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Hello, it's complicated here but any suggestion appreciated.. I came to States under J1 (2 years rule waived) 09/15/2012 - Changed the status to F1.. while on F1, my wife's employer sponsored us for Green Card. She was on E1. Her status approved to PR but I got denied because didn't maintaine the F1 status for a week or so.. because I forgot to pay school fees and the school removed me from Sevis. after couple of motion applications and re-applications I kept denied. so we decided to apply for 601A along with the I130. I130 approved no interview but 601A got denied. Now my wife became a US citizen and I applied for AOS again on 04/04/2022 with my consular approved I130. On 01/13/23 I have my AP approved. didn't used it for travel still waiting.. no rfe or interview request since then.. what are my chance to be approved for AOS. no criminal record or anything.. no deportation letter.. it's been a year since I applied again, people keep getting rfe's for medical but I didn't receive anything yet.

Hi. I hope you're doing well! I went to the US last year for 8 months on a J1 visa as a research scholar at the Auburn University, and I'm subject to section 212 (E). I have a proposal to return to the same University with the J1 visa, but as a specialist. I would like to know if there is a possibility for the embassy to grant me a visa? There is also a question on Form DS-160: Are you applying for the same type of VISA? (Yes or No) I'm not sure how to respond as I'm actually going with the same visa but with a different major. Please, can you help me? Thank you in advance!

Greetings everyone! I would appreciate your advice/thoughts on the following issue. TL;TR: should a Ukrainian with J1 status extension attempt to stamp it abroad? I'm a Ukrainian who is on J1 as a research scholar at a large US academic clinic since mid-March 2022. I got my J1 a month before the war started last year in Kyiv, Ukraine. I recently got my program extended for another year to finish my project. I received my DS-2019 last week, which I know allows me to stay in the US for my next year at the clinic. I have a couple of important international conferences coming up next year, attending which would really advance my career prospects (I really want to attend them). In addition, part of my family relocated to Canada. Therefore, I would very much like to be able to travel and re-enter the US and was initially intending to stamp the visa. Here are relieving factors: My sponsor is one of the largest clinics in the US; I've been in good standing and did not violate any J1 regulations; I have my parents left in Ukraine, along with some property (car, apartment in a joint ownership, quite a solid sum on Ukrainian bank accounts), which could be use for connection to homeland statement. However, here are the problems: I cannot apply in Ukraine because the US Embassy doesn't process any visas at the moment - I'll need to apply abroad, most likely either Mexico or Canada; Since I apply abroad, 99.9% I will get interviewed; If so, it will be still challenging for me to prove nonimmigration intents since I am (1) from a country affected by war, (2) single and only have my parents left in Ukraine. ... and I also read that if I'm refused the stamp, I will not be able to go back to the US even if I will be traveling from Mexico or Canada and my DS-2019 will be to-date. Another factor, importance of which I struggle to assess, is that I've recently got Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET). I applied this summer, when I didn't expect the program extension yet but part of my family had already relocated to Canada. I got a notification that my application has been processed a day after I got my new DS-2019 form. CUAET grants an extended temporary status for Ukrainians (a visitor status first, which one can extend to temporary resident and then to permanent resident under certain conditions). I wonder if it would be considered as a red flag for immigration intents. I know that nobody can predict whether or not I get rejected at the interview. I would like to get your opinion on the situation overall: being in such situation, would you attempt stamping the visa? Are my worries well-grounded or I put way too much weight on some of them? Thank you a lot for getting to the end and even more thank you for your opinion!

Hi there: I'm curious if it's okay to get a B1/B2 visa, live in the U.S. for 4 months (not working), and then apply for a J-1 or H1B Cap-Exempt visa through an academic institution. Would this cause any problems or raise any red flags? Thank you so much.

