NRMP waiver

[thoushallnot]

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I am going to request a contract- waiver this week. i understand tht the nrmp investigates every request before granting or denying the waiver.
the nrmp-official i spoke to said tht if even if my waiver is granted, i may be subject to sanctions upto 3 yrs. meaning that i cannot apply for a residency during that time.

are sanctions always applied? or does it depend upon the reason for the waiver- request.

does a granted waiver show up on my record if and when i apply for a residency in the future?

 

[RTrain]

This week?? Aren't most residencies starting orientation this week? You had 3 months to do it! Does the program know you aren't showing up, since there's almost no chance the decision about whether or not you'll get a waiver will be made before you're expected to be at work?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Sanctions are up to the NRMP, as are waivers.

There are no hard and fast rules, these are case by case decisions.

As noted above, you are unlikely to get a waiver at this late date if the issue is something you've known about for 3 months and are just now leaving your contracted program in a lurch.

I have not seen NRMP data on waivers; it would be interesting to know what percentage are granted and for what reasons,although I suspect there are god reasons to keep that info under wraps.

 

[thoushallnot]

I did not know about this issue until I filled my visa app cos that was the first time the immigrant petition was asked about.

I have been talking to my program for atleast 3 weeks now. firs tabout H1 and then I have been sending them updates about my situation.

I am going to be in a bad situation either way. just trying to figure out wether it is better to waiver or to go for the IV and get both visas [J1 ansd B1/B2 ] denied.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

About the sanctions:

If you apply for a waiver, and it is granted, then there are no sanctions. That's the whole point of a waiver.

If you apply for a waiver now, it may take several weeks to process. You'll need to decide whether you're going to start your program or not. If not, then if you waiver is denied you will be sanctioned and you can't "change your mind" -- if you had requested this 3 months ago and it was denied, you could simply decide to go to the program without penalty.

If you start your program, and then get a waiver, you can then leave.

For that matter, if you start your program and then quit in your first week, you're not a match violator. Please note that your contract may have a "notice" clause -- that you must give XX weeks of notice, and you'll need to stay long enough to comply with this (else you're sure to get a bad recommendation from your program).

About your issue:

It's a bit cryptic, but I assume that you are applying for US citizenship and now your H visa application has collapsed, leaving you with a J or nothing. A J visa will being your immigrant petition to a dead end, no matter what pathway you've applied through.

Much of how the NRMP will look at this is going to depend on how much was forseeable. If you matched to a program that offers J visa's only, and you knew that, and now you want out -- there won't be a waiver granted. If you didn't get your required H stuff completed (i.e. Step 3) and now you're forced into a J, also no waiver. If your program was going to get you an H, and then the H fell apart for unforseeable reasons, you might get a waiver.

If your visa doesn't come through, you can;t work. It's unclear if this is a match violation. I think it's only a match violation if you COULD work and you DONT. Still, it will make other program wary of taking you -- either you're unreliable or you have some "visa problem" that they will be stuck with.

 

[thoushallnot]

thank you APD,

i applied for a j1 visa. h1 was not an option in my prog.
i hv an immigrant ptition whch will take 8-10 yrs to come thru. and i had no idea that it would cause trouble right now. the attorney i met with said tht the chance of getting a J1 is very slim and the visa officer will also cancell my existing B1/B2 for the same reason- immigrant intent. so i loose my reisd this year and i cant even interview next year [without a B1/B2]
the only option i can see is to not go for the J1 interview.
I asked my prog abt H1, but they had made it clear during the IV and again last week 🙂 tht there is NO H1. So that option is out.

I am eligible for H1 though [step 3 is done]. but tht dosent matter ryt now

 

[NotAProgDirector]

i applied for a j1 visa. h1 was not an option in my prog.
i hv an immigrant ptition whch will take 8-10 yrs to come thru. and i had no idea that it would cause trouble right now.

This is a tough situation. With an immigrant petition filed, you should have known that a J1 was not an option. Ignorance is not an excuse, and it raises the concern about whether you knew about this and are trying to convince your program to give you an H1, or be short a person.

Even if you do get a J1 visa, your petition is null. ? if you can withdraw your petition, and then try to get a J1 -- probably easier to get a J1 waiver job than to try to get a petition to go through.

Not sure if this will be considered a match violation. In general, if your visa doesn't come through it's not your "fault", and hence it's not a violation. In this case, it's possible that the NRMP may see things differently.

Unfortunatly for you, it almost doesn't matter. If you lose your B visa, you must leave the US and you chances of getting a new visa, with an immigrant petition filed, is small. Perhaps you can get an H, if you can find a program willing to sponsor you -- but that will be tough if you can't get a B visa to interview.

Good luck.

 

[thoushallnot]

thank you all for replying.
I got the J visa yesterday.

it was a very very interesting day. and def extremely lucky for me.
i had made up my mind to not go to the visa IV . yesterday morning, i dcd tht i just want to know today wether im doing residnecy in the uS or in my home country.
It is one or the other and I have to know today whtvr it is...... my thought.
and i rushed to the counsulate. was a little late. made a very sincere excuse for not showing up on time. convinced them to let me take the IV whenever there was a gap in the interviews. my IV was less than a min long.

cant explain how and why things happened. i gues the next step is to sort out the immig petition and get rid of any conflict in my visa situation.

thank god.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Congrats on your J visa.

However, I don't think you quite understood my last post. Presumably, by an "immigrant petition" you mean that you are being sponsored by a close relative, but not a spouse/parent/other direct relative who is a US citizen. You can also file based on employment, but that makes no sense since your going to be an intern. Rarely, you can apply as a refugee, or because you will be persecuted in your home country.

It makes no difference now. A J visa requires that you return to your home country, unless you get a J waiver position. Doesn't matter if you have a brother is a US Citizen, or if you marry a US citizen for that matter. The "persecution" argument will only work if there is a change in your home country's political situation after you start training, and even then I have no idea how difficult that all is. AFAIK, the J visa 2 year home rule attaches and only a J waiver position gets you out of it.

So, several pieces of advice:

1. Speak to an immigration lawyer now. By "NOW", I mean now. Not next week, not next month. Internship is very busy and you will be very short of free time, especially time when most lawyers are in their office. You need to address this immediately, and see what your options are.

2. The good news is that a J waiver job leading to an H visa and then permanent residency might be the easiest way to get US citizenship anyway, and so the J visa might be the best way forward. Only a visa lawyer who knows your complete situation can answer this, hence the importance of #1.

If you don't have a lawyer yet, and don't know where to start, try contacting your program's GME office. Chances are they have a lawyer they use for visa issues, and chances are they know what they are doing.