Complete Form DS-3035, available on the J Visa Waiver Online webpage. Follow the online instructions. You must use the online form. If you submitted another form version, your waiver application will be returned to you without the processing fee. The fee is non-refundable.

Important Information for Completing the Online J Visa Waiver Recommendation Application, Form DS-3035:

• SEVIS Number, when program approval was on Form IAP-66: Enter the following: N0000000000 (must have 10 zeros). For Subject Field Code, enter the following from the IAP-66 form: 00. followed by the 4-digit subject field code number from Form IAP-66 (example 00.2546).
  
  
• First Entry Date: Applicants who entered the United States on a J visa before February 1, 1999 should use the date February 1, 1999 in this field.
  
  
• J-2 Dependents: If you have a spouse or children who had J-2 status, list them as requested in the online application. (Review Frequently Asked Questions about dependent J-2 spouses and children.)
  
  
• Alien Registration Number: Please skip this field. Alien Registration Numbers are no longer required for processing.
  
  
• I-94 Number: I-94 Numbers are no longer required for processing, so please skip this field.

Your information will download into a barcode after you complete the online form. You will immediately receive a waiver case number and further instructions. Next, you must print your online Form DS-3035 with barcode. You must print the barcode in black and white. Do not print in color.

Mail the following items to one of the two addresses below. The address you use depends on the mailing method you choose:

• Your completed online application, Form DS-3035, with barcode that you printed;
• Legible copies of every/all Form DS-2019/IAP-66 ever issued to you;
• Application fee. Review Exchange Visitor Visa Waiver Fee for detailed information about fee payment.

Postal Service

Department of State J-1 Waiver
P.O. Box 979037
St. Louis, MO 63197-9000

Courier Service

Department of State J-1 Waiver
Attn: 979037
3180 Rider Trail South
Earth City, MO 63045

IMPORTANT NOTICE: You must submit your application with barcode and fee payment together. Did you submit one item without the other? We will return that item to you, and we will not process your application.

We process your application fee at our office in St. Louis, MO. Next, we forward your case to the Department of State, Waiver Review Division in Washington, DC. We will not process an application sent to the incorrect address and will return the application to you.

Next, submit your required supporting documents. These documents are in addition to what you submitted in Step 2 and vary depending on the basis for which you request a waiver.  If applicable, certain supporting documents will need to be submitted directly to the Waiver Review Division by third parties.  See the chart below.

You must ensure that third parties send us any supporting documents required for you. The Waiver Review Division will NOT follow up on missing supporting documents.

Next, you may verify we received supporting documents from third parties. You may check your application status on the J Visa Waiver Online webpage but note that updates can take at least 3-4 weeks to appear there.

Third parties must send supporting documents as pdf attachments to:

212ewaiver@state.gov

No Objection Statement

You are only able to pursue a "no objection" waiver if your home country’s government has issued a No Objection Statement. Specifically, its Embassy in Washington, DC must issue the statement.  The statement must affirm that your government has no objection to:

• you not returning to your home country to meet the ¨two-year home-country physical presence requirement;¨ and
• the possibility of you becoming a U.S. lawful permanent resident.

The Embassy must send the No Objection Statement to the Waiver Review Division at WRD-NOS@state.gov (Note: This inbox will only accept emails sent from designated embassy officials. Your embassy cannot provide it to you to submit and emails from applicants or other individuals will not be answered.)  To make this request, reach out to the consular section in your home country’s embassy in Washington, D.C.

As an alternate option, a designated ministry in your home government may issue the No Objection Statement. The ministry would then send it to the U.S. Chief of Mission, Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy within that country. The U.S. Embassy would then forward it directly to the Waiver Review Division.

Note: U.S. law does not allow foreign medical physicians to request waivers under this basis if they acquired J-1 status on or after January 10, 1977 for graduate medical education or training.

Request by an Interested U.S. Federal Government Agency

A request by an interested U.S. federal government agency must be in a letter. The head of the agency, or his or her designee, must sign the letter and submit it to the Waiver Review Division. (Note: The interested U.S. federal government agency cannot provide the letter to you to submit.) The letter must explain:

    (i) why granting a waiver of the two-year home-country physical presence requirement is in the public interest of the United States; and

    (ii) why it would be detrimental to the agency’s program or activity of interest if you must return to your home country to fulfill the requirement.

