CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement – Hardship
NATIONALITY: Filipina
LOCATION: North Las Vegas, NV
Our client came from the Philippines as a J-1 teacher. Her J-1 status made her subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Our client wanted to file her adjustment of status application along with her US citizen spouse’s I-130 petition; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.
Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue her waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). Her case is pretty much impossible for both waiver routes. Our client wanted to pursue her J-1 waiver since her U.S. citizen spouse was experiencing exceptional medical hardships.
On August 31, 2021, the J-1 Waiver Application was filed to the Department of State. Our office prepared an affidavit from our client, an extensive brief supporting our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other documents. Our client provided us with medical documents and doctor’s reports for her U.S. citizen spouse’s medical conditions. On September 7, 2021, our office filed the I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommend this waiver since our client’s spouse will experience exceptional hardship if our client needs to go back to the Philippines.
On December 10, 2021, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and asked our client to submit additional hardship evidence for her US-citizen husband. Our office prepared the Response to RFE on February 17, 2022. Eventually, the USCIS approved her I-612 waiver on June 26, 2023.