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No objection statement (unacceptable). I was wondering if you ever got a response and what did it mean? Thanks!

Does anyone know if there is currently any way to obtain a waiver for the COVID-19 'vaccine' requirement for an adjustment of status (I-485)?

Hello, I'm J1 visa holder, my last day of the internship will be May 5, 2023, I'm subject to 2 years of residence in my country, so I'm applying to the J1 Waiver, my embassy just sent my No objection letter to the State Department. I'm also will get married. These are my questions: Should I get married before my J1 visa expired or can I get married during my 30 days grace period of the J1 visa? Can I apply right away when I get married, and apply for AOS (adjustment of status)? Do I need to leave the country or can I stay while I apply during the 30 days grace period?

Hello, -Cbp canceled my tourist visa b1/b2 at the airport because apparently i was working and they gave me 5 year bar and after a month of that situation, I got married with my wife and she is a citizen. And we start the process but we never send a waiver because a lawyer told us, the tourist visa and residency visa are two different things and i have a bar for another tourist visa, that's why we never filled out the waiver but after long time waiting for uscis and nvc, we finally went to the interview at the embassy in dominican republic and the last lawyer that we hired here in dominican republic told us that when we get to the interview the counselor, he's going to require me a waiver but they didn't ask for a waiver but we talk about my 5 year bar and he told me he needs to contact cbp because they need to confirm if i'm going to need a waiver or not and he gave me a 221g and kept my passport and told me, you just need to wait because i don't have the power to do anything without contacting cbp. (they were to people at the time of my interview so it's no way that could be a mistake of him). my question is he keeping my passport is a big chance to get my visa? has anyone heard of a pardon waiver? What i should expect from them?

Hi everyone. Is anyone here from the Philippines and applying for a spouse visa and unvaccinated . How was the process? Did St.Luke’s ask why you are not vaccinated? How was the interview? And how did you apply for a waiver ( religious and moral convictions ? Pls share your experiences. Thank you

