{"id":572,"date":"2012-08-22T19:51:14","date_gmt":"2012-08-23T01:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=572"},"modified":"2012-08-22T19:51:14","modified_gmt":"2012-08-23T01:51:14","slug":"funding-repayment-in-lieu-of-j1-waiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=572","title":{"rendered":"Funding Repayment in Lieu of J1 Waiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

I came from South Africa on a J1 visa last September which was funded by the Department of State.\u00a0I\u2019m subjected to the two year requirement.\u00a0I met my girlfriend who is a US citizen and we want to get married.\u00a0I would like to get a J1 waiver by paying back the amount I received from Department of State.\u00a0Can I do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have some bad news for you.\u00a0Paying back funding to get a J1 waiver or to avoid to home residency requirement altogether is not an option.\u00a0The State Department wants J1 holders who entered through their programs to return to their home countries.\u00a0You will have to apply for a J1 waiver if you do not wish to return to South Africa for two years.\u00a0If you marry your girlfriend, she may be able to help you obtain a J1 hardship waiver.\u00a0However, due to the fact that you had government funding, possibly Fulbright, the State Department is going to hold you to a very high standard when adjudicated your waiver petition.\u00a0We have obtained J1 waivers for persons whose programs were funded by the State Department so we may be able to help you.\u00a0You\u2019ll have to contact our office so we can review your options with you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I came from South Africa on a J1 visa last September which was funded by the Department of State.\u00a0I\u2019m subjected to the two year requirement.\u00a0I met my girlfriend who is a US citizen and we want to get married.\u00a0I would like to get a J1 waiver by paying back the amount I received from Department … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,27],"tags":[231,179],"class_list":["post-572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-j-1-visa","category-j-1-visa-waiver","tag-j-1-visa","tag-j-1-visa-waiver"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t