Ellis Porter is a leading immigration law firm that offers comprehensive J-1 Waiver services to clients seeking to obtain a waiver for the two-year foreign residency requirement.
Our experienced attorneys will help you build and petition your case to give you the best chance at winning a wide range of J-1 Waiver cases, including No Objection, Persecution, Hardship, IGA, Conrad 30, HHS, ARC, and DRA waivers.
A no objection J-1 waiver is a waiver that is requested by a J-1 visa holder in order to waive the two-year home residency requirement imposed by the US government. This waiver is granted if the home country of the J-1 visa holder gives a statement saying they have no objection to the waiver.
A J-1 persecution waiver is a waiver requested by a J-1 visa holder who is subject to the two-year home residency requirement but cannot return to their home country due to fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. This waiver allows the J-1 visa holder to remain in the US and not be required to return to their home country to fulfill the two-year residency requirement.
A hardship waiver is a waiver requested by an individual who is unable to meet certain eligibility requirements, such as the two-year home residency requirement for J-1 visa holders, due to exceptional circumstances that would cause extreme hardship if the requirement were enforced. This waiver seeks to relieve the individual from the requirement, allowing them to remain in the US or complete their visa program without having to meet the requirement in question.
An Interested Government Agency (IGA) waiver is a waiver requested by a J-1 visa holder subject to the two-year home residency requirement, in which a US government agency that has an interest in the individual's skills or expertise requests that the requirement be waived. The waiver is granted if the US Department of State determines that the J-1 visa holder's skills and expertise are needed by the IGA for a specific project or program, and if the home country of the J-1 visa holder gives a statement saying they have no objection to the waiver.
Under the Conrad 30 Program, the State Department of Health for each state in the U.S. has the ability to sponsor up to 30 physicians annually for a waiver of the 2 year home residency requirement. In exchange for receiving a J-1 waiver under the Conrad 30 program, a physician must agree to work for 3 years in a medically underserved area.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also has the ability to sponsor J-1 waivers for physicians practicing in a primary care specialty (family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, obstetrics & gynecology) or general psychiatry. The physician must also be working at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Rural Health Clinic or Native American/Alaskan Native tribal medical facility located in a health professional shortage area (HPSA) with a score of 7 or higher. In exchange for receiving a J-1 waiver under the HHS program, a physician must agree to work for 3 years in the medically underserved area.
ARC or DRA Waivers for Physicians refer to waivers available to J-1 visa holding physicians who are required to complete the two-year home residency requirement as a condition of their visa. These waivers are granted based on the physician's agreement to serve for a certain period of time in an underserved area designated by the US government as having a shortage of healthcare providers.
If you have received a Request for Evidence (RFE) from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Our team will work with you to provide the additional information or documentation needed to make a decision on your immigration application.
At Ellis Porter we regularly work with individuals across the globe, including Vietnam, Pakistan, Brazil, Nepal, Russia, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Ethiopia.
