lennikov

So, I finally received the waiver document from USCIS. The timeline so far looks like this Filed documents to USCIS Feb 2022. USCIS made finding of hardships in September 2022 Filed documents to DOS in October 2022. Favorable recommendation from DOS April 2024 Waver document send by USCIS May 2024 I retained an Ellis Porter immigration attorney to file for my adjustment of status.

I will update the community regarding the timeline of what happens after FR from DOS and when I'll be able to file for an adjustment of status. I have a feeling that many members understandably leave the community after receiving their decision.

Thank you! Lack of transparency with DOS (I will never know who submitted those sponsor views and what they were), years of waiting, and my overall negative personality to assume and prepare for the worst possible outcomes for everything played its role. It was rough when I went to Canada to apply for an O-1, fully understanding that I might not get an O-1 as it is a rather challenging visa; without an O-1, I would be stranded in Canada on a tourist visa, with nowhere to go I'm not exactly welcomed in my home country due to my work in the US. Yes, it's now finished, and it's a relief.

And so my watch has ended. It was a pleasure to be a part of this community, and a lot of words of encouragement to me and others on this forum kept me sane over this long period of uncertainty. My case involved 2 J-1 visas that I took in 2014-2015 and second in 2017-2022. It took 560 days, from October 6, 2022, to April 17th, 2024, with ten months extra when the case was at USCIS, so overall, it took me about 28 months from the initial documents being submitted to receiving a Favorable Recommendation. I was able to obtain an O-1 visa and, this way, stay in the US; if I did not have O-1 support, there would only be 5 months left for me to complete the 2YHR if I returned to my home country upon expiration of my J-1 in October 2022. I used to live with this endlessly pending case, and now I don't know exactly how I feel about it. I suppose it is good that it is over, but honestly, I feel empty. Actually, what happens next? Will the case be returned to USCIS, and will they issue a waiver? Then, with a waiver attached, I can file for an adjustment of status. How long does it usually take? I would appreciate those who already received an FR to share their experience after FR and its timeline.

After 18 months of waiting, I finally got the first update in my case, "Sponsor views (Received)." Interestingly, no sponsor views were requested on the record but only received. As I had two J-1 visas it is difficult for me to conclude which entity provided the sponsor views. I would presume NIH, but at this point, I don't know. Another thing is that it was received apparently on February 28th, and now we are in mid-April when I got an update to my case file. In many other cases, the decision is usually made within a few weeks after receiving the sponsor's views. I'm unsure what to make out of it or what my decision timeline is considering this development. At this point, I'll be relieved to have any decision to move on from this exceptionally draining situation.

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.

Only a fraction of all J-1 cases are posted on this forum, so there are certainly cases that are decided upon, simply not among the members of Visajourney. The lack of activity is, of course, disheartening.

No, they did not; I have gov support, making it even less promising as sponsor views take about 4-6 months extra, so it's unlikely that I will have a decision in 24 months. I need to file mondamus, but don't have spare funds for it. Indeed it is a privilege, but I'm on an O-1 visa, if you check the requirements for an O-1, you will see that they dramatically exceed the requirements for an NIW green card, which was also granted to me, but I can't claim it due to an unresolved waiver. I would be glad to fulfill the 2YHR, but my country is ravaged by war. I should have probably applied for fear of prosecution waiver, but I submitted the hardships waiver due to my son's health condition to USCIS a few weeks before the war started, and did not have spare funds to do another application. I think it's very different from the hardships waiver situation. If you want a direct comparison, even if you are married to a US citizen, you still have to fulfill 2YHR or get a waiver; on the other hand, you are also non-deportable in this case, giving you plenty of time to deal with the situation.

I've been waiting since October 6, 2022. My case has had no activity since it was registered in the system. I'm sick and tired of this whole hardship and don't want to waste any more money on the mondamus case. While an O-1 visa allows me to stay and work in the US nearly indefinitely, the lack of progress on the waiver is very draining. But still, I can only imagine how stressful it might be for those who wait for the waiver on J-1. I would say that the exceptional hardships waiver is unfair and unconstitutional, giving people a perceived route to solve their J-1 2YHR requirement. Still, in reality, 12 months of USCIS and then 24 months of DOS those times nearly impossible for most people. You need to file exceptional hardships during the first year of your J-1 in order to fit into the time frame required. I honestly even stop checking the status and trying to be comfortable that I need to live with my O-1 situation for the foreseeable future. The government should either abolish the hardships category altogether or make it the same as other categories ~6 months from application to decision.

