CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: New Jersey
Our client is a Filipino national who came to the U.S. on an J-2 Visa. He came with his wife who was on a J-1 Visa. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning you would have to go back to your home country for two-years before you can apply for permanent residency and some non-immigrant visas. He got divorced from his wife and later on thought of marrying his U.S. Citizen girlfriend. He consulted with our firm on whether he can apply for a green card upon marriage. We told him he could not because he is still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. We first had to do a waiver of this requirement. Our firm was retained to do this J-2 waiver on April 7, 2010. On April 9, 2010 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 and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is divorced from the J-1 visa holder. On April 28, 2010 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On May 28, 2010, the USCIS approved the waiver of the 2-year foreign residency requirement. Our client can now get married and apply for his green card without having to go back to the Philippines and be separated from his fiancé for two years.
FREE CONSULTATIONS
If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately.