brian.hanley

Hi,

I met my fiancee in college, she is here on a J1 visa.

We are now trying to plan the wedding & work through all the associated visa hassles.

She spoke to a staff member at the university's foreign student office, and he told
her that, as a condition of her J-1, she has to go back to her country for a total of
two years.

Can this be true?

She grew up in a former Soviet republic, and we are not enthusiastic about moving there,
even for a couple of years.

Can't we just take a short trip to Canada or Mexico, and apply to have her status adjusted
at the consulate?

Also, if we do get her status adjusted, do we have to wait until that happens before
we get married? Or can we get married first, then go to Canada/Mexico to get the
status adjusted?

We'd like to get married here in the US (we're thinking Hawaii), and are thinking that it
might be best if we got married before leaving for a consulate, just in case she has
trouble getting back in.

Does anyone know what our options are?

Brian

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Alvena Ferreira

> She spoke to a staff member at the university's foreign student office, and he told her
> that, as a condition of her J-1, she has to go back to her country for a total of two
> years. Can this be true?
>
Yep, sad to say, it appears to be true.

> Does anyone know what our options are?
>
Your only option is to file a waiver for the 2-year HRR on the J1...see this page for some
j-1 waiver information, check out the j-1 links on the left menu:
http://www2.apex.net/users/thehydes/touristframes.html

alvena

Rete

Yes some J-1's require that you return to your home country for a two year period. She can
apply for a waiver for this but not sure if that can be applied for before or after the
marriage and not sure if it is always granted.

As for going to Canada and/or Mexico and applying for change of status this is not
possible. In Canada, at least, they do not do direct consular filing.

Check into the waiver process and see what you can find out. Your best alternative is to
talk to an immigration attorney about any possible options.

Rita

> Hi,
>
> I met my fiancee in college, she is here on a J1 visa.
>
> We are now trying to plan the wedding & work through all the associated visa hassles.
>
> She spoke to a staff member at the university's foreign student office, and he told
> her that, as a condition of her J-1, she has to go back to her country for a total of
> two years.
>
> Can this be true?
>
> She grew up in a former Soviet republic, and we are not enthusiastic about moving there,
> even for a couple of years.
>
> Can't we just take a short trip to Canada or Mexico, and apply to have her status
> adjusted at the consulate?
>
> Also, if we do get her status adjusted, do we have to wait until that happens before we
> get married? Or can we get married first, then go to Canada/Mexico to get the status
> adjusted?
>
> We'd like to get married here in the US (we're thinking Hawaii), and are thinking that
> it might be best if we got married before leaving for a consulate, just in case she has
> trouble getting back in.
>
> Does anyone know what our options are?
>
> Brian
>
>
>
>
> ----- Posted via NewsOne.Net: Free (anonymous) Usenet News via the
eb -----
> http://newsone.net/ -- Free reading and anonymous posting to 60,000+
groups
> NewsOne.Net prohibits users from posting spam. If this or other posts made through
> NewsOne.Net violate posting guidelines, email
[email protected]

nadine

My situation is similar to yours, it's just that I am the J1 visa holder...I met my husband(american citizen) in 2001 when I came to USA as an exchange visitor for the summer and we tryed to get a fiancee visa so I can stay longer to get to know eachother better; of course they said I can not apply for one 'couse I am a subject of the 2 year residence requirement. I went back home because my visa was about to expire and I came back in 2002 with the same program I came the first time and we got married here while I was still under the J1 visa. I applyed for a waiver (I went on line at www.bcis.gov and checked the forms link and filed form I-612):I sent it to INS in January after they sent it back and forward for 3 months because they didn't know which office was suppose to take it ...anyway, my case was pending for 8 months and they just started to work on it. They are asking for a lot of paper work from the home country to prove that I don't owe anything there and they needed a "no objection letter" from the romanian embassy to show that they have no objection for me to get out of the J1 status.
After I get a response from them (INS) that I am out of that status I can go ahead and apply for everything else, but you can not apply for anything until you get the waiver...in the mean time it would be safe not to go out of the country at all unless her visa hasn't expired yet.

My advice is to get married in US and then apply for a waiver.

I hope my info are useful...

Good luck!

Nadine

Folinskyinla

Hi Brian:

Your beloved has what us immigration lawyer types call a "dirty" J visa. Unfortunately for you, the 2-year FRR is a bar to immigrating until either fullfilled or waived.

