In this situation, the applicant’s J-1 waiver does not cover her period in J-2 status. 9 FAM 41.62 states that if an alien is subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement, the spouse and child of that alien are also subject to that requirement. Thus, the individual you have described would need a separate waiver to cover the time that she spent in J-2 status that subjected her to the two-year home residency requirement.Two separate DS-3035 applications would therefore be required in this circumstance.

The exceptional hardship waiver is a three-step process. The applicant must first submit an I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement, directly to USCIS. If USCIS determines that there is a possibility that the applicant’s U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident spouse or child may experience hardship if the applicant returns to the home country to fulfill the two-year home residence requirement, USCIS forwards the application to the State Department for a waiver recommendation.

A waiver applicant who has a pending waiver application in the State Department’s Waiver Review Division (WRD) should send an email to WRD via FMJvisas@state.gov to request withdrawal of a pending case. WRD updates the applicant’s case file and posts the withdrawal request on its online status checking system on http://travel.state.gov.

There is no grace period when you are laid off. You will be out of status from the date your current employment ends. It is advisable to apply for a change of status to, for example, B1/B2, F-1, or H-4.

You may be able to apply for a Green Card if you meet the requirements of EB-1 (Aliens with Extraordinary Ability) based upon a job offer, or if a family-based possibility exists.

A petition to extend your H-1B can be submitted for receipt by USCIS no sooner than six months prior to the expiration of your current H-1B, so you could begin the process at any time now.

Every petition for a nonimmigrant religious worker (R-1) classification must be initiated by a prospective or existing employer.

Methodology can change within a survey among different occupations, so it is necessary for DOL to receive full survey methodology with each prevailing wage request, even for a commonly used alternate wage survey.

You must submit evidence of the beneficiary’s educational degree at the time of filing. If all of the requirements for the degree have been met, but the degree has not yet been awarded, the following alternate evidence may be submitted: (1) A copy of the beneficiary’s final transcript; or (2) A letter from the Registrar confirming that all of the degree requirements have been met (if the educational institution does not have a Registrar, such letter must be signed by the person in charge of the educational records where the degree will be awarded).

An extension of an R-1 status may be granted for up to an additional 30 months. The total stay in the United States in an R-1 status cannot exceed 60 months (5 years).