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Exceptional Hardship Waiver


An exchange visitor can apply for a J-1 waiver if he/she can show that his/her departure from the U.S. would cause extreme hardship to his/her U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or child (mere separation from family is not considered to be sufficient to establish extreme hardship). In order to apply for the J-1 waiver based on extreme hardship, the foreign exchange visitor must:

Step 1

  • Submit form I-612 with $265 filling fee to the USCIS
  • Submit form DS-3035 to the Department of State, two self-addressed, stamped, legal-size envelopes (SASE) and a processing fee of US$215 per application in the form of a cashier's check or money order payable to the U.S. State Department and mail it to:

    • (Courier Service)
    US Department of State
    Waiver Review Division
    Box 952137
    1005 Convention Plaza
    St. Louis, MO 63101-1200

    (Regular Service)
    US Department of State
    Waiver Review Division
    P. O. Box 952137
    St. Louis, MO 63195-2137

STEP 2

    Once the Waiver Review Division has received the applicant's J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application, additional instructions will be sent along with the applicant's assigned case number. The instructions will include a list of outstanding documents that must be submitted in order to complete the application. After the applicant has received the applicant's assigned case number, the applicant must write the case number on all submitted documentation as well as on the outside envelopes of all future correspondence. If the applicant does not comply with these instructions, the submitted documents will be returned back to the applicant.

STEP 3

    Applicant should submit all requested documents to the State Department.
    It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the file is complete. You can check the application's status by calling (202) 663-1600. Applicant must know the case number in order to obtain the case status.

STEP 4

    Once it has reviewed the complete file, the Waiver Review Division will forward its recommendation directly to the USCIS. The applicant will receive a copy of the recommendation at the address provided on the applicant's J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application. If the application is denied, however, he or she will be directly notified.

For more information about J-1 visa, please refer to the following links: