J1 Hardship Waiver 2021-2022 Timeline

[Magnet 12]

3 hours ago, ErinK said:

Congrats! Lawsuits are the only things that work. Did you file yourself or used a lawyer? I've been saving up to file using a lawyer but if I know others have been successful filing by themselves I'll do the same.

 

Also did you file your lawsuit against DoS or USCIS? Or both? 

I was also wondering about self filing using the helpful tutorial igoyougoduke posted earlier but that was specific to filing against USCIS. Not sure in our case who to file against in the DOS.

[surefire6 13]

2 hours ago, Magnet said:

I was also wondering about self filing using the helpful tutorial igoyougoduke posted earlier but that was specific to filing against USCIS. Not sure in our case who to file against in the DOS.

I used a lawyer it cost me $5k

[blooper1899 16]

Hi all, I am pitching in my 2 cents in terms of O1 visa. My J1 waiver has been with DOS a little over a year (June 22, 2022), extreme hardship to spouse. While we were waiting for the waiver, I started working with my employer on filing an O1 visa (for academics), which was granted yesterday. I have four pubs, 3 of which are solo, and a book chapter (international co-authors and publisher), as well as two working papers. I also did some international conferences (remotely) and a lot of refereeing for academic journals in the last three years. So my O1 case was based on three years of my academic career after I completed my PhD. I also was a Fulbrighter in the past (hence the need for the waiver), which we included as evidence of "extraordinary" achievement. I had 9 letter writers + 2 who confirmed awards. So O1 is definitely possible if you have pubs and are active with research/academic service. 

[ErinK 35]

19 hours ago, blooper1899 said:

Hi all, I am pitching in my 2 cents in terms of O1 visa. My J1 waiver has been with DOS a little over a year (June 22, 2022), extreme hardship to spouse. While we were waiting for the waiver, I started working with my employer on filing an O1 visa (for academics), which was granted yesterday. I have four pubs, 3 of which are solo, and a book chapter (international co-authors and publisher), as well as two working papers. I also did some international conferences (remotely) and a lot of refereeing for academic journals in the last three years. So my O1 case was based on three years of my academic career after I completed my PhD. I also was a Fulbrighter in the past (hence the need for the waiver), which we included as evidence of "extraordinary" achievement. I had 9 letter writers + 2 who confirmed awards. So O1 is definitely possible if you have pubs and are active with research/academic service. 

congrats. How long did it take for you or your lawyer to prepare the O-1 package and how long did it take for USCIS to approve it? Any RFEs? And if you don't mind which USCIS service center got your case? 

[blooper1899 16]

4 hours ago, ErinK said:

congrats. How long did it take for you or your lawyer to prepare the O-1 package and how long did it take for USCIS to approve it? Any RFEs? And if you don't mind which USCIS service center got your case? 

Thanks! It took almost 9 months but that was mostly because we were not rushing it (I have my current status of F1 STEM OPT till this August). I collected all the documents pretty quickly because I already had everything ready from filing the J1 waiver. It took about 2 months to get my recommendation letters. I also changed jobs in the middle of the process, so I started the process with the old employer, but filed for O1 with the new employer. I think if we did it quicker and were more prompt, it would have taken about 3-4 months. We filed with the California center, did not get any RFEs. We applied for expedited processing (USD 2500) and got the decision within 15 days. My employer was willing to expedite, and it was a great decision!

[Sabina Bart 28]

Hi guys, any news? Has anyone received any favorables from the DOS? Has anyone waited already a year? 

[Saysono 5]

I’m already at 18 months at DOS. Sent to dos in feb 2022

[surefire6 13]

29 minutes ago, Sabina Bart said:

Hi guys, any news? Has anyone received any favorables from the DOS? Has anyone waited already a year? 

