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1 hour ago, hideaki said:

Could someone guide me to the page where DOS published their approval statistics? Thank you very much!

Here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics.html

but the latest statistics published are from 2021

7 hours ago, Sabina Bart said:

Now I remember I did have the same thing, but I had to wait for 8 months then they issued RFE. Total was 10ish months for them to forward my case to the DOS. I did add though new documents to strengthen my case even more, after they received it, I think it took them 10-11 days to forward. Btw was your hardship case based on the US citizen or kids too? Not sure if you mentioned that earlier. 

Just US citizen, No kids 

11 minutes ago, lennikov said:

So, your case was with DOS only for about a year because the USICS took a year to deliberate on whether they had provided findings of hardships and Forms I-612 and I-613. My case with DOS for 1.5 years (with another year spent with USCIS) had no apparent activity since the initial submission of 612 and 613, in which all the documents were recorded. On the other hand, DOS sometimes does not post updates on the tracking page, with bulk updates suddenly showing up. But honestly, 1.5 years with no end in sight is a long long time. I'm collecting money for mandamus, but with this economy and family, it is rough, especially with an entirely possible outcome after all of these investments of time and effort can be a simple NFR. 

 

I see a usual document in your stack Letter of representation. Could you tell us more about it? While many of us submit hardships applications through an immigration attorney firm, I have never seen such documents posted by DOS before. 

Yes. In my case USCIS was really brutal. Made me wait 10 months before issuing a ridiculous RFE asking me to submit documents I already sent with my initial application. Then they waited until it was exactly one year to forward it to DOS.

honestly waiting 1,5 years at DOS stage is too much. You definitely need to sue them to get your decision. I was prepared to sue them. I know it is expensive but as a matter of principle they should not be doing this. Some people say “ oh well a waiver is a privilege not a right”. While it is true it’s up to DOS to grant it, they must decide within a reasonable amount of time. That is the law. Excessive delays are happening because these governments bureaucrats are not being challenged to follow the law. 
as for the letter of representation, I am not sure. I guess it’s a different way to register form G-28 in their system. 

9 hours ago, Sabina Bart said:

Yay congratulations!! I am happy for you, so basically you waited for 2ish months for this whole process. Man they definitely don't do “first come first serve”, some from 2022 are still pending. 

Thank you. I was so nervous and prepared for a NFR honestly. But I was so sick and tired of the word “pending” that I wanted a decision, any decision at this point. I will never understand why they make us wait between Sponsor views received and Final recommendation. But who knows, I am glad this nightmare is finally over and I can focus on other things. Good luck everyone! i will stay on the forum for a while to offer help if it’s needed. 

The time has come for me to share this with you and hopefully give you some hope in this seemingly never ending nightmare. After what felt like eternity, my hardship waiver was approved yesterday. I was Fulbright and received US government funding. I tried to expedite and DOS didn’t respond. I was eligible for both persecution and hardship and didn’t know that you can’t apply for both so I did, but the hardship waiver ended up being decided faster. It was crucial to combine factors from both grounds for the waiver to win the case. You can see my timeline here . 

2 minutes ago, worrieduser said:

Hey guys, 

 

I got a RFE asking for additional documents 🤦🏻‍♀️  this situation is consuming my life 😞 

USCIS is issuing RFEs for hardships all the time these days. Even when the case is very strong and sometimes they ask for documents you already submitted. It’s their way of delaying your case even more and taking more time . Just send them what they asked 

1 minute ago, corgidance said:

I feel the same. I just want my answer, even if it's negative. So tired of waiting. They sent a request for my sponsor views on Feb 02 (case at DOS since early May 2023) and since then waiting is worse because I expect the answer any day now, but it never comes.

I feel you 100 %. I wonder if they gather a number of cases with government funding and deliberate over them during the same meeting, or if each case is decided separately. 

38 minutes ago, Sabina Bart said:

There are two still pending from 2022 and mine from January 2023, I am before you alas…I am surprised after they received your sv they are still reviewing it…  there is another person from July 2022 they requested their views in Jan of this year and they are still waiting… they have cleared couple last week from 2022 like June and July, but some are left apparently… not sure why sponsor views back are taking forever!!! 

It’s honestly ridiculous. This process has traumatized me. I just want a decision. Any decision at this point!!

1 hour ago, J1hardshipwaiverg said:

It's not mine but it seems that they are working on cases received on September 2023

Unfortunately cases with government funding are still pending from May 2023…

7 minutes ago, blooper1899 said:

Forever! They sent for SV on Jan 26, got the SV back on February 1, and sent the recommendation only yesterday, so they waited 1.5 months before they sent recommendation. I don't know why they do what they do. 

