CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)
NATIONALITY: Philippines
LOCATION: Montana
Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 visa in November 2013 to work as a teacher. According to her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After her authorized stay period expired, she remained in the United States.
In October 2015, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. If someone is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he or she cannot get a green card in the United States until he or she fulfills the requirement or obtains a waiver.
Upon retention, our office prepared and filed a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.
On November 2, 2015, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the Montana State Government to get authentication of the necessary documents. Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippine Government) were sent to the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago for further authentication. On January 5, 2016, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. Then, the Waiver Review Committee forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.
On March 9, 2016, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on March 24, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.
Once her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485Adjustment of Status Application on May 11, 2016. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients through conference calls. On August 18, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Helena, Montana USCIS office. The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.