blooper1899

It was the same time as O1 visa, they are processed together. I did expedited processing, so it took under 15 calendar days (6/12-6/22)

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)

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.

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!

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.