jasbrit

Hello -

Over the past few months, I've gained some vital information from this website... so before I start my questions... thanks for your help!

Anyway - my history in the USA is as follows:
Entered USA in 1994 as 1-year University Exchange Student on J1 visa
Left USA in June 1995 after 1 academic year.
Graduated from University in UK in 1996, and returned to USA for Grad School in September 1996... on new F1 visa
Completed all graduate studies in late 2002.
Accepted position with US Company who sponsored me on H1B visa.
Applied to change status to H1B and H1B was granted early 2003 - visited Ottawa to get H1B stamp in passport in early 2004.
Married US citizen in 2005 (after 3+ years of dating, known girl 7 years).
Applied for change of status to LPR after wedding in 2005.
Recently attended AOS interview for changing status.

The interview went very well, quite relaxed. The officer was thorough at gathering information regarding shared assests, shared financial commitments etc...
After the interview, the officer stated "everything looks good", "I'm going to advise approval of the application"... but then stated "but I want to do some more research into your application, since you were once issued a J1 exchange student visa, and you have not returned to the UK for 2 years residency since".

I was totally shocked, but just figured it was standard practice.
He then started to ask more questions about my old J1 visa and why I didn't still have the pink (IAP-66) form that was issued with the visa, back in 1994.
His concern was the 2-year rule.

I tried to explain that the 2-year rule didn't apply because of the terms of my exchange program (this had been explained to me on previous occasions when obtaining my F1 visa and H1B visas, but I was unsure of the details).
I also went on to explain to the officer that during my visit to Ottawa to get my H1B stamp, the officer in Canada - who also appeared to be confused about this - had to consult with 2 or 3 other officers before understanding the reasons why I was not required to return to the UK for 2 years. The officer in Canada then tried to explain to me it was something to do with the funding not being provided by the US Governement.
The officer in Canada kept the IAP-66 associated with my old J1. Since I hadn't used my J1 visa since 1994 (10 years) and had since been approved for F1 and then H1B... I didn't think anything of her keeping it, I had no idea I would ever need it again.

Well, at this AOS interview for LPR status - after asking the questions about the J1 visa - the officer asked where my pink form was. I explained that the officer in Canada had kept it.
He said "well, that document contains the information I think we need".
He then asked me "who funded your exchange program"?.
I had no idea... but I know it wasn't me, so I replied "since the course was pre-arranged by my University in England, I assume they paid for it, or my fees were covered by the local authorities in the UK".
He then asked "so, you think your government paid for the course fees"? to which I replied "probably, yes... I don't know who else would have paid for it". He then said "I think if a governemnt pays for your fees, then your are required to spend 2 years residency back in the UK".
Again I tried to explain that I was 100% confident that the 2-year rule didn't apply in my case, but didn't know the reasons why.

It turns out, after doing some research into this - that he could be correct that a 2-year rule applies if the UK government did indeed fund the program. However, I contacted a friend who was on that exhange program with me (10 years ago) and he still had his pink form. I asked him to tell me who funded the program according to the pink form... and it was actually the University in the USA who funded the program (on a scholarship), not the UK local authority. I also asked my friend if the pink form mentioned anything about the 2 year rule. He informed me that a small box in the bottom corner of the form had been checked that stated "was not subject to the 2 year residence requirement".

I am now concerned about my application - since I didn't have this form to show them... they've already taken it from me... and I told them that I thought the UK government funded the program

Was it a mistake that the officer in Canada kept my pink form?
Will this officer be able to get the pink form (IAP-66), or a copy of it from somewhere to see this information?
Or am I concerning myself about nothing?

It just seemed a little strange to me that the interview went well, my wife and I were basically told we'd be approved, and then all this confusion happened about my IAP-66 from over 10 years ago... and I have since been issued with F1 & H1B visas!

Then to (possibly) compound matters, during the interview, the officer removed the latest I-94 from my passport and never returned it to me... is this normal?... it could well be - but now I'm concerned about that also.

