CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement
NATIONALITY: Kenyan
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH
Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in June 2013 to work as a camp counselor. After she finished her J-1 program, she remained in the United States. In April 2014, our client married her current U.S. Citizen husband. However, she could not adjust her status unless she got a waiver for the 2-year foreign residency program. When she came to the United States in 2013, her program mad her subject to the 2-year foreign residency program.
She retained our office on January 5, 2016. Thereafter, our office prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy in the United States. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver. Our office contacted the Kenyan Embassy in D.C. to pursue the waiver for our client. The Embassy requested several documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the clearance letter from J-1 program sponsor, Clearance certificate from HELB and KSCE in Kenya, and a letter of reason for obtaining J-1 waiver.
On January 19, 2016, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the Kenyan Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust based on her marriage to her spouse.
Eventually, the Kenyan Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division. On March 9, 2016, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On March 31, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. Now, our client can file an I-485 adjustment of status application along with her husband’s I-130 petition.