CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child
NATIONALITY: Chinese Canadian
LOCATION: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Our client was a citizen of Canada who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in June 1993 when she was a Chinese Citizen. She came with her father who came on a J-1 Visa for his research program in the United States. 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 can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.
Once her father’s program was completed, her family immigrated to Canada. She became a physician in Canada and was offered to a fellowship program in the U.S. hospital. Her prospective employer would like to petition her for H-1B visa; however, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, she needs to comply with the 2 year rule or gets a waiver.
Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent. The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in April 2009.
She contacted our office and our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on October 6, 2016. On October 17, 2016, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) 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 reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore. Eventually, on November 7, 2016, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On November 23, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.