. 

[Chemres108 1]

1 hour ago, dcj1waiver said:

Hello! This thread has been a great source of information as I go through the J-1 waiver process. I just wanted to share my timeline in case it's helpful to anyone.

I am an Indian citizen and did not have any US govt funding. I sent my documents to the DOS lockbox on July 9, 2020. The NOS was sent to them before my case was active on the status checker, so I think they lost it. Had to have the Indian embassy re-send my NOS, which they did on Sept 8, 2020.

 

I am waiting for the hard copy of the favorable recommendation so that I can send in my H1-B application packet. Initially we were going to wait until I got the USCIS final waiver approval, but time is running out on my post-J1 grace period.

 

Hope that's helpful!

 

I think you can go ahed with the H1B with the DOS FR. Not sure, how mucn time you have in your J1 grace period, but from another thread I can see USCIS sent the final waiver certificate in 15 days from FR sent by DOS. 

[Chemres108 1]

2 hours ago, MZQ said:

My timeline is almost identical to you. All documents received on August 18 and the NOS showed up in the system on September 8. Still no FR!!

Consider sending an email to them and tell them you need the FR urgently for your AOS. They will do that soon. Same thing happened to me.

[Hardship waiver 20]

21 minutes ago, dcj1waiver said:

I read somewhere that when you reach out to the USCIS call center, the kind of service you get is really dependent on who answers the phone. Maybe try a couple of times with different people to see if you can get some timely help? I can empathize with the frustration and anxiety related to adjustment of status all too well. I wish you the best of luck!!

Correct! I always ask to speak with a tier 2 officer. However, since last week, uscis changed their call system. Now you have to wait between 2-7 days to get a call back from a tier 2 officer. Thank you and good luck to you, too!

[PD-24 0]

DOS received documents on July 31, 2020.

[dcj1waiver 0]

On 10/30/2020 at 5:59 PM, Chemres108 said:

I think you can go ahed with the H1B with the DOS FR. Not sure, how mucn time you have in your J1 grace period, but from another thread I can see USCIS sent the final waiver certificate in 15 days from FR sent by DOS. 

Yep, that's the plan! I still have about 20 days left on my grace period, but it feels like it would be cutting it too close to wait for the USCIS final waiver certificate.

[Chemres108 1]

On 11/1/2020 at 1:31 PM, dcj1waiver said:

Yep, that's the plan! I still have about 20 days left on my grace period, but it feels like it would be cutting it too close to wait for the USCIS final waiver certificate.

Ok. Let me know how it goes. I am in the same boat but have one additional month than yours.