I've waited at DOS since June 22, 2022

I am currently waiting on the final recommendation. Also Fulbright and the DOS received my sponsor views back on March 10. Thank you for sharing your timeline!

5 minutes ago, blooper1899 said:

Hi all, I got my favorable recommendation yesterday! Now waiting for the USCIS final document before going for GC. 

I was a Fulbright, so it is possible. I will say that I am from a political enemy country of the US, so I'm not sure how much that played a role given the restrictions and sanctions imposed on my home country in the past. The hardship case was for spouse, who struggles with mental health issues, also my spouse is a member of lgbtq, so I am sure that also played a role given my country's anti-LBTQIA+ laws. I was also a sole breadwinner and insurance provider in our household. We worked with Ranchod law firm and they did a decent job, a bit slow on the start, but the case was presented well. Good luck to all who are waiting! I will be disconnecting from this forum after a couple of days, happy to answer questions in the meantime.

Congratulations. That’s awesome!! You must be very relieved. Just a question: how long did you wait between Sponsor views received and the recommendation? 

Just now, Kel-Thuzad said:

How common are these not favorable recommendations and why are these even happening after USCIS's positive judgement...?

They have become far more common than most people will make you believe these days. The truth is no one knows how DOS makes such decisions as their process is a black box. 

6 hours ago, hideaki said:

This case was denied after 1.5 years at DOS. I feel sorry for them.

This is heartbreaking 

5 hours ago, blooper1899 said:

It's back, baby! And still pending. This word is gonna give me ptsd. 

Yeah I saw it’s back and was hoping for a status update but it’s still stuck on pending 😭

Is the J-1 visa waiver status website working for you guys? I just tried to check my status and it is not showing anything. I tried to see if there is any scheduled update announcement but didn’t see anything. Just want to make sure it’s not just me?

1 minute ago, Sabina Bart said:

Sorry dude, how long now? Over a month? 

Yes. More than a month now. I would understand it since I am Fulbright. However, I literally just saw someone else’s case who was on Fulbright get a decision in less than a month from the date they requested sponsor views. While I am still waiting. I don’t get it. They need to be consistent 

1 hour ago, Sabina Bart said:

Hey did you get your views back from them? Any news? 

Nope. Still waiting. I never hated the word “pending” more in my life 

On 5/4/2023 at 7:49 AM, HardshipWaiverApr said:

Hello all,

My case looks like below does anyone know why there is 2 sponsor views status and what does it mean? I just have government funding from DOS.

Hey what happened with your case? Did you get a favorable recommendation? I am currently in the same stage. 

1 minute ago, Kel-Thuzad said:

Hi everyone.
Is it that bad? I am waiting on USCIS to process I-612 for hardship, received August 24th 2023.
My lawyer thinks we should hear back this month, and that DOS will take couple months - but from what I see here it does not look to be a case.
Is anyone else waiting for I-612 for hardship? Since when?

Your attorney is very optimistic. I-612 is taking 15,5 months now. When I applied in 2022 It took exactly 12 months to hear back from them. Good luck! 

Just now, Sabina Bart said:

Does anyone know how long does it take once sponsor views have been sent? 

Did you finally reach the sponsor views requested stage? 

15 hours ago, hardship_wavier21 said:

Why did they wait 5 months to send sponsor views?! 

Just now, Hardship2022 said:

This is absolutely not true. I have myself received a waiver based on my child's medical condition and the sponsor views were requested and received. Did the sponsors opinion matter? Probably not. 

But were they requested? Yes.

 

Btw, I am a former Fulbright scholar. I just recently green card and wish you all the same. I can provide my timeline if anyone has any doubts 

Hi! I am now at the sponsor views requested stage. Also a Fulbrighter. Could you please share your complete timeline? Especially how long the sponsor views stage took? Thank you and congratulations on your approval! 

1 hour ago, lennikov said:

The DOS does not request sponsor views if the case involves the health of the US citizen (i.e., US citizen receiving some life-saving therapy that can only be provided in the US and reasonably expected to not be available outside of the US), as even with the negative opinion of the sponsor, the case would still get a favorable recommendation based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. 

How do you know this? Is there any reference to this in either USCIS or DOS manuals? If so, could you share a link? 

Just now, Sabina Bart said:

Yeah but it benefits only those who have no sponsorship… look I and other bunch of folks still waiting for update. They are processing July 2023 cases, I am still waiting -January 2023 mine. Some folks from 2022 are still waiting too, unbelievable. 

Did they request sponsor views for your case?

2 minutes ago, nmanc33 said:

Processing time update.

See kids, Lawsuits and Writ of Madamus do work and they do have an effect.