No Spam

I've posted in this newsgroup before and some people gave me some good
advice. So, I'll try and give back a little bit.

I'm still fighting the nightmare of the J-1 Visa with a 2 Year Home
Residency Requirement 2YHRR. My fiancee was in the USA in 2002 and
got stuck with that. After many phone calls and emails, we realized
that overstaying the Visa is NOT the way to go. I consulted people on
the internet, talked with Congressional offices, paid immigration
lawyers (the majority of these lawyers are bad in my opinion, and only
a few will go the extra mile for you, or even give you really "expert"
advice). Overstaying, even 1 day could make a bad thing far worse.

She took advice and went home to her country, but it wasn't easy for
her. With all the illegal aliens and other Visa holders overstaying
and saying to her, "don't ever go back, stay illegally" it was hard
for her to get on the plane. However, knowing that she will be back
and back legally (eventually) is some consolation. She argued and
pressed me about "when to marry, let's marry now, let's just do it
NOW" but truelly expert advice says, that marrying will NOT keep one
here, and contrary to what some disreputable immigration lawyers say,
it won't help the legal process. I am under the impression that had I
married her, she would not have gotten on the plane and would have
left us both with an even bigger legal mess to fix. Yes it is very
hard for us to be apart, however since she has admitted it would have
killed her if we were married and seperated, and probably this WAS the
best thing to do for now. At least we can talk and keep in contact,
and get more prepared for marriage to one another.

We've tried everything so far except for finishing the J-1 Waiver
process. That in itself is a lengthy and time consuming process. It's
been over 4 months now and only recently did we receive the paperwork
from her country to continue onto the next (3rd) step. It will take
approximately 6 months to get the next step approved (crossing
fingers) and if we get the "no objection letter" from her country then
we can submit the nightmare papers to the US government. That in
itself seems to be a huge minefield, the instructions are very
detailed as to how everything MUST be perfect, stamped, sealed, the
exact size of paper, and lengthy instructions followed. At any time
the instructions are not carried out to the letter, the application
can be thrown out, and never again allowed to be submitted again. So,
you can bet we'll be going over it dozen's of time to get it perfect.


She, really shouldn't have been subject to the home residency
requirement, however, numerous calls and appeals to the State
Department, including a Lawyers appeal has fallen on deaf ears. The
State Department just sends out form letters denying our request for a
favorable opinion. She, didn't have anything against her except they
claim she is subject because she falls on the skills list for her
country. Which is not true. Her skill is not listed whatsoever, but
they put her in related fields.

My advice to anyone seeking an Advisory Opinion for a J1 is, not to
hold out much hope of receiving a favorable answer. If there is
someone that should have received a favorable answer, my fiancee would
be the one, but unfortionately, the State Department paper pushers
aren't budging. Even when they admit to being wrong about the skill
they "pigeon hole" someone with, they will then try and fit someone
into another skill category, ultimately rejecting them again.

If you are an American citizen in love and wanting to marry someone
from another country, find out FIRST if your fiancee is stuck with a
J-1 visa with a 2 year Home Residency requirement. Realize, you may
have to just hold out for 2 years to get them back. The waiver process
is about the only thing that you can hold out hope for, and that is a
lenghy process. If you are planning on marrying, and they are staying
in the country for a few more months doing the training thing, then
start filing for the Waiver early. Send the paperwork in, paying
PERFECT attention to all the details. Then, if you don't have
everything done, do not let them overstay the visa, finish out the
waiver process while they are back in their country.
Do what you can to save money on lawyers fees... they won't be able to
help you anyway.

Also, your Fiancee can come back on a fiancee visa, but she must be
out of the country for you to apply for that. She cannot be in the
United States when you apply, she must be outside. In addition, you
can't realy apply for that Fiancee visa until her 2 year home
residency requirement is completed. Although I was told you might
submit it a month before it is up. I wish someone on Capitol Hill
would at least change that, to pre-apply for the Visa, allowing
someone to have it in hand early. I wish they would reduce the
requirement down to 12 months, rather than 24 months. It is
rediculous to assume the majority of these J1 visa holders are
actually receiving a lot of skills while they are in this country.
Most of them have ultra low wage jobs, and this 24 month wait is too
long! In my opinion it puts more pressure on these Visa holders to
stay illegally.