The final thing that the officer stated was "if everything is approved, you should receive your green card in the mail in 3-6 weeks. It will be conditional, and you'll have to file to remove the conditions as your 2 years anniversary approaches... but, like I said, I have to do some more checking"

Any thoughts on this?... my wife is getting very concerned since she's a Pharmacist and cannot practice in the UK if we were forced to move back... although I know for a fact that she loves all the other aspects of life in England... other than the expense :-)

Thanks for your time.. sorry for taking so long to explain.

Noorah101

Hi jasbrit,

I can't answer your main question, but I can tell you that it is normal for them to keep your I-94, and it is normal for you to be issued a conditional green card if your marriage is less than 2 years old. Don't worry about those aspects.

Just goes to show that one should always keep copies of anything visa/immigration related, for many years down the road. You never know what issues will arise in the future.

Hopefully they can obtain a copy what they need and approved your green card. Although how long that will take is anyone's guess.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Brit3964

I had the exact same problem as you. I had a J1 issued back in 1996 for a 2 year course. Left at the end in 1998, returned to USA (on another visa) in 1999 and got married later that year.

At the AOS interview, the question of the 2yr HRR came up. I knew I wasn't subject because the box at the bottom was marked "not subject to" but I hadn't bought the IAP-66 form with me! Luckily I still had the form at home and sent it off to the INS office (after making loads of copies of it) the next day when we got back. The guy interviewing us did say if we didn't have the IAP-66 form anymore, the only way out would be through a 601 waiver.

Might be worth contacting the Canadian authorities and see if they keep records still or maybe the US Embassy might still have records of your original J1 visa issue? If all else fails, maybe get your old university in UK to write a letter stating that you were on the same course as your friend and were financed in the same way (with a copy of your friends' IAP-66).

As Noorah101 said, copy everything. At my I-751 interview last year, I discovered my lawyer had lost all my original evidence I'd sent him in 2003. Luckily I had made copies of almost all of it and still had a few bits of original evidence. The copies were accepted at the interview.

MDUdall

You should not have given up your IAP-66, but even if you still had it
that does not necessarily mean that you are not subject to the 2-year
HRR. IAP-66s are sometimes marked incorrectly and I'll bet that form
could easily be modified.

Whether or not you are subject to the 2-year HRR is not contingent on a
piece of paper. It depends on the circumstances and obligations imposed
on you under the program.

Hypertweeky

I was a J1 once and no one ever asked for the pink paper. I had the "not subject to the 2 year rule" printed on my J1 visa.

jasbrit

Thanks for all the comments - I do appreciate them.

My company do have a copy of the IAP-66 (but only a photocopy of the front side). Apparantly, this may not be sufficient. The box "not subject" to the two year residency requirement was checked.

MDUdall - I'm not aware of anybody altering the IAP-66. I confirmed, by checking the IAP-66 copy this afternoon, that the program was funded by a private scholoarship - and not any government organization from the US or UK - which was the concern of the officer at the LPR interview. Hopefully they can get the IAP-66 and confim this

In my opinion - the fact that I had already been approved and issued H1B visas (after reviewing this specific requirement) should be sufficient evidence... but clearly it's not. The USCIS may not trust the decisions they have made in the past?:-).

Hindsight is, indeed, 20:20 - maybe I should have made copies of the IAP-66 (front and back) or not allowed the officer in Ottawa to keep the document... but, honestly, at that time I had no idea I'd be applying for LPR and had no idea I would need it if I decided to apply for LPR. Nobody told me I would ever need his again. The fact remains, that the officer in Canada appears to have made an error by keeping the IAP-66 (according to the officer at the LPR interview, they SHOULD NOT have taken it from me).

Whatever happens, I can't change anything now. For the sake of my wife, I certainly hope that everything sorts itself out, and I receive my green card. If not... that's life, and we may be forced to go back to England and begin our lives there. Let's look on the bright side here... things could be much worse.

The frustrating thing from my aspect is the fact we're pretty much in the hands of USCIS officials, and can't do anything to alter the situation - even though I'm absolutely certain that this shouldn't even be an issue.

Thanks for all the info. Let this be a lesson to anybody in my situation... even if you're an undergraduate exchange student right now... make a whole bunch of copies of ALL your documents - you never know when they're going to be needed (theres a chance that they could be incorrectly taken from you)