j-1 visa holder marries U.S. citizen

[myrtle 0]

My wife holds a J-1 visa with a 2-yr HRR requirement. If we file a J-1 waiver, the wait is leangthy and possibly could be denied. How can we adjust the status from J-1 to some kind of resident without doing this? Is there a waiver for the waiver? I saw that a J-1 waiver is not always required, but it said to consult a attourney. CAN ANYONE HELP ?

[breter 0]

My wife holds a J-1 visa with a 2-yr HRR requirement. If we file a J-1 waiver, the wait is leangthy and possibly could be denied. How can we adjust the status from J-1 to some kind of resident without doing this? Is there a waiver for the waiver? I saw that a J-1 waiver is not always required, but it said to consult a attourney. CAN ANYONE HELP ?

I believe you would just follow the guidelines here.

[myrtle 0]

My wife holds a J-1 visa with a 2-yr HRR requirement. If we file a J-1 waiver, the wait is leangthy and possibly could be denied. How can we adjust the status from J-1 to some kind of resident without doing this? Is there a waiver for the waiver? I saw that a J-1 waiver is not always required, but it said to consult a attourney. CAN ANYONE HELP ?

I believe you would just follow the guidelines here.

Thanks Terry,

In your case, was the visa to usa J-1 with the 2 year HRR requirement? HRR= returning to country of origin after 3 year job complete.

[jrichards 0]

I recently went through this with my husband, who is here on a J1 visa. Fortunately, we met with a lawyer for a one-time consult as we were beginning our process. I suggest you do the same. It was the best $100 we've spent.

What we learned is that there is no getting around the 2-year rule without getting a waiver. My husband's current J1 visa does not have the HRR requirement, but because he had a J1 visa with the requirement two years ago, we still needed to apply for the waiver. You cannot apply for AOS without it.

The process was stressful, but not difficult. It took 6 weeks from our application to receiving the waiver - we were told by our lawyer that it could take up to 3-4 months. Unless your wife is from a high-need country, is a medical doctor, or was here on a US-government sponsored fellowship, you should be able to obtain a waiver. Once the waiver arrives, you can file for AOS.

I hope this helps! There is very little info for J1 visa holders on this board, so I hope this is useful to you or someone else.

[myrtle 0]

I recently went through this with my husband, who is here on a J1 visa. Fortunately, we met with a lawyer for a one-time consult as we were beginning our process. I suggest you do the same. It was the best $100 we've spent.

What we learned is that there is no getting around the 2-year rule without getting a waiver. My husband's current J1 visa does not have the HRR requirement, but because he had a J1 visa with the requirement two years ago, we still needed to apply for the waiver. You cannot apply for AOS without it.

The process was stressful, but not difficult. It took 6 weeks from our application to receiving the waiver - we were told by our lawyer that it could take up to 3-4 months. Unless your wife is from a high-need country, is a medical doctor, or was here on a US-government sponsored fellowship, you should be able to obtain a waiver. Once the waiver arrives, you can file for AOS.

I hope this helps! There is very little info for J1 visa holders on this board, so I hope this is useful to you or someone else.

[myrtle 0]

I recently went through this with my husband, who is here on a J1 visa. Fortunately, we met with a lawyer for a one-time consult as we were beginning our process. I suggest you do the same. It was the best $100 we've spent.

What we learned is that there is no getting around the 2-year rule without getting a waiver. My husband's current J1 visa does not have the HRR requirement, but because he had a J1 visa with the requirement two years ago, we still needed to apply for the waiver. You cannot apply for AOS without it.

The process was stressful, but not difficult. It took 6 weeks from our application to receiving the waiver - we were told by our lawyer that it could take up to 3-4 months. Unless your wife is from a high-need country, is a medical doctor, or was here on a US-government sponsored fellowship, you should be able to obtain a waiver. Once the waiver arrives, you can file for AOS.

I hope this helps! There is very little info for J1 visa holders on this board, so I hope this is useful to you or someone else.

We are trying for the No Objection statement from the philippine embassy. What course did you take? The embassy is cooperating and I think it will be the best way. They expect to show hardship and are picky is what we hear. This was the only other one we could consider.