J1 Waiver for Doctor to AOS?

[TabiCat 0]

I'm in a relationship with a doctor on a J-1 who is subject to the 2 year requirement. We want to get married and are exploring whether the K1 or CR1 would be better and whether which would allow AOS. He is from a small developing nation. How challenging is it to get a waiver of the 2 year requirement? Does K1 or CR1 eliminate this requirement? 

[jan22 3,043]

The two-year requirement bars getting any type of immigrant visa, including fiance or spousal visas.  The likelihood of getting a waiver of the requirement may depend on a lot of factors, including the home country involved, the funding source of the J visa, where he proposes to practice medicine in the US, the hardship involved if he doesn't get the waiver, etc.

[Coco8 1,042]

Waivers for physicians have different paths than waivers for J1 visas, because J1 for physician, even though it's a J1 it's like a special subcategory  in a way.

 

Physicians with J1 are not allowed to do a waiver via "No Objection" which is the easiest waiver. This is the waiver most people here do.

 

You will have to look into the waivers for physicians. There are several ways to get one and it will depend on what he is working on. The most common way in which physicians get a waiver is if they sign up for a program that sends them to places that don't have physicians for a couple of years (e.g. small town in North Dakota) and that way you get a waiver. I think the VA (veteran affairs) also has a program like this.

 

If he is from a country that's under war or he is from a special minority facing persecution, he could potentially have a waiver for humanitarian reasons, but they are very difficult to get. 

 

Getting married does NOT eliminate the requirement and he won't be able to get a green card until he gets a waiver. 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by Coco8