Hi! I used a lot of vj information to filed for aos and I wanted to share with you my experience and my aos package. I'm from Argentina and I came to America in November with a J1 visa (summer work travel program), after dating my husband for a year, we got married on May 7th. According to my visa, I had to go back home before June 30th and even though I married a US citizen and I knew if I overstayed it was going to be waived, I was still so worried that I filed for AoS asap (June 19th). A few things I'm going to say before I talk about my application is that I think 50% was pure luck, it was filing at the right time and date. The other 50% making sure nothing in my application could make the officer doubt and ask for more information or evidence. I made sure everything was disclosed and explained, it must have been either a pain in the ### or a blessing for whoever that took my case cause it was 400 pages long lol. Also the fact that my office was Reno helped a lot, I went twice for biometrics and interview and there was no one, the parking lot was empty, so they're pretty low on cases there. I didn't get help from a lawyer 'cause I considered my case was simple, it wasn't worth the money, we were on lockdown so I didn't have much else to do but getting obsessed with sending the perfect application, visiting hundreds of VJs topics and watching youtube videos. Another thing, specifically for I130 is that I was scared because my husband and I are in our early 20s, we got married a year after meeting each other, 7 months out of those 12 we were in a long distance relationship, he still lived with his parents, we both had part time jobs, we don't own anything, so we had to prove our love by telling them our story. How meant to be we are, how we clicked instantly, how we talked 3 hours a day every day, how I told him he could come to visit me and the next day he went to get his passport and bought flight tickets to see me, how we can't imagine being away from each other, that we did it for 7 months and we don't want to do it ever again, how we have plans for the future, etc. Our bonafide evidence was full of stories and we attached them with tickets, passes, reservations, photos, invitations. By the time of the interview we did gather a lot of primary evidence and the officer that interviewed us was more than pleased. This was my package main cover letter I had to explain a few things when I filed: 1. During a road trip all my forms of identification were stolen, so I lost my passport with my visa stamp and my country ids. Thankfully, I was able to get an emergency passport and sent that in the package with an explanation of what happened and secondary proof that I was here legally such as letters from my sponsors, employers, job reviews and flight tickets. 2. I was given an extension of my visa because of the pandemic, so I sent a letter from my sponsor that explains the extension and extra information on why I was given this extension (the borders of my country were closed and all my flights were canceled) 3. My husband was a dependent of him mom for 2017 tax returns so we wrote a letter that his mom signed. 4. I944 was intense haha, we couldn't get IRS transcripts before sending the application because at that time IRS offices were closed, so we sent the biggest WE TRIED letter, where we stated that we received no answer from IRS so we were going to send 1040s and W2s. 5. We didn't have a credit score or report because none of us has credit cars, loans, car, leases, anything. We're still pretty young and we haven't thought all that out yet (we should soon). So we explained that, we sent transunion letter saying we didn't have any of that, screenshots of the experian website saying they couldn't find me and I tried to get a credit card online and I didn't qualified. 6. For Education, I did an evaluation of my college transcripts with a NACES authorized agency (IEE), also I graduated from college but I came to America before i could sign my diploma so I don't have my diploma with me and that's the way I can prove I graduated, what I sent to prove I graduated was a certified letter by my college that stated that I did in fact finish college. The evaluation agency wrote that my degree was incomplete because they didn't accept the certified letter but I sent everything in my I944, cause why not. 7.I didn't send proof I know how to speak Spanish because that's my native language and in my transcripts from school we don't call Spanish classes that, we call them Language classes. I wrote a letter swearing I know Spanish and that's it. When I filed I was afraid that my husband's tax return were going to look bad, because in 2019 he made a little over the percentage he had to make to sponsor me, in 2018 he made half of that percentage and in 2017 he was a minor and was a dependent of his mom. Still I sent all that information because if I disclosed it first it means I'm ahead of any questions they can ask us. That's just my mindset, I know a lot of people believe it's better to just put the last tax return information and that's fine. Also when we filed, my husband was unemployed and so was I (pandemic related), so we sent his last pay stubs and that's all. (He did have a part time job but that didn't make enough to support me at that time and he didn't file for unemployment) Another thing is that (PLEASE DONT DO IT) I worked in the past unauthorized, this was way before I met my husband and I didn't think of the consequences, I had no idea at some point it could come back to bite me. So, I disclosed it, I said from what date to what date and in I485 I said yes to working unauthorized and violating the terms of conditions of my nonimmigrant status. So this was my timeline and here's what I sent the June 2020 filers group and hour after the interview: And that's it. Right now, I have a job offer and I'm waiting for my green card to arrive. I'm excited about the winter, being with my husband without having to think of visas, uscis, forms, is great. I did get only the conditional green card, so in 2 years I'll have to do this again hahah. I hope this long post helps you, please let me know if you have any questions, this was my experience, probably had a few mistakes, it's not perfect, I was just very lucky this process went as smoothly as it did. Thank you thank you thank you VJ members for answering all my questions and giving me so much information!

I came back from after my J1 visa, completing my exchange year in June,2022 Now in December,2022 I am tending to apply for a B2 visa as my former host family requested me to visit them. In the visa application, the question is about me fulfilling my J visa staying in home country requirement. How do I explain that in the given box. I sure can not afford getting rejected.