Finally, I'm trying to do my Fiancee's taxes for her and I've had a
hard time finding information on how to do this. In particular, I've
looked for information on how to apply the tax treaty with her country
so she can get a deduction on her federal taxes. After much searching
I finally found a web page with some instructions that actually help
(IRS.gov wasn't helpful)

Maybe someone else out there is also trying to fill out their taxes
for foreign friends that were here on a J1 visa and will be helped by
this.


http://taxtopics.net/student.htm

--snip--
If you qualify for a treaty exemption, the following instructions will
help you to complete IRS Form 1040NR-EZ:

Complete Page 2, Item J of the 1040NR-EZ. Write the name of the
country where called for and write a description of the treaty terms
applicable for 2002. For this purpose you may copy the wording from
Table 2 of IRS Pub 515 or 901. For example, if you were from Germany,
you would write "Compensation during study or training up to $5000 per
annum for a period of 4 years. Treaty Article 20(4)." Check the "No"
box where it asks whether you were subject to tax on the amount in
your home country. If you are from Canada, you would have to check the
"Yes" box. If you are claiming a tax treaty exemption for any
scholarship or fellowship grant, then you must include that in Item J.

Take the amount in Item J that you entered as the dollar limit for
wages plus any amount you entered as scholarship income exempt by
treaty and post the lesser of that amount or the amount of wages and
scholarships you actually received on Line 6 of the Form 1040NR-EZ.
Take the amount of earnings in Box 1 of your W-2 statement and
subtract the amount of wages that is exempt by treaty. The exempt
amount will be the same as Line 6 if you did not have any entry in
Item J for scholarships. Enter the result of this subtraction on Line
3 of Form 1040NR-EZ. If the result of the subtraction is a negative
number, then enter a zero on Line 3. Complete the rest of the form to
determine the amount of federal income tax due or to be refunded.

As stated earlier, the State of California is not party to any tax
treaty. Therefore, you are not allowed to exclude any earnings
reported on your W-2. The instructions for completing the California
tax form (540 or 540NR), start with your federal adjusted gross
income. You are going to have to add back any amount you excluded due
to a treaty benefit. This adjustment is accomplished by adding back
the exclusion on either California Schedule CA(540) or CA(540NR).

--snip--
income tax treaty countries:
Australia Austria Barbados Belgium Canada
China Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark
Denmark Egypt Estonia Finland France Germany
Greece Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland
Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Kazakhstan
Korea Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Mexico
Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Norway Pakistan
Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia
Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa Spain
Sweden Switzerland Thailand Trinidad Tunisia Turkey
Ukraine
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
United Kingdom Venezuela

Folinskyinla

Hi:

The "dirty" J's [those subject to the 2YRFRR] are indeed a bitch. In 27 years I've done FOUR of thse applications and I think that makes more experienced than most. I have had about 10 cases where we argued that alien was not subject to 212(e) and I've enjoyed success on that one.

I don't know what your lawyer did or said -- however, I will agree that it is hard to find an expert on this. I am NOT an expert and there are TWO lawyers in the entire United States that I would call or recommend on these waivers.

In regards to your opinion about the FRR being too long, that is up to Congress. The 2 years is in the Immigration & Nationality ACT at 212(e).

As a practical matter, you might want to consider flying over there and getting married and then file your I-130 here. The goal would be to have the immigrant visa issued one day after the 2YRFRR expire..

I don't like being consulted by people with "dirty" J's because I really can't give news they like to hear.