hello all I am looking for guidance on my case and hope I can get referred to precedents that will help I came to the United states on a B2 visa in Dec 2017 and filed for asylum within my 6months visa validity. I was interviewed within my 6months visa validity and referred to the courts. Since then I am yet to go for MCH as the courts keep rescheduling. in the meantime due to my advanced degree I applied for EB2 NIW and due to the nature of my job I was able to prove the 3 prongs and my petition was approved. Several lawyers told me that I am not eligible to file in the US and I had to leave the country. I have a daughter who is 5 and a us citizen the main reason I had to file asylum and leave my life back in my home country because she was going to be circumcised so I cant go back to my home country. A lawyer agreed to take my case saying it was possible to file in the US if DHS agrees to terminate my case, if so then USCIS will have jurisdiction over my case and I would be able to adjust my status. However I found a recent precedent by USCIS saying an asylum seeker cant adjust status as they are not in lawful status and as such cant adjust status in the US. this non precedent is by the Administrative appeal office. I am eligible to adjust my status? what should i do I. LAW Section 245(a) of the Act provides that the status of noncitizens who were inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States may be adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident if they are eligible to receive an immigrant visa and are admissible to the United States and have an immigrant visa immediately available at the time the adjustment application is filed. In addition, noncitizens who seek adjustment of status in a category other than immediate relatives ofU. S. citizens or certain special immigrants must demonstrate that they are not subject to any of the bars to adjustment set forth in section 245(c) of the Act. Section 245( c )(2) of the Act disqualifies from adjustment noncitizens who are in unlawful immigration status on the date of filing an adjustment application, have "failed ( other than through no fault of [their] own or for technical reasons)" to maintain continuously a lawful status since entry into the United States, or have accepted unauthorized employment prior to filing an adjustment application. Section 245(c)(7) of the Act prohibits noncitizens who are beneficiaries of employment-based visa petitions from adjusting status if they are not in a lawful nonimmigrant status on the date of filing. Section 245(k)(2) of the Act allows noncitizens who are beneficiaries of employment-based visa petitions to adjust status pursuant to section 245(a) notwithstanding subsections (c)(2), (c)(7), and ( c )(8) it: subsequent to a lawful admission, they have not for an aggregate period exceeding 180 days failed to maintain continuously a lawful status, engaged in unauthorized employment, or otherwise violated the terms and conditions of their admission. II. ANALYSIS The issues before us on certification are: 1) whether the Applicant, through the filing of an asylum application, maintained a lawful status after the expiration of his nonimmigrant visitor status for the purposes of sections 245( c )(2) and 245( c )(7) of the Act, and 2) whether his asylum request, which was pending when he applied for adjustment of status and subsequently denied, was a request to maintain lawful status that qualified him for the technical violation exception under section 245( c )(2). The Director determined that the Applicant was ineligible to adjust status pursuant to section 245( c )(7) of the Act, which specifically bars applicants from adjusting status based on employment if they are not in a lawful nonimmigrant status on the date of filing the Form I-485. The Director further determined that the Applicant was barred from adjustment under section 245(c)(2) of the Act because he did not continuously maintain a lawful status after being admitted to the United States in January 2015, and he did not establish that he qualified for an exception to this requirement. The Director determined that the Applicant did not meet the criteria under section 245(k)(2) of the Act for exemption from the section 245( c )(2) and ( c )(7) bars to adjustment because he had failed to maintain a lawful status for over 180 days subsequent to his last lawful admission prior to filing for adjustment of status. The Applicant does not contest that his nonimmigrant status expired on July 26, 2015, while his asylum request was pending. He asserts that he was nevertheless maintaining lawful status in the United States after July 2015 because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) authorized him to remain and work in the United States until a decision was made on his asylum application. He further argues that he failed to maintain his nonimmigrant status for "technical reasons," because USCIS did not timely act on his asylum request, and that his failure to extend his nonimmigrant status after applying for asylum was through "no fault" of his own. He claims that the exception in section 245(c)(2) of the Act therefore applies in his case and allows him to adjust his status despite not having maintained lawful nonimmigrant status. The Applicant was admitted to the United States on January 27, 2015, as a nonimmigrant visitor (B2) for a six-month period until July 26, 2015. In February 2015, while in B-2 nonimmigrant status, he 2 filed a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal (asylum application). USCIS later authorized the Applicant's employment in the United States based on the pending asylum application, and he began working in November 2015. In May 2016, the Applicant requested that his asylum interview be expedited, but the asylum office denied the request citing lack of resources. In February 2017, the Applicant's employer filed an employment-based immigrant visa petition to classify him as an unskilled worker under section 203(b )(3)(A)(iii) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § ll 53(b )(3)(A)(iii), and the Applicant concurrently filed the instant Form I-485 to apply to adjust status to that of a lawful permanent resident. In[::::]2017, while the adjustment of status application was pending, the asylum office determined that the Applicant had not established eligibility for asylum and referred his claim to the Immigration Court through issuance of a Form I-862, Notice to Appear (NTA). An Immigration Judge dismissed the removal proceedings in I 12018 on motion of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Director's denial of the adjustment of status application followed. A. Effect of Pending Asylum Application on Lawful Status The Director determined that the Applicant was not in and maintaining lawful immigration status when he filed his adjustment application in February 2017 because his B-2 nonimmigrant status had expired and he had not been granted an extension or change of his nonimmigrant status. The Director further found that a pending asylum application did not create any new "lawful status" within the meaning of section 245(c) of the Act. We agree. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 245.l(d)(l) defines "lawful immigration status" as limited to six categories and does not include a pending asylum application as one of the categories. 1 Furthermore, policy guidance issued by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has consistently recognized that filing an application for asylum does not continue or extend lawful status for the purposes of section 245(c) of the Act. See Memorandum from Louis D. Crocetti, Associate Commissioner, Policy Clar[fication Regarding the Effect of Filingfor Asylum on Nonimmigrant Status (Apr. 23, 1996) (Crocetti Memorandum). The Crocetti memorandum reaffirmed prior guidance stating that the act of applying for asylum does not have the effect of extending nonimmigrant status and does not confer any type of lawful immigration status upon an applicant. Id. at 1. This interpretation is consistent with regulations governing asylum applications, which prescribe different post-adjudication procedures depending on an applicant's immigration status at the time a decision is rendered. Specifically, 8 C.F.R. § 208.14(c)(l) instructs that if asylum is not granted and the applicant appears deportable under section 237(a) of the Act,2 the asylum officer must refer the application to an Immigration Judge for adjudication in removal proceedings.

