I've previously shared my complete journey on applying for the 212(e) rule, also known as the 2-year home residency requirement, and obtaining a J1 visa waiver. In case you missed them, you can easily catch up by following these links.
After getting a positive J1 waiver favorable recommendation from the Department of State (DOS), many of us are curious about what to do next. We might have questions about what this "J1 waiver favorable recommendation" really means and what we should do after receiving it.
A J1 waiver favorable recommendation means that the Department of State (DOS) is in favor of granting you the waiver and your case will be sent to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which will ultimately make the final decision on your situation.
You will receive a notification letter from the DOS informing you that your case has been sent to USCIS. This letter will be sent to you by mail. In my own experience, I received this letter quite late – around 2 months after the fact – and I wasn't even anticipating it, as I was unaware of the process.
Related: How to update the address for a J1 waiver?
After your case is transferred to the USCIS, they will send you a notice of action (I-797C) within a few weeks. This notice will include a receipt number for your case and using this receipt number you can check the status of your case on the USCIS website.
It will take USICS a few weeks to months to make final action on your case, for me it was surprisingly fast my status changed to "case was approved" in 2-3 weeks. Once your case is approved the USCIS will send you an I-612, application to waiver form which is also called a waiver approval form.
It is important to know that obtaining a favorable recommendation from the Department of State (DOS) does not guarantee that your waiver application is approved by USCIS. The USCIS will have to approve your waiver request. However, a favorable recommendation can significantly increase your chances of obtaining a waiver from USCIS.
The following table about "INA 212(e) Waiver Recommendations - FY 2021" will give you an idea, of how many people applied for waivers under different categories and what was the refusal rate for fiscal year 2021 (if you can see the table please open this link for a better mobile experience).
Waiver Basis (FY 2021) | Favorable | Unfavorable | Total |
No objection statement | 5,208 | 64 | 5,272 |
Exceptional hardship | 255 | 7 | 262 |
Persecution | 136 | 0 | 136 |
Interested government agency - Physician | 453 | 0 | 453 |
Interested government agency - Others | 54 | 1 | 55 |
State Department of Health | 1136 | 0 | 1136 |
Total | 7242 | 72 | 7314 |
Reference: US Department of State
Now, I get a lot of questions from people asking what will happen to my J2 dependent. Do I need to file separate waivers for them?
Related: How to expedite J1 waiver?
The approval notice that you will get from USCIS will indicate that you or your dependent (J2 visa holder) are granted a waiver by the USCIS. So, you just need one waiver but if your spouse has his/her own J1 visa then they have to go through their own J1 waiver.
Please keep in mind that once subjected are always subjected until you obtain a waiver or full fill the 2-year home residency rule. For example, if you change your visa type from J1 to F1 for studies, you would still need the waiver when you apply for an H1B visa from an F1 visa after your studies.
Happy to help anyone going through the process. Please write your question in the comment section below. Thank you!
Next: J2 EAD
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