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.

Denial of the request to expedite. It doesn't affect the results of the application process.

We do, but DOS probably does not. I never heard that the expedition request was honored by DOS, to the point that attorneys refused to file it because it was pointless, as the only reaction you will get is a boilerplate email/letter that your request was considered (not really), and denied.

I honestly doubt it, there is no indication that waiver involving less money invested into scholar are handled differently. It’s not really about money even few hundred thousands spend on 5 years J-1 scholar is nothing in the grandiose of US gov economy. It’s more about the promise you made (even if you did not fully understand this promise at the time) and now trying to break.

Sometimes, it is pretty straightforward: if you work for any governmental institution, NIH, FDA, NASA, DOD, etc, under your J-1, you receive a salary provided by taxpayers from these institutions, thus governmental funds. Many government-sponsored study and exchange programs are usually short-term but also processed through J-1 and come with 2YHR and 2Y repeat participation bars, even though you sometimes spend only a few weeks or months in the US. It is usually less harmful as subjects of such programs are typically young. The program is short-term, so they stay in their home country long enough to fulfill the requirements. In other cases, it is less clear; for instance, if you worked in some private institution that governmental funds support, i.e. you were a post-doc working under the PI who received NIH or NASA funds, does that constitute governmental funding? You received nothing directly from the government, but your salary is still technically from the taxpayer's funds. I don't have a clear answer for it. In some cases, DOS doesn't know itself. You may or may not be a subject, and your passport's DS forms or statement may not correctly reflect it. You need to file for an Advisory Opinion for them to decide in each case. If you are curious, you can fulfill the 2Y-participation bar and not complete 2YHR. i.e., by living and working in a country that is not your home country. In this case, you can only get another J-1. The good news is that the J1 2YHR does not stack, so even if you get 2 or 3 J-1, you will not have to spend 4 or 6 years in your home country. The bad news is that all your accumulated time in your home country will be reset back to 24 months as soon as you enter again as the J-1. Oh, and by the way, O-1 trumps the 2YHR and participation bar but its requirements are seriously insane and it only allows you to work in the US indefinitely as soon as you retire, or somehow lose your O-1 sponsored job you need to leave.

There is no way to prove it. They would always say something “Careful consideration is given for each individual case”. But if you see how negligent are bureaucrats are across the country institutions I would not be surprised at all. You can’t even tell if you have government funding until you see request for sponsor views is send by DOS. You might think you have it and it’s never send and decided without sponsor views or you may think you don’t have it and then see the sponsor views are send.

I have a question for those who fulfilled 2YHR. What does the immigration process look like what do you file after 24 months are cleared and how long does it take? Do you file for an immigrant visa and what sort of evidence is required of your stay in your home country? Also if you have the hardship case and fulfilled the 2YHR did it just get voided, what happens with the case? i.e. you received FR, but you have already finished your 2YHR.

It's not a good idea; first, with gov funding, you will not be able to speed up the time it takes for Sponsor views processing, which is an extra 6-12 months simply because Sponsor are outside DOS jurisdiction. Without Sponsor's views, the decision can't be made by DOS regardless of Mandamus. The most likely result is that case after a successful Madamus court ruling, the DOS will file a request for a sponsor's views and then request the court for an extension, which will be granted to DOS because they did what they could and now need to wait for the sponsor's response, so Madamus will get some traction in your case. Next, after 6-12 months of waiting, sponsors usually deny the petition unless it's a life-and-death hardship, i.e., the US citizen with a condition that is likely to die or suffer permanent disability without medical assistance in the US. For example, if you have a child who needs regular dialysis to stay alive, you most likely do get FR from the sponsor. Governmental departments don't like negative publicity from dead US citizens where they have some involvement. Still, if your reasons are primarily financial ones, i.e., your US citizen spouse will not have a job opportunity in your home country and doesn't speak the language. In 2 years, your family would be ruined by inadequate income and loss of career to the point that you will not be able to afford to return to the US to start life from scratch. In such case of Gov funding, you most likely get NFR even though if you were non-Gov funded, you would likely get FR for financial/emotional hardships. Depending on the sponsor, there is also very inexplicable and random FR and NFR, regardless of circumstances. The hardship cases can't be appealed. We don't know what exact documents are sent to the sponsor and who is representing the sponsor. Therefore there is no responsibility or liability by the sponsor. So, if you have governmental funding, filing for Mandamus is unlikely to speed up the process significantly, and you will likely get NFR at the sponsor stage anyway. The Madamus filing with the attorney costs between $3-5k, which is a significant sum of money that probably will not improve your situation or dramatically improve the waiting time. Overall, it's more of diminishing returns of Madamus filing, the longer you have waited the less improvement of the waiting time you get. I don't believe I have seen a case that had more than three years of waiting time (please correct me if I'm wrong), so eventually, you will get a decision. So overall, people usually do not file Madamus in case of Gov funding because, in the worst case scenario, you spend ~$5,000 on hardships filing, ~$3,000-5,000 on mandamus, still wait about 2-2.5 years and get absolutely nothing in the end but have $8,000-10,000 less. Also, if your case takes closer to 2 years, it is likely to be prepared to get NFR and explore other options to resolve your 2YHR as it is somehow considered difficult to DOS, so it was not processed in the order it was received, it's a speculation rather than a fact, but there is a clear tendency for NFR cases to take at least 12-15 months longer to decide than FR.

