PLEASE HELP: I 485 denied due to 212(e)

[suigeneris 0]

I will keep this as short as I can:

I AM THE PETITIONER (US CITIZEN), MY WIFE IS THE BENEFICIARY, CURRENTLY UNDER J1 VISA WITH THE 212(E) RULE. J1 VISA STILL GOOD FOR ABOUT A MONTH.

1) Filed I 130, I 485 and I 765 concurrently.

2) Had our interview yesterday.

3) I 130 and I 765 approved.

4) I 485 denied (was told to withdraw), the denial WAS due to the 212 two year rule.

Documents we submitted for the 212 two year rule:

1) Advisory opinion from the State Department stating that my wife is not subject to the two year rule. Wife is an Au Pair, (no gov't funding/skill sets......)

2) Waiver from the State Department stating that my wife is not subjected to the two year rule and it's not necessary to proceed with the waiver process.

What Interview Officer told us (The IO was extremely nice by the way) was that the above statements from the State Department are not sufficient and that we had to file I 612. Was further told to withdraw the I 485 application, which we did.

QUESTIONS:

1) While was doing the Advisory Opinion/Waiver through the State Department, was told that the State Department will forward their result to USCIS, and USCIS will have to make a decision regarding the two year rule, is this true?

1.A) Is there a databse to check the I 612 status?

2) We got the waiver/not subject statement through the No Objection Route, do we still need to file I 612? If we have to file 612, how do we fill out, seems like the only two options listed on the form are "hardship" and "persecution"? While both hardship and persecution don't really apply to us.

3) Did reseach on this, some sites say that it's not necessary to file the I 612 because we got the State Department's waiver through the no objection route. Is there regulations/writing that can support that?

4) Should we hire a lawayer? or just as suggested by the Interview Officer, to re file I 485 with I 612? We really really are in a financial delimma so will try to avoid the above options if possible.

SO SORRY FOR POORLY CONSTRUCTED THOUGHTS ABOVE, VERY VERY VERY NERVOUS, THIS WILL HAVE A DEVASTATING EFFECT ON US :(!!!

FINALLY, THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH FOR READING THIS, ANY HELP IS GREATLY GREATLY GREALY APPRECIATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

There are a few threads about the 2-year HRR, but from what I can gather, the No-Objection statement is just the first step. I think you still need something from the agency that sponsored the J-1.

I'd search the threads here foe people that have gone through this. VJ member John+noemy comes to mind. If and once you get that, then you'll have to re-file the I-485. Good luck.

[suigeneris 0]

As indicated in the original thread, we got the NO OBJECTION STATEMENT, then sent it to the DoS's Waiver Review Board to get a letter saying that wife is not subject to the rule because she's an AU PAIR and that none of the conditions under 212(e) applies to her, thus again, she's not subject to the rule.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I know... I said, I think, that the NOS is just the first step. Some au pair's are subject to the 2-year HRR. There are more steps you need to do.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/281102-j-1-hrr-waiver-timeline/

[milimelo 4,196]

Moving to AOS from tourist, student, work visa.

[NoLimit 0]

Hi! I am in the same position your wife was. I came as an Au Pair and got Rule 212 (e) stamped into my passport even though none of the basis for it applied to me. Could you let me know how you went about requesting an advisory opinion from DOS (can you share your lawyer's info?) and if the whole adjustment of status was successful? I am extremely stressed out just like you were and truly appreciate any info and advice. THANK YOU!

[maybeifancyu 4]

I was rejected for the same reason. But guess what? I filed an Advisory Opinion, and they found out my visa was misprinted, and I wasn't subject to the 212(e) in the first place! Anyway, after a long wait and a motion to reopen ($$$), I got approved...

[Shuki 4]

I entered on J1 aswell and 2y rules does not apply for me either i`ve checked with 2 lawyers just to be sure but this thread scares me honestly ...

[happyblah 1]

I came on J-1 as Au pair and it says on my visa that 2 year rule does not apply. Today I got approved for green card.

By the way I dont trust lawyers much. Unless you have experienced one and can trust him.

Edited January 10, 2013 by happyblah

[NoLimit 0]

I was rejected for the same reason. But guess what? I filed an Advisory Opinion, and they found out my visa was misprinted, and I wasn't subject to the 212(e) in the first place! Anyway, after a long wait and a motion to reopen ($$$), I got approved...

Hi! Thank you for the reply, my visa is also misprinted with 2-year rule and I need to request an advisory opinion so it will all come down to proving that the au pair agency I used was not sponsored by any government. I sent them an email and they are not too willing to cooperate. They said that when au pairs do not return, it negatively affects their program as well as visa approval rates. Did you have a lawyer request an advisory opinion? If so, could you share his/her info? Any advice on requesting advisory opinion is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Hypnos 6,576]

You do not need a lawyer to request a 212(e) advisory opinion from the State Department, you can just do it yourself: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_5502.html

[maybeifancyu 4]

Here, actually I was in the same boat with you! I contacted the program I came with (not Au Pair but something similar, not supposed to be subject to 212(e)), and they never really replied. I've called many times and e-mail many times, they may be avoiding me.

I agree with Hypnos that you don't NEED a lawyer to help you with the application, but a lawyer may help because they are better at wording things. I have a family friend who is a lawyer help me write the letter, she explained it very well, and I will not be able to write all the reasons she gave out by myself. Her wording may or may not have helped the decision, but I'd rather be safe because you cannot request Advisory Opinion again if it was denied. However, I don't think she accepts any clients because she is a stay-at-home Mom now, and most other lawyers only do it to make money, so they'll probably write a very simple letter - which you may as well do it yourself.

[maybeifancyu 4]

In your letter, make your you state your DS-2019 number, which is a N- number, I think it's also called SEVIS numer.

Also Program Numbers, it may be printed on your DS-2019, and your J-1 visa.

You need to convince them that, you didn't receive any government funding from your home country or the american government. If you received money from your host family, it's private funding, which is ok.

For me, I was able to find a webpage on my program's website, that says it's a privately funded program. It may help if you print out some evidence from their website, or any information you received before you came here.

Be very polite when you write the letter, but make it simple, only state the facts.

Advisory Opinion should be able to determine based on those informations.

On the website says it takes them 4-6 weeks to process the advisory opinion, but it took 8 weeks for me. The decision will be posted online, then sent to you maybe a couple weeks later in mail.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

Get the "No objection statement" for the your wife's embassy and once you get that in the mail that should be enough so I don't know the procedure but then reopen the case somehow (if possible). If not, then apply again for the whole thing. But only after you got the "no objection statement" from your wife's embassy. Good luck!