Archive-name: us-visa-faq/part4 Last-Modified: April 18, 1994 Many FAQs, including this one, are available via FTP on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The path for this faq is /pub/usenet/news.answers/us-visa-faq/part4. To get the FAQ by E-mail, you should send a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with send usenet/news.answers/us-visa-faq/part4 in the body of the message. Please see part1 of this faq for standard disclaimers. Questions marked with a + indicate questions new to this issue; those with significant changes of content since the last issue are marked by *: J Visa ------ [from Henning Schulzrinne, hgs@research.att.com] Note that not all J1 visa holders are subject to the two-year home residency (HRR) requirement. Examine your IAP-66 form (bottom left corner) and the visa stamp in your passport. You are generally subject to the HRR if you at any time accepted money from either your home government or (particularly) the US government or if you are on a special skills list (medical doctors in particular). The home residency requirement aims to protect the home government and the goals of the exchange agreement. If you changed schools, funding agencies, etc., you may have a checkmark that the requirement does not apply on your current visa stamp or IAP-66. However, "once subject to the HRR, always subject", i.e., thus, this does not help. Q: On what grounds can I get a waiver? A: 1) national interest: a government agency (NASA, NSA, CIA, ...) declares an interest in you and petitions the USIA to waive the HRR. Does not appear a good avenue unless you work for that agency or do security-related work. 2) extreme hardship to self or citizen spouse: Seems to imply that you or your spouse are on their deathbeds, with treatment only available in the United States. Mere career inconvenience to spouse, even if U.S. citizen, does not seem to matter. (After all, the spouse should have known about this before getting married...) 3) political persecution; residents of European countries might not want to pursue this. Residents of the PRC have a blanket waiver (Pelosi bill?). 4) NORI/no-objection: the home government issues a statement of no-objection; seems to be the common and successful approach for Indian citizens. Q: Does marriage to a US citizen help? A: No. If the US citizen was dumb enough to marry a J1 visa holder, her/his problem. (see 'extreme hardship' for unlikely exception). Next, please. Q: Who makes the waiver decision? A: USIA recommends to INS, which generally accepts recommendation, particularly negative ones. Q: What is USIA's address? [from Michael Galperin, MYGALP01@ulkyvm.louisville.edu] A: YOU DON'T WRITE TO USIA. It is done either by your embassy or by interested US agency (NIH, DHHS, DOE etc). Anyway, the address is (courtesy of our International Center): US Information Agency Office of the General Counsel Waiver Review Office Washington DC 20547 Phone (202)-475-2385 Q: What's a NORI? A: "No obligation to return"; also known as a "no-objection" statement. Issued by the home government, usually through their consulate. Issued routinely by most European countries, but may not help a lot (see next question). Q: If I get a NORI, will I get a waiver? A: No. The NORI is a necessary condition (for this particular form of waiver), but not sufficient. Generally, the determination is up to the USIA. Fulbright students can generally forget a waiver unless they fall below the threshold (see next question). Q: Is there a threshold of money received below which a waiver is automatically granted? A: No, but if you received less than $2000, you at least have a chance. Fulbright grantees' applications have been known to be rejected even with grants below that, on the argument that the program itself, beyond monies expended on behalf of an individual, push each individual above that limit. Above that limit, you can only hope to be from the PRC, or use the other avenues described above. Q: Can I pay back the money I got and get out of the HRR? A: No. In this respect, Fulbright grants differ from all other college grants, which, if you don't live up to your end of the bargain, at worst forfeit the loan waiver. Q: Can I visit the United States while serving my two-year sentence? A: Yes, but the time is (supposedly) subtracted from your residence time. Vacation in a third country is o.k. Q: Do I have to return to my home country? A: Yes. More precisely: country of citizenship or last residence prior to entering the United States. Q: Can I reside in my home country and work in another country? A: Currently not. Apparently, there are rumblings about making residency and work in any of the European Community countries equivalent, but that has not happened. Q: Can I work for a company of my home country in another country? A: Good question. Don't know. Q: Does writing to your congress person help? A: No, you just get a longer letter of denial. Q: What do I need to show after the two years to prove that I resided and worked in my home country? A: Good question. Anybody know? Q: Can I apply for H-1B, permanent residency, etc. while serving the HRR? A: Yes. The visum will be issued the day your two years are up. This is particularly advisable for those who can get visas without labor certification (family preference). You can apply at the US consulate in your home country. Q: How do I go about applying for a waiver? Do I have to work for the sponsoring agency? A: [From Isidore Rigoutsos, rigoutso@watson.ibm.com] It is *not* true that you have to work for the sponsoring agency. Of course, if you do work for them it helps. More specifically, the following can happen: one works for a certain company doing research or other work that will lead into the development of a product or of a technology that will give the US a market edge or a technological edge. Clearly, any such claim will have to be backed up by company statements, descriptions, recommendation letters etc. Then, an alternative route is through the Department of Commerce. The latter will examine the case and decide whether they want to apply for a waiver on your behalf with USIA. Actually, that was my case; I am currently in the period where USIA has recommended the waiver to INS but the latter have not yet decided. In case you are wondering about the type of my research, I do work on computational/molecular biology and pattern matching. Two more alternatives that I know of are waiver applications sponsored by the Department of Health (for those that are in health science fields), and by the Department of Defense. Q: How long does the whole process take? A: [From Isidore Rigoutsos, rigoutso@watson.ibm.com] The period between the day you file with the Department of Commerce and the day USIA makes a decision is in the order of 4 months. To this one should add an overhead of 3 months or so during which period one is preparing the application package: supporting documents, recommendation letters, etc. Q: Do I need to hire a lawyer to apply for a waiver? A: [From Isidore Rigoutsos, rigoutso@watson.ibm.com] Probably not a good idea given that the necessary overhead (paperwork) is probably more than one can handle. Q: How often can I apply for a waiver? A: Every six months. Q: Does a J1 have any advantages? A: Yes. You get 36 months of practical training (instead of 12 months for an F1). Also, your spouse may work on a J2 visa during your stay after getting permission from INS. Q: When can an interested U.S. Govt. agency sponsor me for a waiver of the HRR? A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, RANGASWAMY@zircon.plh.af.mil] You need to work directly for the interested Government agency or work for them through a contractor. Q: Can an interested U.S. Government agency sponsor me for a waiver if I work for a private company? A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, RANGASWAMY@zircon.plh.af.mil] Certainly. Your company needs to demonstrate that by hiring you, the USA gets a technological or market edge. Relevant documents should be submitted to the Dept. of Commerce which will then make a decision to sponsor you or not. Q: If an interested U.S. Govt. agency sponsors me, will I get a waiver? A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, RANGASWAMY@zircon.plh.af.mil] I am not aware of anyone who has been refused an IGA (Interested Govt. Agency) waiver. Q: How long does it take for me to obtain the waiver once I submit my papers to the interested Govt. agency? A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, RANGASWAMY@zircon.plh.af.mil] Approximately 4-6 months (There is no standard time frame though). Q: What is the procedure followed in an IGA waiver? A: [From Muralidhar Rangaswamy, RANGASWAMY@zircon.plh.af.mil] You first submit the necessary forms and supporting documents to the interested U.S. Government agency. If they decide to sponsor you for a waiver, they send their recommendation to the USIA directly and advise you of their action. The USIA sends you a `Data Sheet' which you need to complete for their review. The USIA then makes a recommendation to the INS to grant the waiver or otherwise. -- B.G. Mahesh | Email: mahesh@evb.com Software Engineer | mahesh@sett.com EVB Software Engineering, Inc. | FAQ maintainer of alt.visa.us -----cut here-----