What is a J1 Waiver?
Many of you coming to the U.S. as postdoctoral researchers like me might have a J1 visa. Depending on who the financial sponsor of the J1 visa program is, a two-year home residency requirement may be imposed. However, if the financial sponsor permits, this requirement can be waived. This is commonly known as a J1 Waiver, officially called the 'Waiver of the Exchange Visitor Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement.'
How to Prepare?
It seems many people prepare the documents for the J1 Waiver themselves. If your situation is complicated for various reasons, I've heard it might be better to prepare with a lawyer. Otherwise, it’s not very difficult to do it on your own. It took me about two days to prepare the documents.
Here are some helpful resources
YouTube Videos:
Blog Posts (in Korean):
These resources offer detailed guidance and personal experiences that can be very useful when preparing your application.
Timeline
Here's my J1 Waiver timeline. Including the start date, it took 125 days in total. It took me about two months from receiving the ‘No Objection Statement’ to getting the ‘Favorable Recommendation Sent’ update. I thought this part would take about a month, but it took longer than expected, making me quite anxious.
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02/07/2024 - Sent documents to the U.S. Department of State and Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago
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02/09/2024 - Documents arrived
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02/11/2024 - Documents delivered to the Korean Embassy
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02/15/2024 - First update:
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03/14/2024 - Updated: No Objection Statement
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05/06/2024 - Notification of Recommendation Sent to USCIS
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Initially notified via email.
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A few days later, confirmed the website update
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06/10/2024 - Received J1 Waiver Approval Letter
In Conclusion...
If you came to the U.S. on a J1 visa, I believe you’ve already succeeded in taking your first step into American society. However, since this is a crucial step for obtaining a work visa like the H1-B or permanent residency, I hope everyone goes through this process smoothly.