Hi, My approval notice for the J1 waiver is lost. Department of State never took into account my address change. As a result, USCIS used an old address to send the notice. Luckily, the USPS redirect that I've arranged worked for redirecting the receipt of the case, but looks like it failed for the actual approval. As a result, I have my case number with USCIS and I can see on their website that it was approved (mid November 2021), but I don't have the physical approval notice nor a digital copy of the approval notice. I tried obtaining a physical copy by: 1. inquiring at USCIS to resend the physical copy because it was lost (actually I have no proof that it was send). They replied saying that they indeed approved the case and that they sent an approval which was never returned USPS. I did this twice and got the same answer. 2. using FOIA (Freedom of Infromation Act) which resulted in a similar answer. As my next step is consular processing for obtaining the green card (I-140 based on EB2-NIW approved), I'm asking if either of you had any experience with providing alternative evidence (during the interview I guess) for the waiver. I was considering the following evidence: (a) copy of the receipt notice with USCIS, (b) various screenshots from the DoS portal (waiver was based on 'No Objection') and from USCIS portal with my case status (c) e-mails from USCIS confirming that the case was approve (resulted from interactions 1. an 2. above) Ultimately, I know I can try filling I-824 and wait between 2 and 23 months (and only for a mere $465) to get a copy of the approval. I find this solution the ultimate definition of red-tape -- at the end of USCIS will be the one consuming the document that they issued (unclear if they mailed it or not) and that is lost. So far, I asked 3 attorneys and two of them suggested that I should get a physical copy and another one suggested that it might be enough with the evidence above. Thanks

Hey all, I was a J1 visa holder, subject to 2 year home residency requirement. I am in a process of applying for J1 waiver based on an exceptional hardship to my USC wife. I submitted I-612 to USCIS and in parallel submitted the DS-3035 to DOS. When I completed the DOS portion it generated a barcode that I, apparently, was supposed to include with my I-612 documents and send to USCIS. USCIS, however had no mention of that barcode anywhere and has accepted my application successfully. I am worried that without this barcode the USCIS wont be able to forward the I-613 to the DOS once they make their decision. Does anyone know what the process is for the USCIS to share it's decision to DOS. Has anyone had a situation like this? Thank you

My I-601 waiver was approved by USCIS April 26, 2022 for my immigrant visa case. I noticed that my CEAC date of last update has not been updated, suggesting they did not get the waiver approval notice. I was waiting for instructions from the embassy after the approval but did not hear from them. So I emailed the Montreal consulate and after two weeks they responded that they did not yet receive the approved waiver and will not proceed without it. What am I supposed to do ? I scanned and emailed the approval notice to them (I-797 from USCIS) in reply to their email. Normally the consulate is supposed to be notified directly by USCIS upon approval. Has this happened to anybody? How do I get this resolved ? Please help!

Hi Everyone, I have applied for J1-waiver on second week of January, 2022. Documents were received by DoS, Washington on March 30th 2022 as shown on https://j1visawaiverstatus.state.gov Since then there is no update about NOS. I confirmed with Indian Embassy Washington and they emailed my final No Objection statement to wrd-nos@state.gov on Feb 1st, 2022 and I have also received a copy. Even, I mailed a copy of the NOS on May 27th 2022. Today the Indian Embassy Washington again emailed my NOS to WRD. But, still my case status is pending and I don't see the NOS item on my portal. My J1 status is expiring on Jun 15th, 2022 and I am getting worried. Any ideas how to confirm about whether DOS has received the NOS or not? and approximately how long would the waiver approval process take and any way to expedite this process? Is there any other to extend my status as my waiver is pending? Thanks