J1 Hardship Waiver 2021-2022 Timeline

[PrasKomo 0]

I am a J2 dependent  of a J1 IMG Physician and out J1 will expire in June 2024 and we have 2 USC kids. We want to start the process now but we have a Lawyer looking to charge close to $10k in legal fees and another $3.5k if there is Request for Evidence. 

My question is if anyone has successfully applied for hardship by themselves and it worked out. 

[Chancy 6,241]

32 minutes ago, PrasKomo said:

another $3.5k if there is Request for Evidence

 

That pricing scheme sounds primed for failure.  The more mistakes the lawyer makes (leading to an RFE), the more money they can make off you 😫

 

[PrasKomo 0]

8 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

That pricing scheme sounds primed for failure.  The more mistakes the lawyer makes (leading to an RFE), the more money they can make off you 😫

 

Have you or anyone here worked with a Lawyer that charged less and achieved success?

 

also had anyone done self filing and gotten FR?

 

I had a similar encounter when my mother in law was applying for her passport and an attorney was charging so much for the case. I handled it and she got her passport in 18months. 

[ErinK 35]

3 hours ago, PrasKomo said:

Have you or anyone here worked with a Lawyer that charged less and achieved success?

 

also had anyone done self filing and gotten FR?

 

I had a similar encounter when my mother in law was applying for her passport and an attorney was charging so much for the case. I handled it and she got her passport in 18months. 

I am very much in favor of DIY but not for J-1 waivers. Ask around and find a lawyer who is familiar with J-1 waivers. Does 10K include the ALL the fees? Application fee, getting expert/doctor/psychiatric evaluations, and whatever else that's needed? If it includes everything, then it's a fair price. When I was researching to find a lawyer, the lawyer fees excluding all the extras was 5k-7k. But this was back in late 2020

[ErinK 35]

4 hours ago, PrasKomo said:

I am a J2 dependent  of a J1 IMG Physician and out J1 will expire in June 2024 and we have 2 USC kids. We want to start the process now but we have a Lawyer looking to charge close to $10k in legal fees and another $3.5k if there is Request for Evidence. 

My question is if anyone has successfully applied for hardship by themselves and it worked out. 

Also you probably know this but the J1 holder applies for a  waiver, they are no more qualified to extend their J-1. So if your spouse is in residency and has to renew their J-1 every year through ECFMG, you can't apply for J-1 waiver until they get their June 2023-June 2024 DS2019

[SMARCA4 15]

5 hours ago, ErinK said:

Also you probably know this but the J1 holder applies for a  waiver, they are no more qualified to extend their J-1. So if your spouse is in residency and has to renew their J-1 every year through ECFMG, you can't apply for J-1 waiver until they get their June 2023-June 2024 DS2019

Actually you can renew DS2019 as long as DOS hasn’t approved your waiver yet. I went through this myself.

[PrasKomo 0]

2 hours ago, AnasMD said:

Actually you can renew DS2019 as long as DOS hasn’t approved your waiver yet. I went through this myself.

Hi Anas, So you mean I do not have to wait until June to apply then. I am looking to get my application in this month. 

[DrIdaddoq 22]

6 hours ago, AnasMD said:

Actually you can renew DS2019 as long as DOS hasn’t approved your waiver yet. I went through this myself.

I second this. Through the ECFMG (oasis portal) when you're renewing the J-1, there is a question/tick box that asks if you ever applied for a waiver, and where in the waiver process it is. I applied for a new J-1 renewal while my waiver was pending at the DoS and got it approved. 

[Magnet 12]

16 hours ago, PrasKomo said:

I am a J2 dependent  of a J1 IMG Physician and out J1 will expire in June 2024 and we have 2 USC kids. We want to start the process now but we have a Lawyer looking to charge close to $10k in legal fees and another $3.5k if there is Request for Evidence. 

My question is if anyone has successfully applied for hardship by themselves and it worked out. 

This seems very expensive, my lawyer charges a total of $6k, half of them before filing and the rest after the case is approved, If it was not approved, we do not pay the remaining $3k. This doesn’t include USCIS or DOS application fees. Also I got an RFE and there was no extra charge for handling it. And by the way, having a lawyer doesn’t mean that you will not work on your case, in fact you will have to do a lot of research and provide lots of evidence regarding your case as you know it best. The lawyer is there to guide you and to put it all together in a way that maximizes the chances of your case being accepted.

[Hanijani 8]

7 minutes ago, Magnet said:

This seems very expensive, my lawyer charges a total of $6k, half of them before filing and the rest after the case is approved, If it was not approved, we do not pay the remaining $3k. This doesn’t include USCIS or DOS application fees. Also I got an RFE and there was no extra charge for handling it. And by the way, having a lawyer doesn’t mean that you will not work on your case, in fact you will have to do a lot of research and provide lots of evidence regarding your case as you know it best. The lawyer is there to guide you and to put it all together in a way that maximizes the chances of your case being accepted.

My lawyer is also charging the same (3k at filling, 3k after approval) i also got RFE he didnt charge extra. 

[PrasKomo 0]

1 hour ago, DrIdaddoq said:

I second this. Through the ECFMG (oasis portal) when you're renewing the J-1, there is a question/tick box that asks if you ever applied for a waiver, and where in the waiver process it is. I applied for a new J-1 renewal while my waiver was pending at the DoS and got it approved. 

Please can you provide your timeline and lawyer recommendation?

[PrasKomo 0]

23 minutes ago, Magnet said:

This seems very expensive, my lawyer charges a total of $6k, half of them before filing and the rest after the case is approved, If it was not approved, we do not pay the remaining $3k. This doesn’t include USCIS or DOS application fees. Also I got an RFE and there was no extra charge for handling it. And by the way, having a lawyer doesn’t mean that you will not work on your case, in fact you will have to do a lot of research and provide lots of evidence regarding your case as you know it best. The lawyer is there to guide you and to put it all together in a way that maximizes the chances of your case being accepted.

Please can you share your lawyer’s details with me. This one is charging me everything upfront irrespective of approval. Not fair in my opinion. 

[Wyboxcx 49]

18 hours ago, PrasKomo said:

I am a J2 dependent  of a J1 IMG Physician and out J1 will expire in June 2024 and we have 2 USC kids. We want to start the process now but we have a Lawyer looking to charge close to $10k in legal fees and another $3.5k if there is Request for Evidence. 

My question is if anyone has successfully applied for hardship by themselves and it worked out. 

That is an exorbitant amount of money. try Adam Green law 

[Wyboxcx 49]

1 hour ago, Magnet said:

This seems very expensive, my lawyer charges a total of $6k, half of them before filing and the rest after the case is approved, If it was not approved, we do not pay the remaining $3k. This doesn’t include USCIS or DOS application fees. Also I got an RFE and there was no extra charge for handling it. And by the way, having a lawyer doesn’t mean that you will not work on your case, in fact you will have to do a lot of research and provide lots of evidence regarding your case as you know it best. The lawyer is there to guide you and to put it all together in a way that maximizes the chances of your case being accepted.

How long did it take before you got a REF? How long did it take USCIS to forward your case to DOS?

[Magnet 12]

1 minute ago, Freidrichm said:

How long did it take before you got a REF? How long did it take USCIS to forward your case to DOS?

It took them 6 months to send me the RFE since initial application. I responded to the RFE about a month ago and it’s still processing. They usually take 2 months to process the RFE reaponse.