Izabel Zandarin

    > I'm still fighting the nightmare of the J-1 Visa with a 2 Year Home
    > Residency Requirement 2YHRR. My fiancee was in the USA in 2002 and
    > got stuck with that. After many phone calls and emails, we realized
    > that overstaying the Visa is NOT the way to go. I consulted people on
    > the internet, talked with Congressional offices, paid immigration
    > lawyers (the majority of these lawyers are bad in my opinion, and only
    > a few will go the extra mile for you, or even give you really "expert"
    > advice). Overstaying, even 1 day could make a bad thing far worse.
    >

Well thank you for sharing your nightmare.I am also subject to the
2YHRR. I have my own nightmare going on. I left the USA one month
before my J-1 visa expired. I spend in my country only a year. Then I
came back to the USA with as a student holding a F-1 visa. When I
already had 4 1/2 mo in the USA(as a student, not as a trainee) my
fiance(USC) and I got married. I finished my quarter one week after
we got married and both left the USA as my husband got a job offer in
France by his American company. It's been over 2 years since I left
the USA. By the end of this year we'll be moving to Bruxelles as he
got a new promotion.It is great that we don't have to go back to the
US yet.Eventually we will(WILL I?) I'd like to go back to my country
(Venezuela) and pay for the year that I still owe. In fact I am going
back in May for 2 month. My country has just begun(not official)to
suffer a dictatorship. I am afraid of not being able to leave the
country if I go in August(which I am not.That was the plan)There is
going to be a referendum to kick President Chavez out his office(I
keep praying). But He does not want to leave the power with or without
elections.He is Castro's friend and is leading my Venezuela to what
CUBA IS RIGHT NOW. I can't not apply for the "NO OBJECTON LETTER"
thing as I lost the pick copy of the IAP-66. I already talked to the
person in charge of the No Objection letter in the Venezuelan Embassy.
.I don't want to go be in Venezuela by August. Although I know I can
go back and forth and fulfill the 2YHRR by blocks of three months per
year. I am just afraid of being stuck in there. Do I have any hope?
YOU Are so right about the stupid skill list some of us don't do what
we suppose to and we really work our butts off. I worked for a HILTON
HOTEL (HILTON HEAD ISLAND,SC)I bet your fiancee's situation is very
unfair (mad >-{ ) I hope everything runs smoothly for you from now
on. It's very kind of you to share your experience. Very helpful.Bon
courage. Gracias.

IZ

Paulgani

"no spam" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Also, your Fiancee can come back on a fiancee visa, but she must be
    > out of the country for you to apply for that. She cannot be in the
    > United States when you apply, she must be outside.

Not true. You can file the I-129F petition while she is in the U.S. Of
course, for her to receive the VISA, she must be outside the U.S. to do
that!

    > In addition, you
    > can't realy apply for that Fiancee visa until her 2 year home
    > residency requirement is completed. Although I was told you might
    > submit it a month before it is up.

Also not true. You can file the I-129F any time. Now, the VISA itself
cannot be issued until the 2 years is up, but all the other paperwork can be
processed, and indeed the wise thing to do would be to schedule the final
visa interview on the day after 2 years is up!

The 2 year HRR basically makes her "inadmissible" until the 2 years is up.
This is no different than any other inadmissibility. Petitions can be
filed, background checks can be done, and a final interview can be scheduled
as per standard procedure. The only thing that CAN'T be done is the final
visa issuance - that must wait until all inadmissibilities have been either
waivered or expired by time!

Make sure she spends the 2 years in her HOME country. Other countries don't
count towards the 2 years.

Paulgani

Mrtravel

Sorry, I don't agree that it is unfair.
When you get the J1, you agree to the 2 years restriction.

Folinskyinla

Paul:

Not quite true -- I had this come up with a Chinese "J" subject to the 2YRFRR who left the US for Canada and eventually naturalized in Canada. DOS issued an opinion that he had satisfied the requirement since Canada was the country of his nationality.

