erik_23ph

Good Day to all! I have a question and I hope someone can answer me. Im in the process of obtaining J1 Visa Waiver and my application is based on No Objection.
I used to be a J1 Visa holder and subjected to the 2 year home residency requirement based on the skill list of my country.
Septmber 2014 I got married to a US Citizen. My spouse is going to petition me to become a Permanent Resident but Ithe home residency requirement first must be waived first.
So I started the application in November 2014. First, I made a request for a No Objection letter from my home country and it was approved in January 2015.
After I got approval for No Objection letter, I submitted all paper work and requirements to US Dept of State ( DS-3035, Passport page, Statement of Reason, Application Fee, etc). About the same time our embassy in Washington DC forwarded the letter to the US Department of State.
In February 2015, the US Department of State approved my application and gave me a Favorable Recommendation, which was then forwarded to USCIS for final approval.
March 2015, I then received I-797C Notice of Action and a Receipt No. Now I can check the status of my case online. Its been only 3 weeks since I received the letter from USCIS so there is still no update on my case other than 'Your application is received'.. From what I read online it will take 6-8 weeks or more for USCIS to make a decision so I still have to wait few more weeks. From what I read also, 99% of cases based on No Objection that earned favorable recommendation from US Department of State eventually gets approval from USCIS but I dont want to be over confident at this point.
Here is my question. Now that my J1 Visa Waiver application is with USCIS, can I submit my application to change or adjust my status? Or should I wait for the actual J1 Visa waiver approval before I apply to adjust my stauts? Change or Adjustment of Status for US citizen immediate relative wait is 5 months.
Thank you for your time reading my post and I will appreciate any response/reply.
Best regards.

Had our interview last week early in the morning (7:30am) and when we arrived at Federal Plaza in downtown Manhattan, we were the only couple at the waiting room. I thought oh no since we were the only ones there, the officer have all the time to ask as many questions as she wants. I was wrong. The lady interviewed us was very pleasant. She didn't ask a lot of questions. Just the basic, what is your complete name, date of birth, complete address and if we were married before. Asked for our passports and original marriage license. Then she asked me YES or NO questions from the I-485 form that we submitted. Then she look at our paperworks, took some and gave back most of them. She said you brought a lot Hahahaha.
Then she told application will still be under review and if approved, 2 year conditional green card (we are married for 16 months) will be sent and should wait for it in the mail in 6-8 weeks. All in all it was less than 20 minutes.
3 hours later, received and email saying 'New Card Being Produced'.

Hi there. Went to the interview yesterday and got approved!

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !

Hi there. I think it is a good time now to call USCIS and inquire about your case as your EAD application is already outside the processing time (75-90 days) without any RFE.
USCIS Customer Service No. is (800)375-5283

Received my EAD/AP Combo Card today!

Thats a bummer

Congratulations to all approvals.
And for all those who are still waiting, your approvals will happen very very soon!
Please keep us updated

You will get approved too very soon!

Good Morning to all my fellow May filers!
I got an update from USCIS early this morning that on July 25th my Application for Travel Document was approved and on July 27th my Application for Employment Authorization was also approved!

Almost there!

I see. Thanks for the info!