They did not. Gov Sponsor cases take 24+ months since the request for sponsor views takes 6-12 months (not necessarily reflected in the online status, as DOS frequently updates the case in bulk, i.e., my documents were sent at different time points, yet they all showed up in the system on the same date). The sponsor's view requirements have poor approval odds because regardless of the actual hardships, that is recognized by USICS and probably would be recognized by DOS. Still, as soon as the Sponsor says "No" without reading the documents, the DOS closes the case with NFR. The sponsor doesn't need to justify their position or consider what hardships they cause to the person who was foolish enough to take any money from them. The overworked clerk in some governmental agency saves an hour of his/her work day by quickly clicking "no" without even reading the document package since there is no consequence for him/her to say "no." Still, in theory, there might be if he/she clicks "yes" without figuring out the case. Again, we don't even know what is precisely sent to the sponsor or, in many cases, who the sponsor is. For instance, many J-1s come from scientific positions. Is the sponsor an NIH that provided the grant to the PI to hire a J-1 postdoc? Or the sponsor in the host Institution that the PI and postdoc worked at? I don't have a clear answer to it.

It may look like this, but the most recent cases in 2022 are dated October. So, it is unclear why they skipped November and December adjudicating cases from January 2023. It is clear, however, that cases are not processed in the order they are received. Perhaps they separated with Gov funding and without gov funding. My case was submitted in October 6, 2022. So when cases from October 5, 2022, I hoped for a quick decision as the case submitted a day earlier was already decided, which did not happen.

I believe you are correct in your assessment of this situation. However, I must point out that it is pretty reasonable to fulfill nine months of 2YHR and return as a GC holder rather than overstaying unless again returning is associated with the risk of death or prosecution, in which case there is a much faster waiver to go for. It is unclear from the post that J1hardshipwaiverg is a spouse of USC.

While it’s very unfair to face this challenges because of 22 days exchange program. I don’t think the waiver even when approved will do anything for you at this point. If you are out of status the waiver will not help you anymore as it will not resolve your illegal immigrant status. You should have left the country when you run out of status and by now you would be 7 months away from your green card regardless of the waiver. Now you are deportable illegal immigrant with 10 years entry ban. This was your choice in my opinion very poor choice unless returning home country would mean certain incarceration or risk of life if that wound be the case it’s unclear why you did not file for fear of prosecution waiver? I do feel sorry for your situation but I don’t see reasonable solution to it. Hire a good immigration atterney and file I don’t know humanitarian and compassionate grounds but if you loose the case you will be deported and banned from entry.

I think the most frustrating part of the DOS wait is the complete lack of a clear picture of where the decision can be made for any individual case. One thing is to wait a specific number of months, but waiting for a decision that can be made tomorrow or in a year is very difficult. If the cases were processed according to the submitted dates, we at least could have some estimate, "OK, DOS is now working on cases submitted in October-November 2022," but this is not true. We have cases that were submitted much earlier, i.e., January 2023 getting decisions and cases that were submitted in January 2022 getting decisions.

Yes, that is why it is essential to check with your attorney that everything is filed correctly. It is also the reason why you see people complaining for 3+ years waiting but if you look at their case page their DS3035 was submitted only a year ago. DOS will send you an incomplete information letter around the time they are supposed to review your case, but then put it back to the end of the pile.

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.

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.