2019 J1 WAIVER TIMELINE - New Applicants

[Bel la 0]

Hi all, I have a big issue I will need your help. 
 

I came to the US on a J1 visa funded by Fulbright. I need a waiver but unfortunately my program ended 3 months ago and  visa/DS-2019 has expired since June. 
 

I need to obtain a J1 visa but I am at a loss to either get a No Objection Statement or Hardship waiver as my spouse who is a US citizen has a bit of disability (deafness).

 

I realize that both waivers will need the sponsors view so which waiver do you think I should apply for that won’t be denied due to my overstay. 
 

Thank You all. 
 

[Veronikac 15]

21 minutes ago, Bel la said:

Hi all, I have a big issue I will need your help. 
 

I came to the US on a J1 visa funded by Fulbright. I need a waiver but unfortunately my program ended 3 months ago and  visa/DS-2019 has expired since June. 
 

I need to obtain a J1 visa but I am at a loss to either get a No Objection Statement or Hardship waiver as my spouse who is a US citizen has a bit of disability (deafness).

 

I realize that both waivers will need the sponsors view so which waiver do you think I should apply for that won’t be denied due to my overstay. 
 

Thank You all. 
 

I personally think that you should talk to a lawyer regarding this issue. I do not think that they are looking on an overstay when you are applying for the waiver (just my opinion). But the Fulbright would be an issue, at least based on others which I saw in the discussion. Fulbright seems to be very strict with sponsor views and in majority of cases they are not providing favorable recommendations. Maybe lawyer experienced in J1 waivers will be able to to tell you with which waiver you will have a better chance and if you have strong enough case for the hardship waiver. I assume that once you will get a waiver, your spouse will sponsor you for a green card and then the overstay will be forgiven since she/he is a US citizen. Maybe somebody more experienced with Fulbright funding will be able to comment on your question. Good luck!

Edited August 22, 2021 by Veronikac

[Bel la 0]

On 8/21/2021 at 10:50 PM, Veronikac said:

I personally think that you should talk to a lawyer regarding this issue. I do not think that they are looking on an overstay when you are applying for the waiver (just my opinion). But the Fulbright would be an issue, at least based on others which I saw in the discussion. Fulbright seems to be very strict with sponsor views and in majority of cases they are not providing favorable recommendations. Maybe lawyer experienced in J1 waivers will be able to to tell you with which waiver you will have a better chance and if you have strong enough case for the hardship waiver. I assume that once you will get a waiver, your spouse will sponsor you for a green card and then the overstay will be forgiven since she/he is a US citizen. Maybe somebody more experienced with Fulbright funding will be able to comment on your question. Good luck!

Thank you!

[Ariki 2]

On 8/28/2020 at 12:47 PM, habibti said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I wonder if anyone is having similar issues. I mailed my documents in Feb 2020. It tracker updated in March 2020. Embassy has sent NOS since March, but it still doesn't show up on the system. It has been 5 months since the last update. I am nervous

Hi, habibti!

 

Congratulations with your case! If you are still here i want to ask. 

i have similar situation. 
did you receive DOS case file number actually by mail? Because i didn’t. And also my NOS hasn’t been updated for 3 months. Why did you send your NOS second time (anybody asked)?

and why in general it took so long for your case to be fr?

 

[habibti 1]

1 minute ago, Ariki said:

Hi, habibti!

 

Congratulations with your case! If you are still here i want to ask. 

i have similar situation. 
did you receive DOS case file number actually by mail? Because i didn’t. And also my NOS hasn’t been updated for 3 months. Why did you send your NOS second time (anybody asked)?

and why in general it took so long for your case to be fr?

 

Hello Ariki,

 

Yes, I received a DOS case file number by mail (DOS Case file number simply meant they updated my File number --> back story, I had submitted an  advisory opinion the year prior so they matched the advisory opinion and waiver request so I'd only have 1 case number instead  of 2 case numbers)

 

My NOS took a long time to be updated, I am uncertain why this was the case, so I just requested that my embassy sends another copy just in case. At the time, I was desperate to get a waiver hence I tried every means at my disposal to ensure that they got whatever document they needed, even if it meant I had to send them twice

 

My case began in Feb 2020 when I mailed my documents, and I got FR In September (It took 7months). Some people had less of wait time, I'm not sure how DOS determines the order of cases they look at. I'd say a little more patience and you'd hear from them!

[Ariki 2]

7 minutes ago, habibti said:

Hello Ariki,

 

Yes, I received a DOS case file number by mail (DOS Case file number simply meant they updated my File number --> back story, I had submitted an  advisory opinion the year prior so they matched the advisory opinion and waiver request so I'd only have 1 case number instead  of 2 case numbers)

 

My NOS took a long time to be updated, I am uncertain why this was the case, so I just requested that my embassy sends another copy just in case. At the time, I was desperate to get a waiver hence I tried every means at my disposal to ensure that they got whatever document they needed, even if it meant I had to send them twice

 

My case began in Feb 2020 when I mailed my documents, and I got FR In September (It took 7months). Some people had less of wait time, I'm not sure how DOS determines the order of cases they look at. I'd say a little more patience and you'd hear from them!

Wow thanks for your quick reply!

