{"id":1284,"date":"2024-07-12T19:57:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T01:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2026-08-15T23:18:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:18:51","slug":"i-612-j1-hardship-waiver-successful-case-overcoming-the-two-year-home-country-requirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284","title":{"rendered":"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our client, a Fulbright scholar from Norway, faced a significant challenge due to the two-year home country requirement under 212(E). While in the U.S., he met and married his wife, who suffers from anxiety and minor depression. She is employed and attending university in the U.S. If he had to return to Norway to fulfill his two-year requirement, it would have caused considerable hardship for his wife in various aspects of her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upon taking the case, we collaborated closely with our clients to meticulously document the hardships and gather supporting evidence. Our comprehensive approach convinced USCIS of the significant hardship, resulting in a favorable recommendation to the State Department. Both the State Department and the Fulbright program concurred with our assessment and approved the waiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contrary to common belief, it is not necessary to have a U.S. citizen child to obtain a hardship waiver. Although the J1 hardship waiver is notoriously difficult to secure, we have successfully obtained approvals for many clients, including Fulbright scholars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you need assistance with a similar case, please contact us at 305-515-0613 or <a href=\"mailto:info@messersmithlaw.com\" title=\"\">info@messersmithlaw.com<\/a>. We are here to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our client, a Fulbright scholar from Norway, faced a significant challenge due to the two-year home country requirement under 212(E). While in the U.S., he met and married his wife, who suffers from anxiety and minor depression. She is employed and attending university in the U.S. If he had to return to Norway to fulfill &#8230; <a title=\"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284\" aria-label=\"Read more about I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,80,388],"tags":[380,222,387],"class_list":["post-1284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fulbright-waiver","category-hardship-waiver","category-i-612","tag-fulbright-waiver","tag-hardship-waiver","tag-i-612"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement - US Immigration Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement - US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our client, a Fulbright scholar from Norway, faced a significant challenge due to the two-year home country requirement under 212(E). While in the U.S., he met and married his wife, who suffers from anxiety and minor depression. She is employed and attending university in the U.S. If he had to return to Norway to fulfill ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-13T01:57:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-16T05:18:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\"},\"headline\":\"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-13T01:57:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T05:18:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284\"},\"wordCount\":204,\"keywords\":[\"Fulbright Waiver\",\"Hardship Waiver\",\"I-612\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Fulbright Waiver\",\"Hardship Waiver\",\"I-612\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284\",\"name\":\"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement - US Immigration Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-13T01:57:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T05:18:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=1284#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Immigration Blog\",\"description\":\"Provided by The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\",\"name\":\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\",\"description\":\"Peter Messersmith is an attorney located in Orlando, Florida. He has been practicing immigration law since 2002 and has represented thousands of immigrants and US businesses with their immigration needs.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.messersmithlaw.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement - US Immigration Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement - US Immigration Blog","og_description":"Our client, a Fulbright scholar from Norway, faced a significant challenge due to the two-year home country requirement under 212(E). While in the U.S., he met and married his wife, who suffers from anxiety and minor depression. She is employed and attending university in the U.S. If he had to return to Norway to fulfill ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284","og_site_name":"US Immigration Blog","article_published_time":"2024-07-13T01:57:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-16T05:18:51+00:00","author":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284"},"author":{"name":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a"},"headline":"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement","datePublished":"2024-07-13T01:57:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T05:18:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284"},"wordCount":204,"keywords":["Fulbright Waiver","Hardship Waiver","I-612"],"articleSection":["Fulbright Waiver","Hardship Waiver","I-612"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284","name":"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement - US Immigration Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-13T01:57:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T05:18:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=1284#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"I-612 J1 Hardship Waiver Successful Case: Overcoming the Two-Year Home Country Requirement"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/","name":"US Immigration Blog","description":"Provided by The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a","name":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","description":"Peter Messersmith is an attorney located in Orlando, Florida. He has been practicing immigration law since 2002 and has represented thousands of immigrants and US businesses with their immigration needs.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.messersmithlaw.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1427,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions\/1427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}