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Newsgroups: alt.visa.us,alt.answers,news.answers
Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!widget!mahesh
From: mahesh@evb.com (B.G. Mahesh)
Subject: FAQ : alt.visa.us J Visa questions and answers (part 4 of 6)
Message-ID: <CnJu5p.108@evb.com>
Followup-To: alt.visa.us
Summary: Frequently Asked questions for alt.visa.us (J Visa)
Keywords: FAQ alt.visa.us J Visa question answers
Reply-To: mahesh@evb.com
Organization: EVB Software Engineering, Inc.
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 21:53:49 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Lines: 145
X-Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed are strictly those of the
poster and not necessarily those of EVB.
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu alt.visa.us:4303 alt.answers:2275 news.answers:17062
Archive-name: us-visa-faq/part4
Last-Modified: Jan 20, 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 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.
--
B.G. Mahesh | Email: mahesh@evb.com
Software Engineer | mahesh@sett.com
EVB Software Engineering, Inc. | FAQ maintainer of alt.visa.us