rachelrae

27 minutes ago, Sunshine33 said:

Congrats to you, how long did your journey last.

Thanks. The whole J1 waiver journey takes 6 months.

On 5/18/2019 at 4:00 PM, JWaiver_2019 said:

Hi Guys,

 

Today, I got final waiver in mail but online website is not updated with the status.  

My J1 waiver journey is concluded positively with final waiver!! Journey started on December 26, 2018 and concluded today on May 18, 2019. Almost 6 month to pass all steps.

 

I had to involve congressmen and provide documentation to prove that there is USCIS error in updating my case in time and delay is beyond normal processing time plus I may need to leave if waiver doesn't come in time (my visa expiry is really near now).

So congressmen office contacted me after a week to sign a document for them to contact USCIS on my behalf and then after one week I got informed that USCIS is investigating congressmen request.
So, congressmen involvement really worked for me otherwise there could be further delay since USCIS lost my case and then found and updated acceptance date with one month gap of receiving date for processing etc. It took only few day for USCIS to investigate and conclude after congressmen involvement.

 

Use congressmen option carefully and when things are very tight and not going well in your favor! This will really work with wise decision and homework (evidences)!

I hope this information will be helpful for those still waiting or facing some issues. I will be happy to help you guys with specific questions, if you have.

 

Wish you all the best for your J1 waiver journeys for positive outcomes too!

 

Thanks everyone and specially those who responded to my questions offering help!

Congratulation JWaiver_2019, I got my approval notice today in the mail as well. Thank you for sharing information with us in those days. 

8 hours ago, JWaiver_2019 said:

What is your context, can you please share like US government funding or fulbright or second waiver or similar complex situations that results in delayed decisions mostly? Straight forward cases receive decision very fast as per recent experience sharing in this forum.

Morning, I am not using US. government funding, or fulbright, or second waiver. The salary is from our university. My wife who is J2 visa needs to be waivered together with me. I think it is a straight forward case.

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, JWaiver_2019 said:

Yes, there is a criteria for expedited request but requires you to submit strong evidence. Other way is congressman involvement in your case as last option but no guarantee since they can help in finding case and update you with the status (although people mentioned it was very helpful for them). These are the only two options that can be used to expedite if your situation is really tight and have enough documentation to prove.

The best way if you are eligible and can follow is submit H1b premium petition with DOS letter to bypass all this USCIS pain.

Hey JWaiver_2019, Thank you for your reply. The school who will offer me H1b said they need to get the final j1 waiver approval from USCIS then to submit the H1b application. I tried expedited request, but it doesn't work. I have no idea now. It seems the only way to do is waiting.

6 minutes ago, JWaiver_2019 said:

USCIS timelines never makes sense for No Objection. So wait is the only option. My case was received on April 3rd (DOS FR on March 26) and accepted at lockbox on May 2nd. Still waiting. Just trying to understand logics but unable to get any idea except  ..... !

You are right. Is there any way to speed up?

14 minutes ago, Sunshine33 said:

Hi everyone I am new to this forum, but I have been reading and have found it very helpful. Thanks to everyone who shared. Should I wait for my waiver to be granted before submitting my I-130 form or can I do them together. still waiting on my waiver to be granted since march 28.

My case got accepted by lockbox of USCIS on March 28. I am still waiting for the final approval for J1 waiver.