J1 waiver 2020 NOS update timeline

[vabhi6 7]

On 2/4/2022 at 2:53 PM, vabhi6 said:

I received favorable recommendation yesterday. My O1 visa has been RFE'd for the waiver. Would love to hear when other people got their letters after the FR.

So after I received my FR on Feb 3, USCIS took until March 01th to finally issue me I612 (USCIS version of the 212e waiver) which finally came on March 06 2022. I started the whole process of procuring documentation in March 2021. It took a full year to complete the process. My suggestion to everyone who is looking at this forum for some hope:

1. Apply for the waiver as soon as possible. It takes a year from the day you start collecting documents to finally get the certificate. 
2. Be patient and only reach out to DoS after the 4 months of applying
3. Some people in this forum get through the process easily and for some it is gruesome. Just be positive and hope that you are among the lucky few who get through the process in a timely manner. 

[WGLKID 19]

17 minutes ago, vabhi6 said:

So after I received my FR on Feb 3, USCIS took until March 01th to finally issue me I612 (USCIS version of the 212e waiver) which finally came on March 06 2022. I started the whole process of procuring documentation in March 2021. It took a full year to complete the process. My suggestion to everyone who is looking at this forum for some hope:

1. Apply for the waiver as soon as possible. It takes a year from the day you start collecting documents to finally get the certificate. 
2. Be patient and only reach out to DoS after the 4 months of applying
3. Some people in this forum get through the process easily and for some it is gruesome. Just be positive and hope that you are among the lucky few who get through the process in a timely manner. 

Can you please comment on why one might receive a opinion from a funding agency? Is it common for everyone -even who is working with a project under PI who has NIH funding?

[vabhi6 7]

Just now, WGLKID said:

Can you please comment on why one might receive a opinion from a funding agency? Is it common for everyone -even who is working with a project under PI who has NIH funding?

I dont think it is common for everyone. I know that everyone who recieves DOE funding gets this opinion step. I dont know about NIH. But I dont think they will usually raise an issue. Reach out to your immigration staff at NIH for further info. 

[Amoyar_Dever 30]

27 minutes ago, vabhi6 said:

On 2/4/2022 at 2:53 PM, vabhi6 said:

I received favorable recommendation yesterday. My O1 visa has been RFE'd for the waiver. Would love to hear when other people got their letters after the FR.

So after I received my FR on Feb 3, USCIS took until March 01th to finally issue me I612 (USCIS version of the 212e waiver) which finally came on March 06 2022. I started the whole process of procuring documentation in March 2021. It took a full year to complete the process. My suggestion to everyone who is looking at this forum for some hope:

1. Apply for the waiver as soon as possible. It takes a year from the day you start collecting documents to finally get the certificate. 
2. Be patient and only reach out to DoS after the 4 months of applying
3. Some people in this forum get through the process easily and for some it is gruesome. Just be positive and hope that you are among the lucky few who get through the process in a timely manner. 

Congratulations, and thanks for the tips. Could you please mention your nationality? Does it have anything to do with nationality?

[vabhi6 7]

Just now, Amoyar_Dever said:

Congratulations, and thanks for the tips. Could you please mention your nationality? Does it have anything to do with nationality?

Nationality only matters with regards to getting the no objection cert and how responsive your gov agenices are. Other than that i doubt it

[español1974 7]

Dear fellow travelers,

I look this week every day to check if any of the October applicants for the Waiver 212 (e) by NOS have had any movement in their updates and I am amazed how this week there has been none in this forum or on Facebook .

 

In November I am even more resigned... Time passes and each one with our problems and needs but DoS gives no signs. Well, we'll keep waiting.

 

Strength and encouragement for all.

[Rimssk 1]

Hi Everyone, 

 

I applied for J1 waiver on October 4th 2021. I received certificate from Indian consulate on 27th October 2021. I still don't see any update on the DoS website. I emailed them in December 2021 and got a reply in Feb 2022 that they have not received my documents. Please resend the documents along with  proof of Fee. On checking the status of money order found that the it has been cashed. 

If they did not receive the documents then who cashed the money order. I requested USPS to send me a proof that it has been cashed by the J1 waiver department. I resent them the documents by first week of Feb, 2022 along with the money order proof. Its been 4 weeks still no update. 

I have been emailing them but no response yet.

 

Anyone else in the same situation? Can someone suggest me what to do?

 

Best, 

Rims

[Fictions 4]

5 minutes ago, Rimssk said:

Hi Everyone, 

 

I applied for J1 waiver on October 4th 2021. I received certificate from Indian consulate on 27th October 2021. I still don't see any update on the DoS website. I emailed them in December 2021 and got a reply in Feb 2022 that they have not received my documents. Please resend the documents along with  proof of Fee. On checking the status of money order found that the it has been cashed. 

