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Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 12:55:54 -0400
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To avoid the 2-year home requirement rule, I had to get the waiver. Who
helped me with this procedure was the Swiss Embassy in Washington D.C. If I
were you I would contact them, because the "2-year home requirement rule" is
also state dependent (your own Embassy has to sign on it), so I am not sure
how far an immigration lawyer will be able to help you.
The immigration lawyer can for sure help you in trying to get the INS to
back off your "2-year home requirement rule". But anyway I would first talk
to the Swiss Embassy, they are here to help Swiss citizens!!
You can also talk with the International Student Office at your University,
I think the mistake could have happened there. This are the people who have
to fill your form out and then it goes to the INS. May be they will help
you, or at least tell you what to do.
If you will not be able to remove the "2-year home requirement rule", you
still can stay up to 2 years on your J-1 visa and you will be able to move
on to an F-1 visa for your PhD (full time student). If you are planning to
do a PhD, it will take you 4-5 years at least. During that time you can do
your waiver, which takes usually about 6 months to 1 year. (It took me 60
days!)
In addition after you have finished your PhD you are entitled to stay in the
US for 1 additional year as a trainee on a so called working permit (still
on your F-1 visa). This is the visa all foreign students use in their first
year of Postdoc. Just remember applying for the working permit 6 months
before you graduate! And you have already one year of Postdoc guaranteed
(unless the INS changes the rules again!!!)!
The situation is not as bad as you make it sound!! Only remember that
marrying, having kids is not going to help you with removing "2-year home
requirement rule", but a waiver is!! Do not despair,
Corinna Grisostomi
a survivor of predoctoral Internship, PhD, Postdoc and job in the USA.
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Received on Mon May 28 2001 - 17:03:37 PDT
