J1 Hardship Waiver 2021-2022 Timeline

[Hardship612 0]

On 11/16/2022 at 3:55 PM, Pillowchis said:

Thank you. Sorry to hear that. Yes, I did received it. I emailed USCIS about my case because it was beyond the processing time. after 2 weeks they sent the approval letter. Try to email them and for sure they will reply immediately. 

Thank you! I'm glad you received the letter. I submitted an inquiry (on Sept 28th) to USCIS to understand the status of the final approval, but they responded saying that they couldn't provide any specific completion date and that my case was pending adjudication; so with that being said, I'm still waiting, not sure what else I can do at this point.

[ErinK 35]

On 11/17/2022 at 12:23 PM, Pillowchis said:

None. I checked the processing time for hardship waiver in the website then answer the questions about my case (bottom part of their website). Please check the screenshot for your reference.

 

Which receipt date did you use? The receipt date from when USCIS first received your form i612? or the date they forwarded your case to DoS?

[Pillowchis 6]

33 minutes ago, ErinK said:

 

Which receipt date did you use? The receipt date from when USCIS first received your form i612? or the date they forwarded your case to DoS?

Receipt date when USCIS accepted my I612

[Pillowchis 6]

21 hours ago, Hardship612 said:

Thank you! I'm glad you received the letter. I submitted an inquiry (on Sept 28th) to USCIS to understand the status of the final approval, but they responded saying that they couldn't provide any specific completion date and that my case was pending adjudication; so with that being said, I'm still waiting, not sure what else I can do at this point.

Try it again. Maybe they have concrete answer now. I know how stressful it is but keep on holding and everything will be fine

[Wyboxcx 49]

Has anyone successfully tried expediting their case with USCIS? How did you argue for the expedite request? 

[Hardship_waiver 54]

12 hours ago, Freidrichm said:

Has anyone successfully tried expediting their case with USCIS? How did you argue for the expedite request? 

I tried but they denied. Reason was status expiring soon.

[Robble42 6]

We've had our hardship case pending at DOS since early Aug. 2021...so now it's been 15 months. Our lawyer and senator have made multiple inquiries, with the same reply. We tried to expedite a while ago, because my husband had worked with COVID patients, but apparently that's not a "substantial US government interest." I'm so glad that we're not the only ones having this delay! I'm a US citizen and my husband is from Pakistan. Because this is taking waaaay longer than we thought, he's out of status now and there's nothing we can do but wait.  I was beginning to get suspicious that our application had been put in the CARRP (Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program). For people who have had extremely long delays at the DOS, what country are you from?

[SMARCA4 15]

17 minutes ago, Robble42 said:

We've had our hardship case pending at DOS since early Aug. 2021...so now it's been 15 months. Our lawyer and senator have made multiple inquiries, with the same reply. We tried to expedite a while ago, because my husband had worked with COVID patients, but apparently that's not a "substantial US government interest." I'm so glad that we're not the only ones having this delay! I'm a US citizen and my husband is from Pakistan. Because this is taking waaaay longer than we thought, he's out of status now and there's nothing we can do but wait.  I was beginning to get suspicious that our application had been put in the CARRP (Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program). For people who have had extremely long delays at the DOS, what country are you from?

Hey Robble42

Sorry to hear about your situation. I’ve been waiting since 11/21 for my waiver as well. AFAIK, CARRP is a USCIS thing, not DOS, but please let me know if you believe I’m wrong.

[Robble42 6]

19 minutes ago, AnasMD said:

Hey Robble42

Sorry to hear about your situation. I’ve been waiting since 11/21 for my waiver as well. AFAIK, CARRP is a USCIS thing, not DOS, but please let me know if you believe I’m wrong.

Yeah, I was just unnecessarily speculating. It seems unlikely, especially since the DOS recently increased their hardship waiver processing times for everyone. I wish I knew what was going on there! Almost every other DOS processing estimate is 12-16 weeks, while the hardship waiver estimate is now 36-52 weeks. 

[DrIdaddoq 22]

1 hour ago, Robble42 said:

We've had our hardship case pending at DOS since early Aug. 2021...so now it's been 15 months. Our lawyer and senator have made multiple inquiries, with the same reply. We tried to expedite a while ago, because my husband had worked with COVID patients, but apparently that's not a "substantial US government interest." I'm so glad that we're not the only ones having this delay! I'm a US citizen and my husband is from Pakistan. Because this is taking waaaay longer than we thought, he's out of status now and there's nothing we can do but wait.  I was beginning to get suspicious that our application had been put in the CARRP (Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program). For people who have had extremely long delays at the DOS, what country are you from?

Waiting since early September 2021 at the DoS. I’m from Middle East. 

[PeterW 17]

44 minutes ago, DrIdaddoq said:

Waiting since early September 2021 at the DoS. I’m from Middle East. 

So frustrated. What happen to the DOS? I have waited for 8 months and my J will end next month. My US kid needs medical care here.

[Robble42 6]

1 minute ago, PeterW said:

So frustrated. What happen to the DOS? I have waited for 8 months and my J will end next month. My US kid needs medical care here.

My husband's J1 expired over a year ago but he's allowed to overstay his visa because we're applying for a hardship waiver in good faith and he's married to a US citizen. The drawback is that he can't leave the country until he gets his green card/travel visa. Is your spouse a citizen? And if not, I'm wondering if there are exceptions for parents of a US kid. I would talk to a lawyer about this before you leave the country. 

[PeterW 17]

1 hour ago, Robble42 said:

My husband's J1 expired over a year ago but he's allowed to overstay his visa because we're applying for a hardship waiver in good faith and he's married to a US citizen. The drawback is that he can't leave the country until he gets his green card/travel visa. Is your spouse a citizen? And if not, I'm wondering if there are exceptions for parents of a US kid. I would talk to a lawyer about this before you leave the country. 

No, my spouse is not a US citizen. My child was born here. We have approved I-140 and and it is current. I don't know whether we are allowed to overstay here for the waiver and green card or not.

[DrIdaddoq 22]

2 hours ago, PeterW said:

So frustrated. What happen to the DOS? I have waited for 8 months and my J will end next month. My US kid needs medical care here.

Try to find a temporary 1 year position to extend your stay on J-1 or get an O-1 if you’re eligible (you’ll have to leave and come back). Otherwise, ask your lawyer. Don’t overstay if you can. It will be detrimental in the future when you apply for a green card. 
My lawyer told me they got an approved case today from January 2021. They’re very backlogged and it seems like the wait time is closer to 18-20 months rather than 11-13. 

[PeterW 17]

2 minutes ago, DrIdaddoq said:

Try to find a temporary 1 year position to extend your stay on J-1 or get an O-1 if you’re eligible (you’ll have to leave and come back). Otherwise, ask your lawyer. Don’t overstay if you can. It will be detrimental in the future when you apply for a green card. 
My lawyer told me they got an approved case today from January 2021. They’re very backlogged and it seems like the wait time is closer to 18-20 months rather than 11-13. 

Thank you for your suggestion! I am pursuing an O1. But it is under RFE. Hopefully it will be approved at the end. Otherwise, it will be super difficult for our family.