2 year home residency requirement and family based immigration!

[Eldeezy 0]

Hi everyone! I am so thankful for everything you are doing, it's really helpful!

I am a citizen of Turkmenistan. I was participating in UGRAD J1 exchange program financed by the us government and managed by IREX in 2014, so I know for sure that I am a subject to 2 year home residency rule. When I was applying for the exchange program I was studying in Russia and subsequently received my j1 visa in Moscow, Russia and departed to the USA also from there. In 2015 right after the program completion I returned back to Russia to carry on with my undergraduate studies and still continue to do so, have one more year left. This year my parents won a dv lottery and went to the USA, I applied along side with them for a green card in Turkmenistan but was refused with visa due to not completing my 2YHRR. We spoke to the counselor officer and she told us that the best way would be if my parents applied for family reunification from within the us, I also asked the counselor about the 2YHR requirement and she told me that as long as I stay outside the US and keep my Turkmen primary residency ("propiska" stamp in passport where the government registers the place of living)) and continue to study in Russia until two years pass I should be fine and by this way the requirement will be fulfilled. Now that I don't have my parents living in Turkmenistan I hardly believe that I would return there and currently I am considering to move to Russia permanently and proceed with family based reunification from here. So my question is:

1) after reading so many forums I now doubt that the counselor gave me the right information about the home residence requirement And since I am planning to proceed with my family reunification from Russia and obtain Russian citizenship would the embassy refuse me with the immigrant visa due to not actually living in Turkmenistan or if I provided them with "propiska" would suffice them? I am really confused with all this, please help me!

2) Should I keep my Turkmen citizenship or acquire the Russian on?

[Boiler 43,438]

My understanding is that if you applied as a resident of Turkmenistan then that is what counts.

Obviously a long wait for your parents to petition you and life can change.

[Eldeezy 0]

My understanding is that if you applied as a resident of Turkmenistan then that is what counts.

Obviously a long wait for your parents to petition you and life can change.

Thanks! Yet I still don't know what to do! My parents have already petitioned for me, so hopefully with the help of CSPA I will go under f2a category, but this 2 year residency rule really freaks me out.

[sofyab 2]

Hey, I am in a very similar situation right now!

I have a dual citizenship (Kazakhstan/Russia) and I was a FLEX student in 2011-2012. After graduating high school I've stayed in Kazakhstan for around 9 months and then started college in the US. I've been going back and forth and ended up accumulating around a year and a few months in Kazakhstan. I graduated in May and now I'm back home waiting for 2 years to be over so I can reunite with my fiance in the US. We will start the visa process in the nearest future (mid-September).

However, my parents now live in Russia and I honestly have no idea what to do. I have no friends or family in Kazakhstan, although I went there right after arrival and received an entrance stamp. Went back to Russia using my internal ID, so I'm technically in Kazakhstan right now. But still, I've spend a few months in Russia last summer, and I would love for it to count toward my 2HRR.

Besides, I've lost my passport about a year ago. I was able to find most of my tickets proving that I went home. People say that the best proof would be some paper trace of your presence in the country - bills, bank statements etc. But ex-USSR countries aren't too good with these. We prefer using cash in our daily lives etc. I lived with my parents, so there is no rent or contracts (although, there won't be any electronic rent payments anyway)

So, I'm wondering, how can I prove that I was there the whole time? Mind you, I was a college student home on vacation.

Also, does being a citizen of another country help? Maybe we can apply for K-1 using my Russian passport?

Sorry, if my post is confusing