I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement (under Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as Amended)
ALERT: We are reverting to the intake process we applied before October 2019 to Form I-589, Form I-612, and Form I-918.
J-1 and J-2 visas holders and their families may use this form to apply for a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement.
Form Details
Dates are listed in mm/dd/yy format.
If you complete and print this form to mail it, make sure that the form edition date and page numbers are visible at the bottom of all pages and that all pages are from the same form edition. If any of the form’s pages are missing or are from a different form edition, we may reject your form.
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| If You Are Filing Form I-612 Because Of: | Mail Your Form To: |
|---|---|
| U.S. Postal Service (USPS): USCIS Texas Service Center FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries: USCIS Texas Service Center |
| The address listed on the Department of State website. |
You can find the filing fee for Form I-612 by visiting our Fee Schedule page.
You can pay the fee with a money order, personal check, cashier’s check or pay by credit card or debit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service. Filing fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request. If you pay by credit card or debit card, you cannot later dispute the payment.
If you are submitting multiple forms, pay each filing fee separately. We are transitioning to electronically processing immigration benefit requests, which requires us to use multiple systems to process your package. We may reject your entire package if you submit a single, combined payment for multiple forms.
Please do not submit this checklist with your Form I-612. The checklist is an optional tool to use as you prepare your form, but does not replace statutory, regulatory, and form instruction requirements. We recommend that you review these requirements before completing and submitting your form. Do not send original documents unless specifically requested in the form instructions or applicable regulations.
If you submit any documents (copies or original documents, if requested) in a foreign language, you must include a full English translation along with a certification from the translator verifying that the translation is complete and accurate, and that they are competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
Did you provide the following?
- A statement detailing the hardship or persecution that will occur if you return to your country of citizenship or nationality;
- Copies of all Forms DS-2019/IAP-66, Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status, for all exchange programs in which you or your spouse participated (if applicable); and
- A copy of your Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record.
If you are applying for a waiver of the foreign residence requirement because your departure from the United States would impose exceptional hardship on your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or child, did you provide the following?
- Evidence of your spouse’s or child’s U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status;
- Evidence of the relationship between you and your spouse or child; and
- Evidence of legal termination of all prior marriages for you and your spouse (if applicable).
Filing Tips: Review our Tips for Filing Forms by Mail page for information on how to ensure we will accept your form.
Don’t forget to sign your form. We will reject any unsigned form.