J1 Hardship Waiver 2021-2022 Timeline

[asevstr 20]

Not Mine but a recent, 570 days to adjudicate.

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by asevstr

[asevstr 20]

Another one, not mine, 569 days to adjudicate:

Edited December 9, 2023 by asevstr

[Mickey344 12]

Suggests they are now on May 2022 bringing the estimated adjudication time to about 20 months. 

[extreme_hardship 22]

Just now, Mickey344 said:

Suggests they are now on May 2022 bringing the estimated adjudication time to about 20 months. 

I know of a few cases that are still pending since April of 2022 and a few others with Sponsors that are pending since Jan 2022.

[Wyboxcx 45]

2 minutes ago, Mickey344 said:

Suggests they are now on May 2022 bringing the estimated adjudication time to about 20 months. 

DOS is determined to make hardship applicants wait 2 years either way: At home or waiting in anguish for a decision. In both cases, there is no escape from at least a 2- year wait. 

[Mickey344 12]

Very devastating. May we have the strength to keep waiting for our cases to be adjudicated. 

[SofiaJ1FilipinaEH 0]

Is there anyone here already processed their I-485 while waiting for the waiver? 

 

[Wyboxcx 45]

1 minute ago, SofiaJ1FilipinaEH said:

Is there anyone here already processed their I-485 while waiting for the waiver? 

 

How can you file for I-485 when without either meeting the requirement or getting a waiver you are ineligible to adjust status?? It’s too risky to do now because AOS is happening fast and hardship waiver is taking forever and then some. What will you do even if somehow the officer adjudicating your case ignores the fact that you don’t have the waiver yet and then you are scheduled for an interview and you still don’t have the waiver? That is an automatic denial. 

[SofiaJ1FilipinaEH 0]

7 minutes ago, Wyboxcx said:

How can you file for I-485 when without either meeting the requirement or getting a waiver you are ineligible to adjust status?? It’s too risky to do now because AOS is happening fast and hardship waiver is taking forever and then some. What will you do even if somehow the officer adjudicating your case ignores the fact that you don’t have the waiver yet and then you are scheduled for an interview and you still don’t have the waiver? That is an automatic denial. 

I heard different scenarios shared in Facebook groups. 

*some of them got interview waived for I-485

*most of them submitted the notice letter of the j1 waiver. So, the adjudicating officer knows they are waiting for the waiver and will ask for RFE

*some is very timely when they received their waiver

 

It is really a risk. But for those with j1 visa and about to expire they go that route to get EAD and work legally. 

[lennikov 34]

20 hours ago, Mickey344 said:

Suggests they are now on May 2022 bringing the estimated adjudication time to about 20 months. 

It's extremely random for hardship cases. Some cases were adjudicated 6 months after filing, and some were filed in 2020 and are still pending. No clear pattern allows us to establish which cases DOS is currently working on, i.e., submitted in May 2022, and DOS does not share how they choose the case and how they process it. All we can tell is that the rough average waiting time is ~20 months, but it can be 30 months or 10 months in your particular case. We don't know how many cases in total, how many people processing it, what is the processing time for the average case, nothing. Only the time from submission to approval/denial. There was an attempt to collect many cases to apply statistical methods to determine more about how DOS handles individual cases. Still, it faced significant negativity and shut down shortly after rolling out. 

[lennikov 34]

On 12/9/2023 at 3:01 PM, SofiaJ1FilipinaEH said:

Is there anyone here already processed their I-485 while waiting for the waiver? 

 

I don't think you shuld do this, as you are not eligible for the application until the waiver is approved. With the other waiver categories, it is more meaningful when you can make rough estimates when you get certain waivers. Still, with a Hardship waiver, you most likely get rejected due to an unresolved waiver; worse, they may issue a green card to you by mistake, only to revoke it later when they realize you were not eligible in the first place. You don't play games with immigration. 

[DrFood 9]

Any approvals this week?

[asevstr 20]

Here is a recent one, 619 days.

 

[asevstr 20]

Another one, 577 days.

 

558 Days

[asevstr 20]

543 Days.  Many this week - cool.

Edited December 15, 2023 by asevstr