Waiver Applications for U.S. Government Funded J-1 Program Participants

J-1 participants funded by the U.S. Government must follow the procedures below when seeking a waiver recommendation of the two year home residency requirement from the State Department's WRD (Waiver Review Division), part of the Department's Visa Office in Washington, DC:

  1. Request waiver number at St. Louis facility, including filing of data sheet and fee. If there is an attorney of record at this juncture it is best to file the G-28 (original with original signatures) at this time.
  2. If you are retained later in a waiver matter at any time prior to WRD making its recommendation, it is important that you send an original G-28 to WRD (Visa Office in DC). CIS has informed WRD that if a waiver recommendation is transmitted from WRD to CIS without an original G-28 in the file then no notification is provided to the attorney.
  3. WRD considers all waiver cases in which U.S. Government funding is involved to be particularly difficult in light of the significant foreign relations considerations underlying the U.S. Government funding. In these types of cases, an official decision finding hardship, persecution, or the national interest of a government agency is particularly relevant to balance these foreign relations concerns. When WRD knows that the responsible government agency has reached an official conclusion favoring the J-1 participant, WRD is better positioned to give weight to that position when entertaining the waiver determination. Thus, if U.S. Government funding is involved, your choices for seeking a waiver are typically: hardship to U.S. Citizen family member, persecution if returned home, Interested Government Agency (IGA) request from federal agency, or state health department request as an IGA.
  4. If you seek a WRD waiver recommendation based solely on a No Objection Letter (NOL) from the home country government for a J-1 participant who received US Government funding, understand that WRD, in making its determination, will not have the benefit of another agency's determination of hardship (CIS), persecution (CIS) or national interest (IGA). NOL standing alone is insufficient to counter U.S. Government interest in having U.S. Government funded J-1 participants return home, as noted in the J article published in last Annual Conference materials (2003-2004).
  5. As WRD balances each case on its merits, it is possible that a NOL case could nevertheless be approved if additional evidence is provided explaining the unique facts of the case. Such facts might include evidence on such points as: limits on employment opportunities in home country in the J-1 participant's specialized field, use of U.S.-developed skills in the United States to further purposes underlying U.S. Government funding, views of home government agencies or home country experts, views of home country commissions administering/participating in US Government funded program.
  6. WRD wishes to consider all facts relevant to why the J-1 wants to remain in the United States; however, WRD prefers that all evidence be submitted by the agency transmitting the underlying waiver documentation: if NOL, submit this additional evidence with DS2019s (or old IAP-66s) to the home country Embassy that is transmitting the NOL; if hardship or persecution, submit with hardship or persecution waiver filing to CIS; for IGA, submit to the government agency that is evaluating whether to make an IGA request. If it is not possible to present all relevant evidence at the time of the NOL request at the Embassy (or to CIS or the IGA at the time of filing there), documents should be mailed to WRD, noting the waiver number on all documents.
  7. Upon receipt of the case at WRD, either by CIS hardship or CIS persecution finding, IGA (Interested Government Agency) or state health department recommendation, or by NOL, a request for views is made to the U.S. government agency sponsor. The sponsor is typically given a period of time in which to respond.
  8. Upon receipt of sponsor views, or, if no views are received, the case is then reviewed by the WRD. The review includes a balancing of agency views and general "program, policy, and foreign relations considerations."
  9. A decision is rendered after weighing all factors, and each decision is made on a case-by-case basis.