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Types of J Waivers Q. What are the bases upon which I can obtain a waiver of the two-year residence requirement? A. There are five statutory bases upon which you can apply for a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement:
1. a no objection statement from your home government,
2. a request from an interested U.S. Government agency on your behalf,
3. a claim that you will be persecuted if you return to your country of residence,
4. a claim of exceptional hardship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or child if you are required to return to your home country, and
5. a request from a state public health department, or its equivalent, on your behalf (only applies to foreign medical graduates who obtained J-1 status for graduate medical training or education).
No Objection Statements Q. How do I request a "no objection" statement and where do I send it? A. You should contact the consular section of your embassy in Washington, D.C., and request a "no objection" statement to be forwarded to the Department of State on your behalf. The Embassy must forward the "no objection" statement directly to the Waiver Review Division at the Department of State. Q. When in the application process should I request a "no objection" statement? A. Once you have your case number. Q. What if I cannot get a "no objection" statement from my home country? A. You may apply for a waiver in any of the remaining statutory bases that applies to your situation. If none of the waiver bases applies to you, you must return home to fulfill the two-year foreign residence requirement.
Q. Can any J-1 exchange visitor apply for a waiver based upon "no objection" from the home country? A. No. Foreign medical graduates sponsored by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) to do their clinical training cannot apply for a waiver based on a "no objection" statement. Q. Why are foreign medical graduates ineligible to apply for a waiver based on a "no objection" statement from their government? A. The law prohibits it. Q. How can I be sure that you have received the "no objection" statement? A. Check on-line the status of your case using your case number. If a no objection statement or other required documents have been received it will be indicated on the system. If the system indicates not yet received, you need to check with your embassy to make sure it sent the statement and allow for appropriate amount of time for mail service. Do not contact the Waiver Review Division directly to check on whether a document has been received, please rely on the status check system available on this website. If there has been an error or you want to clarify a situation regarding your case, please contact the Public Inquiries Division, 202-663-1225. Q. My "no objection" statement application was denied. Can I ask for reconsideration? A. No. Waiver applications are exhaustively considered, and it is the policy of the Waiver Review Division not to reconsider "no objection" statement applications once a final determination has been made. You may, however, reapply using another statutory basis for waiver should another one applies to your situation.
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