Tag Archives: J1 visa waiver status

The U.S Department of State announced major changes to the Visa interview waiver policy in 2024. If you plan to study or work in the U.S or just visit, you need to hear this.

In this guide, you will learn what the announcement means and how it may affect you. This informative guide simplifies the recent changes to the 2024 Visa Interview Waiver Program, a crucial update for those looking to study, work, or reside in the USA.

This guide breaks down the new eligibility criteria, the application process, and what these changes mean for applicants. Whether renewing your visa or applying for the first time under this program, this comprehensive guide simplifies the process, ensuring you’re fully informed and prepared.

USA Visa Interview Waiver Policy Updates for 2024

After consulting the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State has determined that select categories of interview waivers are in the national interest. The policy applies to U.S non-immigrant visas.

These are visas issued to temporary visitors to the USA. The most common non-immigrant visas are:

• B1 and V2 visas for business, visitors, and tourists,
• F and M visas for students, and
• H visas for various workers.

There are many non-immigrant categories, but it won’t be listed to keep this guide short. Remember, the policy applies to all non-immigrant categories, unless noted.

Let’s review the rules quickly and break them down for different visa categories.

The changes are implemented by the consular officers, who now have the authority and discretion to waive the in-person interview. This means that the visa officers are deciding whether to waive your visa interview based on the guidelines we’re about to review.

However, the key takeaway is that they can still request an applicant who meets the visa waiver category to come in for an in-person interview.

• Criteria 1: Apply in your country of nationality or residence.

This means you’re applying in your country of citizenship or where you currently reside. For example, someone could be a citizen of India but work and live in Frankfurt, Germany. They can apply in India or Germany to qualify.

• Criteria 2: You’ve never been refused a visa unless such refusal was overcome or waived.

This means you’ve never been refused a visa or were initially rejected, but then approved later. For example, someone may have been denied on their first attempt, but have got their visa on their second attempt.

• Criteria 3: You have no apparent or potential eligibility.

This sounds vague, but what it really means is you don’t fall into select categories for which the U.S government doesn’t issue visas. These include individuals who may have criminal charges and may be a security risk or have violated immigration policies previously amongst others. This doesn’t apply to most cases.

On top of these three criteria, there are additional ones. Let’s review those in detail.

Remaining Criteria

• H-2 visa applicants.

You’re eligible for a visa waiver as long as you meet the first three criteria. For all other non-immigrant visa applicants, you must meet two additional criteria. They are:

You must have any U.S non-immigrant visa except a B visa. For example, you’ll qualify if you’re applying for an H-1B and have an F visa.

On the other hand, if you just have a B visa, you won’t qualify. For example, if you’re applying for an F1 visa and have a previous B1/B2 visa, you won’t be eligible for the interview waiver.

There is one slight nuance to it. Your last non-immigrant visa should be current or have expired no more than four years ago. This can get confusing, let’s take a look at three scenarios:

• If your last non-immigrant visa is active or has expired in 2021 or later, great news, you qualify.
• If your last non-immigrant visa has expired in 2019 or before, you don’t qualify.
• If your last non-immigrant visa expired in 2020, your expiration date should be after your potential visa appointment date.

For example, if your potential visa appointment date is on July first, 2024, your previous visa should not have expired before July first, 2020.

This cut-off date can get tricky, so if you fall into this category, you should put in your application immediately to improve your chances of qualifying for the interview waiver.

Also, it’s important to remember that the visa officers can still require you to come in. Finally, the US government can change this policy at any time. It’s likely to stick through the end of 2024.

That wraps up about the updates on the U.S visa interview waiver policy changes for 2024.

Some frequently asked questions about Visa Interview Waiver Policy Updates for 2024 and answers.

Question: Do you know if L1B (blanket petition) is also eligible for visa interview waiver in 2024?

Answer: It is a non-immigrant visa, so as long as applicants meet the criteria, they should qualify for an interview waiver.

Question: Is 352 days ban news true for refused f1 candidates?

Answer: This news is not official, check official website.

Disclaimer: This site is not owned by any U.S Government Agency or an Immigration attorney. The contents in the site is for informational purpose only, collected from various public domains. You may need to contact an Immigration Attorney for your specific immigration needs.