Paulgani

"Folinskyinla" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > > Make sure she spends the 2 years in her HOME country. Other
    > > countries don't
    > > count towards the 2 years.
    > Not quite true -- I had this come up with a Chinese "J" subject to the
    > 2YRFRR who left the US for Canada and eventually naturalized in Canada.
    > DOS issued an opinion that he had satisfied the requirement since Canada
    > was the country of his nationality.

Interesting. Is this a recent ruling? I remember reading on a lawyer's web
site a few years back about a Chinese "J" who became a Canadian citizen who
was then between a rock and a hard place because she no longer had a right
to reside in China to satisfy the 2 year HRR!

Paulgani

No Spam

mrtravel wrote in message news:...
    > Sorry, I don't agree that it is unfair.
    > When you get the J1, you agree to the 2 years restriction.


I didn't check, but I don't believe I said it is "unfair"... but you
bring up a good point, the visa holders do agree to the 2 year
restriction. Yet, most of them don't know what it is and they are
confronted with it at the tail end of a long process to get a visa.
Of course they will agree to it at the last minute, they have spent a
lot of money, gone through hopes and filed a lot of paperwork, gone to
interviews, not to mention learn English as a 2nd or 3rd language.
They don't want to lose their opportunity.

I think the 2 year restriction is too long, not necessarily "unfair."
I would rather see it dropped to 18 months to even 12 months. I think
all this run around with the waiver process would be done away with if
the 2 year restriction was reduced to 18 or 12 months. Instead,
someone is probably justifying paying a paper pusher to handle J1
Waivers, and breaking the hearts and the wallets of many people
unnecessarily.

No Spam

I'm sorry to hear you have had such difficulty, and it is sad too that
it is dangerous to return to your home country. I do not know if this
will help you, but there is another way to get a Waiver and that is to
claim some sort of War Zone.

This whole J1 visa issue can just be hell in situations like yours.
I'm going to speak with my Congressman about it.

Richard III

paulgani -

As it happens, my wife is subject to a J-1 visa and has about 5 months
left to serve. My I-129F petition was just approved on March 12. The
rub is that it states that it is valid from 3/11/2003 to 7/11/2003.
Her J-1 visa service term won't be up until 8/10/2003. Can I get the
validity date extended 32 days? If so, how? Thanks for your help -

Richard III

On Wed, 19 Mar 2003 13:11:48 -0500, "paulgani"
wrote:

    >"no spam" wrote in message
    >news:[email protected]...
    >> Also, your Fiancee can come back on a fiancee visa, but she must be
    >> out of the country for you to apply for that. She cannot be in the
    >> United States when you apply, she must be outside.
    >Not true. You can file the I-129F petition while she is in the U.S. Of
    >course, for her to receive the VISA, she must be outside the U.S. to do
    >that!

Paulgani

The Consulates have the authority to extend petition validity. They do it
all the time, since background checks, etc... often take a very long time
and are not completed until after the petition has expired.

Just wait until they schedule an appointment date. If it is not after
8/10/2003, then simply call them and ask to reschedule!

Paulgani

"Richard III" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > paulgani -
    > As it happens, my wife is subject to a J-1 visa and has about 5 months
    > left to serve. My I-129F petition was just approved on March 12. The
    > rub is that it states that it is valid from 3/11/2003 to 7/11/2003.
    > Her J-1 visa service term won't be up until 8/10/2003. Can I get the
    > validity date extended 32 days? If so, how? Thanks for your help -
    > Richard III
    > On Wed, 19 Mar 2003 13:11:48 -0500, "paulgani"
    > wrote:
    > >"no spam" wrote in message
    > >news:[email protected]...
    > >> Also, your Fiancee can come back on a fiancee visa, but she must be
    > >> out of the country for you to apply for that. She cannot be in the
    > >> United States when you apply, she must be outside.
    > >
    > >Not true. You can file the I-129F petition while she is in the U.S. Of
    > >course, for her to receive the VISA, she must be outside the U.S. to do
    > >that!
    >