Yes I did i waited 21 months and had to file a writ of mandamus

25 minutes ago, Saysono said:

I’m already at 18 months at DOS. Sent to dos in feb 2022

might want to look at filing a writ of mandamus

[Wyboxcx 49]

25 minutes ago, surefire6 said:

Yes I did i waited 21 months and had to file a writ of mandamus

might want to look at filing a writ of mandamus

I hope that with more lawsuits the DOS will finally realize how inhumane their processing times are and finally pick up the pace. 

[J1 Physician 4]

6 minutes ago, Freidrichm said:

I hope that with more lawsuits the DOS will finally realize how inhumane their processing times are and finally pick up the pace. 

Sorry irrelevant but how to notify DOS about change of address? Do we notify USCIS too?

[AM820 12]

On 6/28/2023 at 3:10 PM, blooper1899 said:

Hi all, I am pitching in my 2 cents in terms of O1 visa. My J1 waiver has been with DOS a little over a year (June 22, 2022), extreme hardship to spouse. While we were waiting for the waiver, I started working with my employer on filing an O1 visa (for academics), which was granted yesterday. I have four pubs, 3 of which are solo, and a book chapter (international co-authors and publisher), as well as two working papers. I also did some international conferences (remotely) and a lot of refereeing for academic journals in the last three years. So my O1 case was based on three years of my academic career after I completed my PhD. I also was a Fulbrighter in the past (hence the need for the waiver), which we included as evidence of "extraordinary" achievement. I had 9 letter writers + 2 who confirmed awards. So O1 is definitely possible if you have pubs and are active with research/academic service. 

Thanks for sharing and congratulation on getting your O-1 visa. May I ask how do you plan to get your visa (home country or Canada)? I assume we can’t change our status within US to O-1 since we are subject. Please let us know. 

[blooper1899 16]

18 hours ago, AM820 said:

Thanks for sharing and congratulation on getting your O-1 visa. May I ask how do you plan to get your visa (home country or Canada)? I assume we can’t change our status within US to O-1 since we are subject. Please let us know. 

I filed for a change of status and it was granted, thankfully. So I don't have to leave. If I did, my lawyer told me to not go home but to get visa stamp from a third country. I was researching Canada, since in Mexico there are a bunch of restrictions for third country citizens and they renew visas but do not issue new ones. 

[Magnet 12]

2 hours ago, blooper1899 said:

I filed for a change of status and it was granted, thankfully. So I don't have to leave. If I did, my lawyer told me to not go home but to get visa stamp from a third country. I was researching Canada, since in Mexico there are a bunch of restrictions for third country citizens and they renew visas but do not issue new ones. 

That’s interesting, I was under the impression O1 visa has to be stamped from home country, do you mind sharing more details about what didi you do to change the status and how long it took to process?

[blooper1899 16]

45 minutes ago, Magnet said:

That’s interesting, I was under the impression O1 visa has to be stamped from home country, do you mind sharing more details about what didi you do to change the status and how long it took to process?

I believe the O1 packet had a field that dealt with the change of status, so it was a part of the O1 packet. The lawyer told me that it might not be granted but we can alway try to file for it, so I trusted her. Thankfully mine was approved, but if it wasn't, I would have gone to Canada. Right now all US consulates and embassies are closed in my home country due to political situation, which is why the third country was a good option for me. I know it can negatively affect one's j1 waiver if we return home during the wait time cause DOS can use it against the applicant claiming hardship (what I was told by several lawyers) 

[Magnet 12]

2 hours ago, blooper1899 said:

I believe the O1 packet had a field that dealt with the change of status, so it was a part of the O1 packet. The lawyer told me that it might not be granted but we can alway try to file for it, so I trusted her. Thankfully mine was approved, but if it wasn't, I would have gone to Canada. Right now all US consulates and embassies are closed in my home country due to political situation, which is why the third country was a good option for me. I know it can negatively affect one's j1 waiver if we return home during the wait time cause DOS can use it against the applicant claiming hardship (what I was told by several lawyers) 

Thanks for the clarification, it’s great that worked out for you. How long did it take for the change of status to be approved?