Options for J1 Visa Holder After Two Year Requirement Waiver is Denied
My husband came to the United States on a J-1 Visa. His program was funded by the US Department of State, and therefore carried a two year requirement. He is now out of status. We filed an I-612 to waive the two year requirement under the hardship claim, but were denied.
At this point, we are trying to decide whether we should file a Motion to Reconsider, leave the country, or what. We would basically like to know if there are any options we are not realizing exist. If we were to leave, would it be easy to return since I am a US citizen? If my husband left and fulfilled his two year requirement, how difficult or easy would it be for me to file an I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative to Obtain Permanent Residence Status? Thanks for your time!
Re: Two Year Requirement Waiver Denied . What Now
As a US citizen you are free to come and go as you please, you only need to meet the visa requirements of HIS country (provided we're not talking about some place like Cuba or North Korea). If you wait out the two year period, you can start over again with the fiance visa, etc...
Did you have a lawyer on the waiver application? You should have and if not you should be talking to one now. You can't just keep throwing half-cocked applications at the CIS, you usually only get one chance at consideration.
Re: Two Year Requirement Waiver Denied . What Now
Thanks for you response!
From things I have been reading online, I am under the impression that upon leaving the US, my husband visa will be marked noting how long he was here out of status, and he would be given a ban. (Some people say 5 years. Others say 10.) Do you know anything about this? If we are given a ban, then I would have to wait out the duration of the ban before being able to file an I-130, right? Also, after I file an I-130, before he can obtain his next visa for that, he would have to file an I-601 since he overstayed his first visa. Is that correct? Do you know how easy/difficult it is to get an I-601 approved?
We did not have a lawyer on the waiver application. We have been speaking to lawyers now, though. They have all agreed that we filed everything correctly, included good evidence to support our hardship claim, and presented a well-written statement. Most of the lawyers we have seen told us that the problem is that the U.S. Department of State is the one who funded my husband's program. Basically, if the Department of State gives an unfavorable recommendation to USCIS, USCIS will deny the request, even if they fell the hardship claim was properly proved or supported. My husband was a Fulbright student, so we are not able to obtain a Letter of No Objection. At this point, many lawyers have told us that our only options are to live here with him being out of status, or to go back. So now we are just trying to see what going back and then returning would entail.
Thanks, again!
Re: Options for J1 Visa Holder After Two Year Requirement Waiver is Denied
You have had legal advice better than any you could receive from a forum since those attorneys are privy to the complete circumstances of the case. Youi should expect that he will have to live out any ban outside the US. I cannot imagine any employer hiring someone with his credentials who is in the US illegally.