[BTW, on the pedantic side, the term "adjustment" applies only to a change between immigrant and non-immigrant satus while IN the United States. However, the term is often misused, even by immigration attorneys, so all is forgiven].

You don't mention WHY she is subject to the 2 year FRR. It can be government funding, "skills list" or medical training. The waivers available vary depending on the type of FRR she has.

Also, although the waiver is filed with BCIS, it is sent to USIA for approval and can't be approved unless cleared by BOTH agencies. BTW, a BCIS denial can be reviewed by a court for "abuse of discretion" but the courts have held they can't review the USIA negative determination because there are no standards so it is imposible to see if there was an "abuse of discretion" under those non-existent standards.

This is NOT the type of question to be answered on a NG. You should consult with an attorney with at SOME experience in the "J" arena. This is an arcane area even with the arcane area of immigration law. I know that when **I** am consulted, there are two persons I consult with to make sure and they are in upstate NY and Maryland and I'm in California.

You may have to do a consular processing and time it so it takes 2 years from start to finish while she is in her home country.

Good luck.

Eastern European Princess

Could you please provide contact info for those attorneys you
mentioned with j-visa waiver consentration.

Thanks

    > consult with an attorney with at SOME experience in the "J" arena. This
    > is an arcane area even with the arcane area of immigration law. I know
    > that when **I** am consulted, there are two persons I consult with to
    > make sure and they are in upstate NY and Maryland and I'm in California.
    >
    >
    >
    > You may have to do a consular processing and time it so it takes 2 years
    > from start to finish while she is in her home country.
    >
    >
    >
    > Good luck.

Folinskyinla

Bruce Hake and Stephen Yale-Lohrer

roxi

Hi
I happened to read about the problem with the J-1 visa....I kind of had..or should i say have......the same problem...In september 2002 i went to the US for 3 months as an exchange visitor...the program was funded by USAID( so guv. funds i guess). During my stay there i met my future husband, but at that time we decided( actually i decided mostly) that we should be just friends, taking into account that i was supose to come back to my country and be under the 2 years residency requirement. But well, after i came back Mike and I kept talking online...and over the phone, so our relationship just evolved into something deeper without even realise that. And when we realise it, we decided to marry....and we did it last year, at the end of september, in my country...so we are now married for almost 4 months...The problem is that from that moment all the information we got were so confusing...as it was normal i asked at the US Conslate in Bucharest, where i live, if i needed a waiver...and they said yes and gave me a form which was proved to be wrong.....than Mike called BCIS and they said i would need no waiver anymore as my status has changed by being married with an american citizen...I read a lot about this problem and the messages posted here and now i'm even more confused.....we already sent the I-130 and the I-129 f forms and we are waiting for the 1st NOA for I-129.....do u think we hurried with this and i need a waiver after all?
Please somebody help me...cause right now i feel like i'm in the middle of a nervous breakdown

Roxi

Folinskyinla

Hi Roxi:

If you stayed here for 3 months at the end of 2002, you are already half-way through the 2 year period. Quite simply, your problem is going to cure itself in a year's time. I'm willing to be the consulate will be more than willing to cooperate in granting the visa on the first day of eligibility.

majken

Just in addition, she has to be physically present in her country for 2 years to fulfill the requirement. Any time spent outside her country counts against the 2 years.

roxi

Thx for answering so quick..i really apreciated....but i still don't get it...so if i get the 2nd NOA for the I-129 f form like in 2 months...and it gets in Bucharest in april....the US Embassy in Bucharest will still not issue me the K-3 visa because my 2 years of residency expire in november? so the fact that we got married didn't change anything? than why did the guy from INS told us to file the forms?
U would be really kind to explain me all these...and don't get it wrong....i mean i'm not stupid, but i'm not american and sometimes there is that language barrier even if i seem to speak english well.
thx again,
roxi

Folinskyinla

Hi:

OK, this is a confusing area -- it pays to remember that the K-3 is a new beastie and all the kinks and wrinkles have yet to be worked out yet.

Being married to a US citizen does not change a thing on the 2 year FRR.

Absent the waiver, you will NOT get immigrant status until you spend two years in Romania. Given the receipt of USAID funds, you chances of getting the waiver granted are between slim and none -- and closer to none.

