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Dear Visalaw:

I was a J-1 visa holder in 1996 and the first half of 1997.  After that I returned to my home country and stayed there for two years.  So I fulfilled my 2HRR for this J program.  Now I am again under J program which is sponsored by a different university.  My employer wanted to apply for H1 for me, but at the time of application the H1 quota was running out, but the project needed to be started immediately.  So I had to accept J in order to satisfy my employer.  Somebody tells me that I am not subject to 2HRR for this second J program, but someone tells me the reverse.  Now could you please help me figure out whether I am subject to 2HRR or not this time?  Suppose there is such a case, a J person stays in US for 3 years and goes back for 1 year then comes again for 3 years and then goes back again for 1 year then comes again, then his/her total HRR will be 1+1+2=4 years, is that right?  In a word, Is the 2HRR cumulative?  I am looking forward to your reply.  Your help and assistance will be greatly appreciated.

- L.Y.

Having fulfilling the home residency requirement for the first J program will not prevent you from becoming subject to it again after participation in another J program.  To say for sure whether you are subject to the home residency requirement would require examining your IAP-66, but chances are you are subject to it.  It is our opinion that the  home residency requirement can be fulfilled over time and many people do it this way.

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Dear Visalaw:

I am a physician on H-1B. My mother (Green card holder at that time) filed an immigrant (dependent, unmarried category) petition for me in 1990 but before I could get my immigration in 1995 I had to start residency on J-1 and later also got married while on J-1. I received initial processing notice from Embassy but did not contact them as I was on J-1. What are my options if I want to start that petition again and since my mother is a citizen now, should I re-apply under new category or can I apply to change my immigrant category? I have already applied for NIW based on my J-1 waiver which will most likely take another three years of under served area service.

- A.

If the application has not been voided, it could still be used.  If you got married before your mother became a citizen, the application was voided, because there is no preference category for married children of permanent residents.  You would have to file a new application as the married child of a US citizen.  If you got married after your mother became a citizen, the application would still be valid, and you would simply automatically convert to the new category. 

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Dear Visalaw:

Say, someone came into the US on a Student (F) visa or Visitor (B) visa and that visa expires without having been renewed while they are here in the country. Now, if they get picked in the DV Lottery, what are their options? Is there any way they could process the visa lottery while here in the US? If they have to go back to their home country, are there any provisions that would ease the process for their getting the Green Card through the lottery program?

- Ash

Generally people who are out of status cannot pursue adjustment of status, the process for pursuing an immigrant visa from within the US.  There is an exception for people who marry US citizens, but there is no way for a person who is out of status to pursue adjustment of status through the DV lottery.  You would have to return home to process the visa, and depending on how long you have been out of status in the US, you might be subject to a bar that would keep you from reentering the US for three or ten years.  However, most F-1 students enter with an I-94 marked for the duration of status.  Because of this, they are not subject to any reentry bar, and would be able to obtain the green card through the lottery.  If this is the case, even if you receive the immigrant visa, you would not be able to use it because you must use it to enter the US within six months after it is issued.

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