I hope this guide has been helpful to you. Thanks.

This guide is going to talk about Spring 2023 Visa updates. In this guide, you will learn all that you need to do to get your U.S (F1, J1) student visa approved for your Spring 2023 term.

Many have deferred their program to the spring term. There are some who have their Visa rejected, as a result, your program was deferred. Some people have just gotten admission and have not gotten a date, they had to reschedule or defend their program to the spring term.

How to get your U.S Student visa approved in the spring 2023 term

1. Get A New I-20.

The first thing you need to do if you’re going for Spring 2023 is to get an updated I-20. If you have gone for a Visa interview recently and you have been refused and as a result you defend your program to Spring, you will need a new I-20.

If you just got admission or admitted into a school that is starting in the Spring, you will also need a new I-20.

Also, if you didn’t get a visa date for the fourth term and you have deferred to Spring 2023, you also need a new I-20. So no matter your situation, you need a new I 20.

Those that have gotten their visas, you need to get a new I-20. You don’t need a new visa because you already have a visa approved. You can enter U.S with your already approved visa, but you will have to update your I-20.

How to get a new I-20

Your school will have to issue you a new I-20 that comes with a new start date that will reflect the Spring 2023 term.

If you don’t do this, if you go for the visa interview, you’ll be rejected. If you don’t do this, if you come to the U.S at the port of entry, you will be denied entry because your I-20 will be outdated bearing the false start date.

Make sure you check with your school to get an updated I-20.

2. Update Your DS-160 Form

The next thing you need to do is to update your DS-160 form.

If you applied for a visa for full time and you didn’t get a visa date, so you have to defer. What it means is that, if you have your old DS-160 form, that old DS-160 form have some information that might be outdated.

For example, expected date of travel, when are you expecting to travel, and when are you expecting to complete your program?

Because you are getting a new I-20 form, which means that those dates will also be new. It is important to update this information on your DS-160. If you don’t do that, that may go against you.

If you have already submitted a DS-160 form, it means that you must fill a new one. Make sure to fill a new DS-160 form and also make sure that you will use the new DS-160 form code to update your profile on your profile.

After you have done that, print a new appointment confirmation. This is very, very important. If you don’t do that, you will have your old DS-160 form on your profile. You may be denied entry at the gate for the interview because your DS-160 form will have a different code and your appointment date will also have a different code. Make sure you correct that.

3. Get Visa Appointment Date.

The next thing you have to do is to make sure that you get a visa appointment date. Many people have dates that are beyond their program started, the embassy has begun opening some dates for people who are coming for the Spring 2023 term. Make sure to regularly check your profile to get a date.

You may also want to consider requesting for emergency appointments if you have not already done so. There are some laws, rules and regulations concerning when and how and what to do and what to use to apply for emergency appointments.

Those are the three things you need to do. After you have done all these three things, the next important thing is to prepare for your interview, and this is the most important aspect of the whole process.

A lot of people rush into the interview and they go and get denied. Getting a US visa approved always comes with a strategy. You must always have a strategy as to what is the best story for your situation. What is the best story that you can tell to convince the consular?

It is not about what you have, it is about convincing the consular. This is where preparation is key. Read this guide below, it will really help you pass your visa interview and get your U.S visa approved.

Read: 5 Things You Must Do In The Interview Room To Get Your U.S Visa Approved

Tip: As you are prepared for your Spring 2023 interview, the most important thing you have to deal with is finances. Many students who have funded or who have good source of funding have a high chance of getting their business approved.

You must prove that indeed you have the funds to support yourself. Make sure that you are well clear about the sources of funding. Why is this person sponsoring you? What is the purpose? How are you connected to the person? How are you related and what is even the reason at all for the person to spend so much to sponsor you?

If you are on scholarship, that is fine.

Tip: How to answer the three visa important question

• Why did you choose this school/university?
• Who is funding you?
• What are your plans after school?

These are the updates on how to get your U.S Student Visa approved in the spring 2023 term.

In this article, you will learn about the travel signature on the form I-20 and DS-2019 given to F1 visa and J1 visa international students, respectively and what you can do if you travel outside the US with an expired travel signature.

It’s very important to pay attention to your travel signature when making plans to depart the United States. Make sure you read this article to the end as you are going to learn what you can do if you realize too late that your travel signature has expired.

Form I-20 Travel Signature

The travel signature is an endorsement provided by your Designated School Official (DSO) or Responsible Officer (RO) or your school’s International Student office to international students and given to continuing international students on an F1 or J-1 visa status respectively.

This endorsement can be found on page two or three on the Form I-20 for F1 Visa student and on page one of the DS-2019 for J-1 Visa students.

New international students on an F1 or J1 visa entering the US for the first time do not get a travel signature on their initial Form I-20 or from DS-2019.

But after entering the US and enrolling in a program of study as an active F1 or J1 student, a new I-20 or DS-2019 for continued attendance will be given. This new I-20 would contain a travel signature.

The purpose of this travel signature is to serve as a permission to seek entry back into the US when an international student travels outside the United States.

Nonetheless, the travel signature is not a required documents to depart the United States as an international student.

How Long is Travel Signature Valid?

Depending on your academic status, the validity of your travel signature could be for either 6 months or 12 months.

For example, F1 and J-1 students completing their program receive a travel signature that is valid for about 12 months or until the end of their program completion date whichever is sooner, while F1 and J1 students who have completed their programs and are engaged in F1 OPT, F1 STEM OPT, and J1 Academic Training receive travel signatures valid for 6 months or until the end of the respective training period whichever is sooner.

So making travel plans outside of the US, you should ALWAYS ensure that the travel signature on your I-20 or DS-2019 will be valid on the day you plan to return to the United States.

Otherwise, you should obtain a new travel signature from your Designated school official (F1 students) or your representative official (for J1 students) prior to your departure from the US.

What to do if you forgot to get I-20 travel signature and traveled outside the US?

A quite common scenario F1 and J-1 international students find themselves in is forgetting to obtain a travel signature before traveling outside of the US. So what can you do if you realize that you departed the US with an expired travel signature?

If you find yourself in this predicament, you’ve two options to consider:

Your first option will be to contact your school’s International Student office and request that a new I-20 or DS-2019 with an updated travel signature be mailed to your international address.

Now this would only make sense if you have enough time to receive your updated travel signature before embarking on your return trip to the US. If this is not the case, then you might want to consider delaying your return trip to the US until you’ve received your updated travel signature.

As at the time of posting this article, due to the ongoing pandemic F1 International students do not need to have an originally signed from I-20 in order to enter the US as they can do so with an electronically signed from I-20, but this is subject to change at any time now.

Option number two is quite risky, as you may be denied entry into the US, but you could proceed to travel to the US and seek entry with this expired travel signature.

In some instances, this may be your only option, as is the case with some international students who find out at the Port of entry that their travel signature was expired before their departure from the US.

Now with this option, if a US Customs officer admits you into the US, you’ll be given a form called the I515A. This form is a notice that requires you to correct the entry deficiencies determined upon your arrival to the US within 30 days of your entry.

For F1 and J1 international students entering the US with an expired travel signature, you will be required to obtain a valid travel signature on your I-20 or DS-2019 respectively and send that to the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) as well as all other documents listed on your Form I515A.

If you have been given an I515A, it’s best to contact your international office as soon as possible to receive proper guidance.

Now, as you can see to avoid all these unnecessary headaches, it’s best to make it a habit to check your travel signature in advance of your travel outside of the US.

Some Questions and Answers

Question: I got visa interview before two years, but it got rejected. So now I am planning to reapply, this time I need the new signature on my F2 I-20?

Answer: No you don’t need travel signature to apply for your initial F1 or F2 visa. Travel signature is given by the DSO after you enroll in your academic program in the US.

Question: What if you’re still studying with a valid student visa, and u need to travel to Canada for 2 weeks and come back. What are the procedures?

Answer: The same as traveling to any other country. You will have to meet the travel requirements to enter Canada. Now, for a special case where your US student visa is expired, you can use what is called Automatic Visa Revalidation to reenter the US after visiting Canada for 2 weeks.

Question: If my English 6 month program finish and I want to go to another school, I have to go back in my country or with the same visa F1 I can enroll to any school program?

Answer: You can transfer to the new program without leaving the USA, as long as you get an I20 from the new school program. Your US visa is only important when you try to enter the US. After you enter the US, the conditions of your US status will determine how long you are allowed to remain in the US.

I hope you found this article as a helpful resource.

DISCLAIMER: This article/post and content is designed for general information only and is NOT legal advice. I am not a licensed attorney and so the information presented in this post should not be construed to be formal legal advice. If you need legal advice, you may contact a licensed attorney.

There are many J1 nonimmigrants in the US who might want to change their status to an H-1B status or into a green card status after completing their J1 program. But these nonimmigrants are unable to do so because they have to satisfy a two year home resident requirement after the completion of your J1 program. J1 visa waiver status.

In this article you’re going to learn how to go about obtaining a J1 Visa waiver that allows you to change your status into an H-1B status or into a green card status if you happen to be a J1 visa holder with a two year home residency requirement.

What is a J1 visa waiver?

The J1 Visa waiver is a document issued by the US Department of Homeland Security, specifically by USCIS and this waiver removed the requirements that certain J1 nonimmigrants have that requires them to return to their home country for a minimum of two years after the completion of the J1 program.

J1 visa waiver status

If you happen to be a J1 on immigrant who has this waiver when you came into the United States, you would have to receive this waiver if you want to change your nonimmigrant status into an H-1B or permanent residency status. Once you’ve completed your J-1 visa waiver status application, it’s easy to check on the official status.

So if you’re J1 on immigrants, you might be wondering, how do I know if I’m subject to the two year home residency requirement? Now, whether you’re subject to this two year home residency requirement will depend on the conditions for which a J1 Visa program was granted by a program sponsor.

The typical cases when you might be subject to this two year home residency requirement is when your J1 Visa program is government funded either by your home country or by the United States, or if you happen to be participating in a medical training based J1 visa program, or if your J1 Visa program involves some type of specialized knowledge that is needed for the development of your home country.

Now, this two year home residency requirement is accurately described on page two of your form DS 2019. And that’s why it’s very important that before you sign your DS 2019 to seek a J1 visa into the US, you should have read and understood the implications of the home residency requirement.

Eligibility criteria to apply for a J1 Waiver

So let’s say you are subject to this home residency requirement, and you want to learn what makes you eligible to get a J1 Visa waiver, checkout these five different ways you can be eligible to receive a J1 Visa waiver.

These are the 5 eligibility criteria for you to apply for a J1 Waiver:

• The first criteria that could make you eligible to receive a J1 Visa waiver is if you can show that your departure from the US would cause an exceptional hardship to your US citizen spouse or your US legal permanent resident spouse and children. For you to meet this criteria, you would have to go beyond the simple fact that a physical separation between you and your family is a cause for exceptional hardship.
• The second criteria you could meet to qualify for J1 Visa waiver is if you can show that by returning to your home country, you’re going to face severe persecution due to your religious and political beliefs.
• The third criteria for J1 Visa waiver is when there’s a US federal agency that employs you that deems your work necessary and of national interest to the US.
• The fourth criteria for J1 Visa waiver happens to be for medical professionals who work for US State health Agency in an area of the US that’s underserved.
• The last but not the least criteria for J1 Visa waiver is when you can receive what’s called a no objection statements from your home country, simply saying that they have no objection against you remaining in the US after the completion of your J-1 program.

How to get/apply for J1 Visa Waiver

So now let’s discuss how to apply for J1 Visa Waiver. So once you determine that you qualify for any one of the five qualifying basis for a J1 Visa waiver, it could begin your J1 Visa Waiver application.

Now you have to understand that the application process for J1 Visa waiver could take several months and includes a lot of different agencies and third parties. And that’s why it’s highly recommend that when applying for J1 Visa waiver, you should seek the Council of a licensed and experienced immigration attorney.

Disclaimer: The content of this post/article should not be taken as personalized legal advice. I am not an immigration attorney. If you require personalized legal advice, I highly recommend that you seek the counseling of a licensed immigration attorney.

So with that out of the way, these are the general steps that you can take to apply for J1 Visa Waiver.

• First step would be to complete the online J1 Visa Waiver recommendation application, also called the form DS 3035, you can find link for the form at the US Department of State website where you can complete this online J1 Visa Waiver application.

You must understand that a completed online from DS 3035 is the only acceptable format of this application by the US Department of State.

When completing the form DS 3035, you’re going to be providing information such as:

• Your biographical information
• The basis for which you are applying for J1 Waiver
• A statement of reasons explaining why you want to remain in the US
• A current address or contact information, and your most recent US address.
• You’re also going to provide information about any attorneys or legal representatives who are assisting you with a J1 visa with the process.
• If you happen to have any J2 dependent. You’re going to provide the biographical information of each of your J-2 dependents and also provide information about your J1 Visa Waiver and your J1 Exchange program.

While the form DS 3035 can be completed online, it cannot be submitted electronically and that’s why after completing your DS 3035, you would have to print out a completed form and mail this to the US Department of State.

Now, once you’ve completed the online form DS 3035, a seven digit case number and a barcoded PDF document will be generated containing your J1 Visa Waiver application. Now, this PDF will also include a checklist that explains how your application should be organized and what next steps you have to take in order to mail your application.

The exact locations we are going to be mailing your form DS 335 will depend on the basis for which you are applying for J1 Visa Waiver.

• The next step would be to mill in your completed DS 3035 and include an application fee.

You can find more details about the cost of the form DS 3035 application fee at the US Department of State website that contains any updated application fees for your form DS 3035.

Some of the documents that you’re going to include in the mail with your form DS 3035 applications are:

• Copies of all Forms DS-2019 that you’ve received
• Copies of your Passport biographical page and those of your J2 Dependents (If any)
• Two self-address and stamped envelopes and any additional pages
• You might need to provide more information on your form DS-3035.

After mailing your application,

• the third step in the application process is to provide the supporting documents that prove your eligibility for a J1 Visa Waiver to the US Department of State.

So, for example, if you’re applying for J1 Visa Waiver under the criteria of a no objection statement, then your home country would have to send directly the no objection statement to the US Department of State.

Now it is your responsibility to ensure that the supporting documents are received by the US Department of State from each of the respective agencies who are supporting your J1 Visa Waiver application.

Now, if you want to learn more about the different supporting documents to provide for a J1 Visa waiver, you can checkout this complete guide on how to apply for the J1 Visa Waiver.

• The next step in the process would be to check the status of your J1 Visa Waiver application.

In order to check the status of your J1 Visa Waiver application, you would need your seven digit case number that was generated when you completed your phone DS 3035.

When checking the status of your J1 Visa Waiver application on the US Department of State website, this website will explain if there are any documents that have been requested and any documents that have been received from you.

Now it’s best to allow approximately one month after submitting your J1 Visa Waiver application before you go about checking the status of your J1 Visa Waiver application.

So common question you might have as a J1 Visa Waiver applicant is, how long does it take to get a response on your J1 Visa Waiver application?

This depends on the basis for which you’ve applied for a J1 Visa Waiver, and if you’ve applied under the condition of exceptional hardship to a US spouse or US Green Card spouse and children, this could take anywhere between 16 to 24 weeks. Now, you should note that under certain circumstances it is possible to request an expedited processing of your J1 Visa Waiver application.

This tends to be possible if there is a significant need of your services by a US government agency or if there happens to be an urgent humanitarian need that requires you to be in the US.

You should be understand that the condition for which your J1 visa waiver would be approved is based on the ultimate decision of the United States citizenship and immigration services, USCIS.

Although your J1 visa waiver application is initially reviewed by the U.S department of state. All the U.S department of state could do is to provide a recommendation to USCIS but USCIS has the final say on either rejecting or granting you a J1 visa waiver.

DISCLAIMER: This blog post is written for general information only and is NOT legal advice. The information presented in this article and anywhere else on this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice. If you need legal advice, you may contact a licensed attorney.