The United States Information Agency (“USIA”), the agency responsible for the administration of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa Program, has issued an important ruling affecting J-1 visaholders subject to a two year home residency requirement. Previously, filing for a waiver of the residency requirement would often negatively affect an application to extend a J-1 visa. The USIA General Counsel, in a letter to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, has noted that a USIA officer may issue an extension while a waiver application is pending. However, once the waiver is approved, the USIA will not extend the visa since the applicant is no longer consider a bona fide J-1 participant.
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