If they did not receive the documents then who cashed the money order. I requested USPS to send me a proof that it has been cashed by the J1 waiver department. I resent them the documents by first week of Feb, 2022 along with the money order proof. Its been 4 weeks still no update. 

I have been emailing them but no response yet.

 

Anyone else in the same situation? Can someone suggest me what to do?

 

Best, 

Rims

This is very common. Documents take around 4-5 months to show up. It's extremely frustrating but there's nothing else we could do besides waiting unfortunately.

[taycan 7]

On 3/9/2022 at 10:13 PM, vabhi6 said:

So after I received my FR on Feb 3, USCIS took until March 01th to finally issue me I612 (USCIS version of the 212e waiver) which finally came on March 06 2022. I started the whole process of procuring documentation in March 2021. It took a full year to complete the process. My suggestion to everyone who is looking at this forum for some hope:

1. Apply for the waiver as soon as possible. It takes a year from the day you start collecting documents to finally get the certificate. 
2. Be patient and only reach out to DoS after the 4 months of applying
3. Some people in this forum get through the process easily and for some it is gruesome. Just be positive and hope that you are among the lucky few who get through the process in a timely manner. 

Congratulations on the good news! 

 

I am wondering if you took any actions after you had your FR? Or should we just wait USCIS to send the letter of I612?

I read some people in the forum contacted with the chat agent of USCIS and got a receipt number, but I was not successful on getting any information from the live agent. 

 

Thanks!

[vabhi6 7]

2 minutes ago, taycan said:

Congratulations on the good news! 

 

I am wondering if you took any actions after you had your FR? Or should we just wait USCIS to send the letter of I612?

I read some people in the forum contacted with the chat agent of USCIS and got a receipt number, but I was not successful on getting any information from the live agent. 

 

Thanks!

Yes you can. Wait for 2 weeks after the DoS site mentions the FR update. After that, if you have not received any communication from USICS do the following. 

1. Go to USCIS website and click on Emma
2. In the search bar, type "Connect to Live Chat"
3. Emma will give you a bunch of options. Choose Technical Difficulties
4. Next, click Connect to Live Chat. 
5. A live agent will soon come to chat with you. Tell them that you received a FR from DoS but do not have receipt number for your I 612 application
6. Use that receipt number to follow up on the I612 application
7. Curse yourself for doing one of the stupidest things in your life, ie get a J1 visa! (This step may be repeated after each of the abovementioned steps)

[SomeoneNamedIan 8]

3 hours ago, vabhi6 said:

 

1. Curse yourself for doing one of the stupidest things in your life, ie get a J1 visa! (This step may be repeated after each of the abovementioned steps)

That's a bit harsh. The J classification offers some interesting advantages (like employment authorization for J-2) and except for the case of direct US government funding, there's often a way around the home residency requirement. 

[taycan 7]

On 3/11/2022 at 9:53 PM, vabhi6 said:

Yes you can. Wait for 2 weeks after the DoS site mentions the FR update. After that, if you have not received any communication from USICS do the following. 

1. Go to USCIS website and click on Emma
2. In the search bar, type "Connect to Live Chat"
3. Emma will give you a bunch of options. Choose Technical Difficulties
4. Next, click Connect to Live Chat. 
5. A live agent will soon come to chat with you. Tell them that you received a FR from DoS but do not have receipt number for your I 612 application
6. Use that receipt number to follow up on the I612 application
7. Curse yourself for doing one of the stupidest things in your life, ie get a J1 visa! (This step may be repeated after each of the abovementioned steps)

ohh thank you so much, I will try these steps! (including number 7!)

Edited March 13, 2022 by taycan

[asmacan 3]

On 3/9/2022 at 1:48 PM, palvi07 said:

Hi Group,

Has anyone extended their J-1 visa after applying for J-1 waiver? I am planning to extend my visa given the J-1 waiver is taking forever.

My concern is that I will have to send the updated DS forms to DoS and that might take additional time. Can anyone please share their experience?

 

Thank you!

i have the same issue, my program start at July and  even not able to waive J1, send my document at November 23, probably will wait forever

I dont know what to do

[vabhi6 7]

38 minutes ago, asmacan said:

i have the same issue, my program start at July and  even not able to waive J1, send my document at November 23, probably will wait forever

I dont know what to do

You can apply for J1 visa extension until you get the favorable recommendation. I did the same and did not even bother to send them my new I20. I still got the FR.

[lsflor 2]

Hi all, this is my first post. 
 

I submitted my NOS pack on December 6th 2021 and my process is finally showing online. Date received shows as February 17th 2022. Passaporte page show as March 8th. Nothing is showing as missing (yay!). 
 

How long should I expect between now and a decision?