J1 Hardship Waiver 2021-2022 Timeline

[Hanijani 8]

1 hour ago, Freidrichm said:

Hi! I am in the same boat. Sent everything to USCIS in May and so far they still haven’t forwarded it to DOS. I saw they updated the processing time last week from 11,5 months to 10,5 months at USCIS. Hope they forward it soon! 

This 10.5 or 11.5 months is processing time at uscis and dos together or its after forwarded to dos?

[ErinK 35]

3 hours ago, Hanijani said:

This 10.5 or 11.5 months is processing time at uscis and dos together or its after forwarded to dos?

I believe it's for USCIS

[Magnet 12]

18 hours ago, Hanijani said:

Hi, i am new here. How much time does it take USCIS to forward it to DOS? After reading all the conversation here on this forum and some other forums, my impression was that most are forwarded in 6 months. My I-612 was received by uscis on 27 March 22 and no progress yet. 
i probably did miscalculation. My visa is expiring in June 2023.

USCIS received my application March 14, 2022. I got an extensive RFE in September 23 and now responding to it, anyone has an idea of how long the USCIS actually takes to process the response? They say 2 months but I’m skeptical.

[Hanijani 8]

2 hours ago, Magnet said:

USCIS received my application March 14, 2022. I got an extensive RFE in September 23 and now responding to it, anyone has an idea of how long the USCIS actually takes to process the response? They say 2 months but I’m skeptical.

I dont know about RFE, i am a J1 physician. I dont think they would ask me rfe  If i am not wrong.

[SMARCA4 15]

2 minutes ago, Hanijani said:

I dont know about RFE, i am a J1 physician. I dont think they would ask me rfe  If i am not wrong.

3 minutes ago, Hanijani said:

 

Your profession has nothing to do with RFE if the officer thinks it’s required. In fact, many physicians have been asked to provide RFEs by USCIS.

[Magnet 12]

18 minutes ago, AnasMD said:

 

Exactly, I’m a J1 physician as well and that RFE is pretty detailed.

[ErinK 35]

3 hours ago, Magnet said:

USCIS received my application March 14, 2022. I got an extensive RFE in September 23 and now responding to it, anyone has an idea of how long the USCIS actually takes to process the response? They say 2 months but I’m skeptical.

 

45 minutes ago, Hanijani said:

I dont know about RFE, i am a J1 physician. I dont think they would ask me rfe  If i am not wrong.

 It took them a little short of 2 months after receiving my RFE response to process it. 

 

Hanijani, you can get a RFE as a J-1 physician if they are not satisfied with your original submission. 

Edited October 9, 2022 by ErinK

[Hanijani 8]

4 hours ago, ErinK said:

 

 It took them a little short of 2 months after receiving my RFE response to process it. 

 

Hanijani, you can get a RFE as a J-1 physician if they are not satisfied with your original submission. 

Oh GOD!

[DrIdaddoq 22]

I agree with the RFE comments above. 

Also, not getting an RFE is usually a good thing. That being said, I got no RFE and my I-612 was received at the DOS from USCIS in September 2021 and I'm still "PENDING". So, not sure if it means anything for DoS, since they have their own world/timeline. 

[Hanijani 8]

1 hour ago, DrIdaddoq said:

I agree with the RFE comments above. 

Also, not getting an RFE is usually a good thing. That being said, I got no RFE and my I-612 was received at the DOS from USCIS in September 2021 and I'm still "PENDING". So, not sure if it means anything for DoS, since they have their own world/timeline. 

I have a feeling they would not ask me RFE. I think my case is strong. I just did miscalculation of the time needed for the process. 

I have a few job interviews next week if they offer me i might go for J1 waiver which i didn't want.

[ErinK 35]

1 hour ago, DrIdaddoq said:

I agree with the RFE comments above. 

Also, not getting an RFE is usually a good thing. That being said, I got no RFE and my I-612 was received at the DOS from USCIS in September 2021 and I'm still "PENDING". So, not sure if it means anything for DoS, since they have their own world/timeline. 

I don't think RFE has anything to do with DoS. Once you respond to RFE, USCIS make their determination if they are satisfied with your response and then forward to DoS. If USCIS is not satisfied by your response, they reject your case or issue another RFE.

[ErinK 35]

3 minutes ago, Hanijani said:

I have a feeling they would not ask me RFE. I think my case is strong. I just did miscalculation of the time needed for the process. 

I have a few job interviews next week if they offer me i might go for J1 waiver which i didn't want.

Definitely have a backup plan given how long hardship cases take these days. 

[DrIdaddoq 22]

2 hours ago, ErinK said:

I don't think RFE has anything to do with DoS. Once you respond to RFE, USCIS make their determination if they are satisfied with your response and then forward to DoS. If USCIS is not satisfied by your response, they reject your case or issue another RFE.

Yes, RFE has nothing to do with DoS. However, if the USCIS gave no RFE, it inherently means you met your burden of proof with the documents already sent (in a sense, your case was strong from the get go). That's all. Won't change a thing in regards to the DoS processing times. 

[ErinK 35]

16 hours ago, DrIdaddoq said:

Yes, RFE has nothing to do with DoS. However, if the USCIS gave no RFE, it inherently means you met your burden of proof with the documents already sent (in a sense, your case was strong from the get go). That's all. Won't change a thing in regards to the DoS processing times. 

Based on the DOS's approval rate published in 2020 which someone posted here, it seems like once USCIS forwards a hardship case to DOS, it almost always get a FR. So I wouldn't worry too much about how strong the case is once it is out of USCIS. 

 

 

[Hardship612 0]

Hi All,

Does anyone know how long it takes for USCIS to issue the approval notice after receiving the Favorable Recommendation? DOS sent FR on April 28^th 2022 (5+ months ago), but I’m still waiting for USCIS notice. Any tips, advice, suggestions?

 

Case status at USCIS still shows “On Hold; On August 25, 2021, we requested another non-USCIS advisory opinion for your Form I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement (under Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as Amended), Receipt Number xxxxxxxxxx. Processing of your case will resume when we receive the response.”

 

I submitted a query to USCIS about 1 week ago (https://egov.uscis.gov/e-request/Intro.do) regarding timeline expectations for this final notice, but their answer was pretty generic; “Our records show that your case is currently pending adjudication. We regret that we are unable to provide you with a completion date at this time. We apologize for the delay”.

 

We have invested 25+ months in the whole process 😕

 

 

Thanks in advance for your time!