Any U.S. federal government agency may request a waiver under this basis.

Interested Government Agency Request on behalf of a foreign physician who agrees to serve in a medically under-served area - The interested U.S. federal government agency must send the following supporting documents to the Waiver Review Division. (Note: The interested agency cannot provide the supporting documents to you to submit.):

• Copies of all DS-2019 /IAP-66 forms issued to you;
• Your curriculum vitae;
• A statement signed and dated by you that reads exactly as follows:

"I,__________(your name) hereby declare and certify, under penalty of the provisions of 18USC.1001, that: (1) I have sought or obtained the cooperation of_______(enter name of U.S. Government agency which will submit/is submitting an Interested Government Agency Waiver request on your behalf to obtain a waiver of the two-year home-country physical presence requirement); and (2) I do not now have pending nor will I submit another request to any U.S. Government department or agency or its equivalent, to act on my behalf in any matter relating to a waiver of my two-year home residence requirement.";

• A letter from the head of the agency, or a designated official, stating why it is in the public interest that you receive a waiver of the two-year home-country physical presence requirement (section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act);
• A signed contract for no less than three years and 40 hours a week between you and the facility where you will work;
• Evidence that the clinic/facility is located in a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated Health Professional Shortage Area or Medically Underserved Area;
• A statement signed by the head of the facility at which you will be employed stating the facility is located in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area or Medically Underserved Area and provides medical care to both Medicaid- and Medicare-eligible patients, and indigent uninsured patients. The statement should also include the Federal Information Processing Standards county code and census tract or block numbering area number (assigned by the Bureau of Census) or the 9-digit zip code of the area where the facility is located;
• Evidence that the clinic/facility made unsuccessful efforts to recruit a U.S. citizen physician for the position (for example, medical journal advertisements; labor certification; or language in a cover letter stating efforts to recruit a U.S. citizen physician have been unsuccessful); and
• Form G-28 or letter from a law office, if you designated an attorney to represent you.

Interested Government Agency Request from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on behalf of an exchange visitor physician to serve in a VA hospital:

• VA hospitals do not have to be in an underserved area; and
• VA applications must include a signed memorandum of agreement between you and the hospital (in place of a three-year contract).

Interested Government Agency (IGA) Request on behalf of a J-2 applicant: 

Apart from the exceptions noted below, J-2 spouses and children cannot independently apply for waiver recommendations when their J-1 spouses or parents are not applying.

In the following cases, the Waiver Review Division will consider requests for waiver recommendations from J-2 spouses and children:

• when the J-1 spouse or parent is deceased;
• when the J-1 and J-2 spouses are divorced; and
• when a J-2 child reaches age 21.

The Waiver Review Division evaluates each case on an individual basis. The State Department will act on behalf of such applicants only rarely and for humanitarian circumstances.

If you are a J-2 spouse or child and believe that your situation falls under one of the exceptions above, you should complete the online form DS-3035.  On the form, select “Interested Government Agency (non-physician)” and pay the processing fee, and submit a statement explaining why you are applying for a waiver and your J-1 spouse or parent is not. Your statement should explain why your situation merits special consideration, and your application should include a request for the Department of State to act as an IGA on your behalf based on the humanitarian circumstances in your case. As applicable, you must also submit:

• a copy of your J-1 spouse’s or parent’s death certificate;
• a copy of the divorce decree from your J-1 spouse; or
• a copy of your birth certificate, if you are a J-2 child age 21 or over.

Persecution

You must submit Form I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS will forward its decision to the Waiver Review Division. The Waiver Review Division will consider a waiver recommendation under this basis only if USCIS makes a finding of persecution.

You may complete the DS-3035 waiver application with fee payment (Steps 1 and 2) either before you submit Form I-612 to USCIS or after USCIS has informed the Waiver Review Division that it made a finding of persecution. If you complete Steps 1 and 2 before you submit Form I-612 to USCIS, you will not receive a refund of the application fee if USCIS does not make a persecution finding.

