CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: Rolla, MO
Our client was a citizen of China and came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in July 2013. He came with his father who came on a J-1 Visa. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they could apply for permanent residency.
He turned 21 in November 2014. By getting a waiver, he would have the ability to be petitioned for H-1B status by his employer. However, because of his two-year requirement, our client could not change his status in the United States without the the waiver.
Our firm was retained to do his J-2 Waiver, and on January 12, 2023, the J-2 Waiver was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency since our client reached the age of 21 and was not dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.
On September 17, 2024, the DOS recommended to the USCIS that our client be granted a waiver. On October 9, 2024, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.