J1 Hardship Waiver 2021-2022 Timeline

[Hardship_waiver 54]

Is anybody else here whose change of address request was delivered two months ago to the DOS but not uploaded on the portal? I also emailed it to them a month ago, but they neither responded nor uploaded.

I think my case is supeeeerrrr slowwww for some reason.

[Mickey344 14]

The group has been silent for a while. Is anyone getting their cases approved recently? My file has been complete at DOS since Sept 2022. The wait is very exhausting. 

[AM820 12]

Mine since March 2022(I-612). No US government fund. Hardship to US citizen child. No expedite. 
I see several cases from March 2022 with foreign fund approved over the past 3 months and one case from April 2022.

I see that queue for foreign funds become longer than the US government fund (Fulbright etc.) 

Please let us know if any approvals happened recently. 
 

[Mickey344 14]

Which ones are regarded as foreign funds?

[blooper1899 16]

I am a Fulbrighter, hardship to US spouse. Case has been sitting with DOS since June 2022. We tried expediting through a state representative but nothing happened. Will try the senator route this month. This sucks!

[AM820 12]

5 hours ago, Mickey344 said:

Which ones are regarded as foreign funds?

Foreign fund meant to be person’s home country government fund

[Alkha 0]

Hi all, 

I’m wondering where I can find my DOS case number to check the status. I processed my case through a lawyer and it was submit to USCIS in August of 2022. 
I only have my receipt number via USCIS and it says the case is received. 
 

[Hanijani 8]

38 minutes ago, Alkha said:

Hi all, 

I’m wondering where I can find my DOS case number to check the status. I processed my case through a lawyer and it was submit to USCIS in August of 2022. 
I only have my receipt number via USCIS and it says the case is received. 
 

Your lawyer has the DOS tracking #. 

[Alkha 0]

8 hours ago, Hanijani said:

Your lawyer has the DOS tracking #. 

I requested it from them but they claim there is no number besides the receipt number to uscis. When is the DOS tracking number issued? Is it possible they still did not receive it? 

[Hardship_waiver 54]

2 hours ago, Alkha said:

I requested it from them but they claim there is no number besides the receipt number to uscis. When is the DOS tracking number issued? Is it possible they still did not receive it? 

Hi, I hope you are working with an experienced lawyer. In case of hardship waivers, you have to submit your case to both USCIS and DOS. It looks like your lawyer only submitted the case to USCIS but not DOS. Without submitting your case to DOS, your case will never be processed even if USCIS finds exceptional hardship in your case. 

Maybe your lawyer is waiting for a positive outcome from USCIS before filing your case with DOS, which is fine too. But if you are short of time, ask your lawyer to file DOS now as well, as DOS might take a long time just to acknowledge receipt of your case. 

Once he files case with DOS, he can give you a DOS tracking number which you can use on DOS online portal. 

Good luck!

[Hardship_waiver 54]

On 8/2/2023 at 12:19 AM, blooper1899 said:

I am a Fulbrighter, hardship to US spouse. Case has been sitting with DOS since June 2022. We tried expediting through a state representative but nothing happened. Will try the senator route this month. This sucks!

Is June 2022 the DOS receipt date of forms i-612/i-613 or it's the date when USCIS sent your forms to DOS?

DOS only starts counting from the date it uploads your case on their portal (for some people, it takes ~10 months just to upload these electronic forms on the DOS portal). 

I hope the senator route does something for you as neither route is working these days. 

[Hardship_waiver 54]

HI EVERYONE,

                        MANY AMONG US ARE EXTREMELY STRESSED WITH THIS PROCESS AND NEED OUR HELP AND INPUT TO GO THROUGH IT. 

Please keep this group going and post any result you come across here so that members stay hopeful that things are moving. 

 

What I have observed is that cases that were received by DOS in 2021 are done and DOS is working on cases from the first half of 2022. The date that matters is the receipt date on the DOS portal not when USCIS sent your i-612/i-613 to DOS. 

 

 

[Hardship_waiver 54]

On 8/1/2023 at 7:24 PM, AM820 said:

Mine since March 2022(I-612). No US government fund. Hardship to US citizen child. No expedite. 
I see several cases from March 2022 with foreign fund approved over the past 3 months and one case from April 2022.

I see that queue for foreign funds become longer than the US government fund (Fulbright etc.) 

Please let us know if any approvals happened recently. 
 

Your case is well beyond the processing time of 36-52 weeks. Have you sent an email to DOS reminding them that your case is beyond normal processing time on their website and if they can update you about the progress of your case?

[Mickey344 14]

Yes, let’s keep the group and community going to support each other. The process is long and lonely. If anyone has any updates please update us to give us some hope through the process. 

[Mickey344 14]

Does DoS send an email or mail to notify you if your case is approved or they only notify USCIS?