The 2 year FRR does NOT prevent issuance of a K-3 visa. However, every day you spend in the US adds a day to your 2 years. Beware of that.

Now rember that you must have either the waiver or have satisfied the 2-year on the date of immigrant visa ISSUANCE. The approved I-130 is PRIOR to that time. The I-864 processing is prior to that time. Remember that the K-3 is valid for THREE YEARS.

So, it would seem that the K-3 is a good idea -- one, it allows visits [at the cost of adding on to the 2 years]. Also, it allows you to come to the US the first day you are no longer subject to the 2 years FRR.

You already have a year in, you need another year in Romania, but at least you are able to get the preliminary stuff out of the way.

Many people on this NG bitch and scream about time-lines. You know what yours is. And you can get ready.

nadine

Hi Roxi,

I had a similar situation and I am also from Romania...I can tell you what I did. I was under J1 visa twice; I met my husband in 2001 when I was in USA for 4 months with a J1 visa, I went back home for a year when my husband(fiance at the time) came to my country for 3 months(to meet my family and get married there), but after tens of phone calls to the Embassy we finaly found somebody that talked to us for about 30 minutes about what's the best we can do so we can be together a.s.a.p. They told him that I needed to file a waiver (I-612) and send it to Washington and all the process will take a long time and we decided that we won't get married in Romania and I signed up for the same program and got another J1 visa and we got married in USA because we didn't want to be appart for so long. After we got married (in the US) I applyed for a waiver(I think you have to get a waiver even if you are married to a US citizen because it says on the pink form (IAP-66) that beeing the spouse of an american citizen does not take you out of the 2 year residence status). I learned that I had to call tens of times and read a lot to find out what I have to do, becaouse most of the peole who answer the phone at the consulate or Embassy don't know what they are talking about. I called the Consulate in US 3 times in the same day and I spoke wiht 3 diffrent people and I got 3 diffrent answers.
After you file the I-612 they will ask for a NO OBJECTION LETTER that you have to get form the Embassy(I think; me beeing here, I had to ask for it from the Consulate...this letter will say that Romania has no objection for you to be taken out of the home residence status)For this letter you will need to send the Embassy a paper from my old job saying that I don't have debts or contracts that I have to honor with them, for the Ministry of Education to prove that I didn't get international scholar-ships, a paper from your school saying that you don't owe then anything (financial, like fees and stuff) and a document form Ministry of Finance saying that you don't owe anything to the Government...I would advice you to get these papers soon...my mistake was that I didn't know I needed them and it was all on hold until I got the specific letter for the Consulate. My waiver took 14 months to be process...I actually just got the waiver last week and now I am preparing to file the I-130, I-485 and all the files that go with them.

I am close to have a nervous brakedown,too. I have been here since June, 2002 and we did everything how our lawyer said and all legal and I have no idea why is taking so long. In this all time I could not work, I could not go to school, I can not get a new passport with my new name until I get the green card( so, I can not leave the country for at least on more year and I haven't seen my family for almost two years...I have never been away from my parents for more than 4 months, so I am soooo homesick)...it's hard but I can not imagine beeing away from my husband while all this paper work is process.

Good luck and if you have any more questions you can write me at [email protected] ...we can corespond if you like too. I miss Romania and I am always willing to make new romanian friends .

Nadine

Folinskyinla

Hi Nadine:

Congratulations on your waiver. There are several species of waivers -- no objection, extreme hardship, and an analogy to asylum. Each is quite different. BTW, "no objection" is not available to pysicians.

You don't say why you are subject to the 2 year FRR. Roxi did give the reason -- government financing -- in fact, from the USAID. Just because the ROMANIAN goverment has no problem, as per the "no objection" letter doesn't mean that the UNITED STATES government will not when it was UNITED STATES money that was spent.

I was focusing on that salient fact. The AILA mavens on J waivers had repeatedly stated that the waiver when there is USAID financiing is next to impossible.

Do note that your waiver DID take 14 months.

nadine

Hi,

I read your story again and I realised that your program was funded by US( I think I missed that the first time I replyed), so our situation are diffrent(my program was not sponsored by any US organization). I am not an expert and I don't know exactly what you should do, but I would think that because your program was funded by US organization your case is diffrent that mine. I only told you my story and if I adviced you on any way, I retry it now. I apologize if I confused you.

It seems you are almost there with your 2 years of home residence. Hang in there and good luck.

Nadine