I had 212e 2yhrr starting Aug 2019 (3 years ago) and I went back to my home country to serve my 2YHRR. In 2021, I traveled as a tourist on and off as I was working remotely. Now I have a clear path to immigration through marriage. We are literally a week away from it. My question is I did the rough calculation today with my passport stamps and it turned out my total days in my home country are somewhere around 703 out of 3 years. Am I hosed? Do they not count the days you took international trips as a tourist? All this time I did not come to the US. I always thought my 2yhrr was gone after two years. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I never came back to the US for three years and run my own company in my home country so I have proofs that I have a 'life' there.

Hello! I am preparing a packet of AOS, and have two questions. I tried looking around, but can't find a discussion specifically about my concerns. I am going to file family-based AOS, I currently have H-1B. #1) I need to prove that I am not subject to the 2-year requirement from my old J1. I was a J1 student in 2004-2005, and I don't have DS-2019 from that time. I have contacted the school I studied, they don't have it. DOS advisory opinions needs DS-2019, so I can't use. I sent FOIA request (I don't know if I even fully understand what it is, it was new to me) yesterday, but as of today (2/21/2018) I haven't received even a confirmation or anything, so I am not even sure if my request has been sent. My question is, whether it is not a good idea to just send the copy of my visa sticker in the passport and all other previous non-immigrant visa forms, I-20 and I-797 from old F1 and H1B. It does say that I am not subject to the 2-year requirement. But it seems like in most cases the visa in the passport is insufficient, and you are asked to submit either the DS-2019 or proof from DOS. I have received H-1B with no problem in the past multiple times, and was wondering if that's enough, because I wouldn't be allowed to get H-1B if 2-year requirement applies to me. (And I am completely sure that I am not subject to the 2-year requirement.) #2) My USC husband must fill out the form I-864, but his income is not sufficient. Since my work is a term contract, we won't use my income. His father is willing to sign as a joint-sponsor. The question is how much details we need on the primary sponsor's income, which isn't even sufficient. He is not employed full-time, but works as an independent contractor, and receives his VA benefit for his education, so does have income. He does file tax, and has tax forms. But when he puts his projected income for this year, I read somewhere that we should provide a job letter or some type of document that certifies his expected income. In his case, we will have to ask whoever working with him to sign such a letter, and also submit a letter that states how much he receives from GI Bill. But I don't know if that's even required since we know his income won't be sufficient. Does it work like, if we have a joint-sponsor, they completely ignore primary sponsor's income, or should we submit any related documents to prove his "insufficient" income? If anybody here can provide me with some tips, that'd be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

Hey all, I was a J1 visa holder, subject to 2 year home residency requirement. I am in a process of applying for J1 waiver based on an exceptional hardship to my USC wife. I submitted I-612 to USCIS and in parallel submitted the DS-3035 to DOS. When I completed the DOS portion it generated a barcode that I, apparently, was supposed to include with my I-612 documents and send to USCIS. USCIS, however had no mention of that barcode anywhere and has accepted my application successfully. I am worried that without this barcode the USCIS wont be able to forward the I-613 to the DOS once they make their decision. Does anyone know what the process is for the USCIS to share it's decision to DOS. Has anyone had a situation like this? Thank you

Hi Everyone, I have applied for J1-waiver on second week of January, 2022. Documents were received by DoS, Washington on March 30th 2022 as shown on https://j1visawaiverstatus.state.gov Since then there is no update about NOS. I confirmed with Indian Embassy Washington and they emailed my final No Objection statement to wrd-nos@state.gov on Feb 1st, 2022 and I have also received a copy. Even, I mailed a copy of the NOS on May 27th 2022. Today the Indian Embassy Washington again emailed my NOS to WRD. But, still my case status is pending and I don't see the NOS item on my portal. My J1 status is expiring on Jun 15th, 2022 and I am getting worried. Any ideas how to confirm about whether DOS has received the NOS or not? and approximately how long would the waiver approval process take and any way to expedite this process? Is there any other to extend my status as my waiver is pending? Thanks

I'm currently on a temp j1 visa for 6 months, I just started so I basically have the full 6 months. I am not subject to the 2 year home residency requirement. My employer has immediately started my h1b petition and I am cap-exempt, I am also paying for premium processing. But with the coronavirus outbreak, I am worried about the possibility of my approval taking longer than average. What happens to me if my visa expires before my h1b is approved but the process is already started? I tried to call uscis but I could not get a hold of anyone. Thank you in advance.

Hey everyone! I’m in the beginning stages of finding a traineeship and then apply for a J1. I’m not sure where to start from and how to secure a PAID traineeship with US host organization. Any tips? Also was wondering , what sponsor has allows a J1 waiver? As I’ll ultimately apply for that as well and I would like a sponsor who is less strict with this, if that makes sense. Oh, just for context. I’m a young professional in the UK