Exceptional Hardship to a U.S. citizen (or lawful permanent resident) spouse or child

Note: Mere separation from your U.S. citizen (or lawful permanent resident) spouse or child is not sufficient to establish exceptional hardship.

You must submit Form I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS will forward its decision to the Waiver Review Division. The Waiver Review Division will proceed with a waiver recommendation under this basis only if USCIS makes a finding of exceptional hardship.

You may complete the waiver application with fee payment (Steps 1 and 2) either before you submit Form I-612 to USCIS or after USCIS has informed the Waiver Review Division that it made a finding of exceptional hardship. If you complete Steps 1 and 2 before you submit Form I-612 to USCIS, you will not receive a refund of the application fee if USCIS does not make an exceptional hardship finding.

Request by a Designated State Public Health Department or its Equivalent (Conrad State 30 Program)

 Note: This waiver basis only applies to foreign medical doctors who received their exchange visitor J-1 status to pursue graduate medical education or training.

Review the list of State Public Health Departments. The relevant state public health department must send the following to the Waiver Review Division. (Note: The state public health department cannot provide these items to you to submit.):

• Copies of all your DS-2019/IAP-66 forms;
• Your curriculum vitae;
• A letter from the state public health department’s designated official (designated by the state governor) which states it is in the public interest that you remain in the U.S. and includes the following:

1. Your name
2. Your country of last legal permanent residence
3. Name of medical facility
4. Address of facility
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) ID number of medical shortage area
6. A letter from the facility that wishes to hire you that provides;

• Evidence that the facility is in a Health Professional Shortage Area or a Medically Underserved Area;
• A signed contract for no less than 40 hours a week for three years between the facility and you, with signatures by you and the head of the facility; and
• Form G-28 or letter from a law office, if you designated an attorney to represent you.

NOTE:  If you received funding from your home country government to take part in the exchange program, your government must submit a No Objection Statement to the Waiver Review Division to apply under this waiver basis. (Please see No Objection Statement instructions.) The No Objection Statement is in addition to the waiver request by the designated state public health department, explained above. The No Objection Statement must state that it is for a Request by a Designated State Public Health Department (or its equivalent), or a Conrad State 30 Program, waiver.

After you complete Steps 1-3, your waiver application is complete. To check the status of your case, go to the J Visa Waiver Online webpage and select “Check the status.” Next, enter your case number. It will say if we received your DS-3035 online application and fee payment (Step 2 of the Instructions) and supporting documents (Step 3 of the Instructions). The system will also inform you if any required documents are missing. Allow approximately one month after submitting a complete application before checking your status. For answers to most common questions and concerns visit our Navigator.

Has your contact information (address, phone number, or email address) changed? Did you forget to include an email address? You must update your information on the J Visa Waiver Online webpage. Select “Inform the Department of State of a change to personal data.” We can contact you only if we have your accurate contact information. 

If we need more information or documents from you, we will contact you via email at the email address you provided on your online Form DS-3035.

You should email any requested information as PDF documents from your email address of record on your Form DS-3035 to 212eWaiver@state.gov. Use the following model for the subject line: Request for Additional Information for John Doe: Case #185XXXX. 

Processing times vary depending on the basis under which you request a waiver. The times listed below are estimates only. The processing time for your application begins when your file is complete. Your file is complete when we have your waiver application, processing fee, copies of DS-2019/IAP-66 forms (Step 2), and all required documents (Step 3).

Notice: Some waiver recommendation applications need further administrative processing. It will take additional time for the Waiver Review Division to send its recommendation to USCIS in such cases.

The Department of State, Waiver Review Division will forward its recommendation to USCIS and will notify you via email once we have done so. After the Waiver Review Division sends its recommendation to USCIS, you must contact USCIS for the status of your case as the Department of State no longer has jurisdiction.

USCIS makes the final determination on your waiver request. USCIS will decide whether to approve or deny your waiver application. USCIS will notify you at the address you provided. After the Waiver Review Division sends its recommendation to USCIS, you must contact USCIS for the status of your case.

USCIS is the final waiver authority. You do not have a waiver of the two-year home-country physical presence requirement until USCIS informs you of an approved waiver.