And explaining for every detail🙏🤗

[fguazuma 15]

Hello everyone,

 

Like many colleagues here, I've applied for a J1 waiver under the no objection category and I'm still waiting for a response. I kindly ask some of you to send us a screenshot of your DoS page showing your finalized timeline, so we can see how much time the process is taking as of September 2021. Based on what you've seen so far, when should I expect to get a final recommendation from the DoS (roughly) (my docs were all received on August 19th, 2021)?

Thank you very much and good luck to all of you!

 

[Bel la 0]

18 minutes ago, fguazuma said:

Are your documents showing on the timeline yet? If yes how long did it take from the day of receipt for it to start showing?

Edited September 24, 2021 by Bel la

[fguazuma 15]

1 hour ago, Bel la said:

 

They're all showing on the timeline. The package with all the docs was delivered to DoS on June 15th, 2021 and they showed as received on the timeline on August 16th, 2021. The no objection statement showed as received on August 19th, 2021. That's why I'm counting from August 19th, 2021 (the last doc to show as received). 

[fguazuma 15]

I came to this forum looking for 2021 timelines so people in my situation (waiting for a DoS decision) would have an idea on how long this process is taking this year. This is the forum you guys should visit to get this information: 

 

[V.T. 4]

47 minutes ago, fguazuma said:

I came to this forum looking for 2021 timelines so people in my situation (waiting for a DoS decision) would have an idea on how long this process is taking this year. This is the forum you guys should visit to get this information: 

 

Thanks! That forum is a great resource - I am currently waiting on the USCIS to approve my I-612 (NOS).

[Coco8 1,042]

On 8/21/2021 at 10:32 PM, Bel la said:

Hi all, I have a big issue I will need your help. 
 

I came to the US on a J1 visa funded by Fulbright. I need a waiver but unfortunately my program ended 3 months ago and  visa/DS-2019 has expired since June. 
 

I need to obtain a J1 visa but I am at a loss to either get a No Objection Statement or Hardship waiver as my spouse who is a US citizen has a bit of disability (deafness).

 

I realize that both waivers will need the sponsors view so which waiver do you think I should apply for that won’t be denied due to my overstay. 
 

Thank You all. 
 

 

Are you out of status in the US? If you are out of status you are going to make getting a waiver much harder.

 

It's very difficult to get any type of waiver when you have Fulbright. They tell you that you have to be back to your country for 2 years when you accept. There is no way to get a No Objection visa. Also, even though being deaf is a disability, I don't see it qualifying for a Hardship waiver. He is able to live his life and does not need constant care. I've seen people whose country was in the middle of a civil war not get hardship waiver when they had Fulbright. 

 

You could try to do another type of study program, like a PhD. Or you can try to get a job that you don't need a waiver for, like an international NGO. For instance, the World Bank gives people a special type of visa diplomatic visa and it does not matter if you had a Fulbright, because it's a immigrant visa. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by Coco8

[Coco8 1,042]

On 9/24/2021 at 3:07 PM, fguazuma said:

Hello everyone,

 

Like many colleagues here, I've applied for a J1 waiver under the no objection category and I'm still waiting for a response. I kindly ask some of you to send us a screenshot of your DoS page showing your finalized timeline, so we can see how much time the process is taking as of September 2021. Based on what you've seen so far, when should I expect to get a final recommendation from the DoS (roughly) (my docs were all received on August 19th, 2021)?

Thank you very much and good luck to all of you!

 

It has been less than two months. You have to wait.

[ItFlows 0]

On 8/27/2021 at 4:51 PM, habibti said:

Hello Ariki,

 

Yes, I received a DOS case file number by mail (DOS Case file number simply meant they updated my File number --> back story, I had submitted an  advisory opinion the year prior so they matched the advisory opinion and waiver request so I'd only have 1 case number instead  of 2 case numbers)

 

My NOS took a long time to be updated, I am uncertain why this was the case, so I just requested that my embassy sends another copy just in case. At the time, I was desperate to get a waiver hence I tried every means at my disposal to ensure that they got whatever document they needed, even if it meant I had to send them twice

 

My case began in Feb 2020 when I mailed my documents, and I got FR In September (It took 7months). Some people had less of wait time, I'm not sure how DOS determines the order of cases they look at. I'd say a little more patience and you'd hear from them!

I have the exact same situation! I wanted to figure out if DOS lost the NOS which should have already been delivered to the waiver division. I sent an inquiry to 212e waiver box a month ago. I haven't received any reply from them. I contacted with the local senator's office last week for the matter. They confirmed that they inquired the information that I was seeking from the DOS. 

I was initially thinking the same way, perhaps the best way was to ask the embassy to send the NOS again with the NEW case number. But, in that case, the waiver division may have asked a new third page barcode which the embassy doesn't have at the moment. It feels like they (the waiver division) deliberately stalls the process. It's just so frustrating! 

[ItFlows 0]

23 minutes ago, ItFlows said:

I have the exact same situation! I wanted to figure out if DOS lost the NOS which should have already been delivered to the waiver division. I sent an inquiry to 212e waiver box a month ago. I haven't received any reply from them. I contacted with the local senator's office last week for the matter. They confirmed that they inquired the information that I was seeking from the DOS. 

I was initially thinking the same way, perhaps the best way was to ask the embassy to send the NOS again with the NEW case number. But, in that case, the waiver division may have asked a new third page barcode which the embassy doesn't have at the moment. It feels like they (the waiver division) deliberately stalls the process. It's just so frustrating! 

Here is my timeline,