Our client, born in Kuwait and a citizen of Pakistan, had entered the U.S. on a J-1 visa. Though her DS-2019 stated that she was subject to the INA section 212(e) 2-year home residency requirement, we requested an advisory opinion from the U.S. State Department. They stated that she was NOT subject to the requirement, since she received no funding from any foreign government. We were then able to obtain approval on a National Interest Waiver approval, since she was working as a Research Scientist, and had proven herself to be an outstanding researcher in the field of Microbiology. Specifically, her continued work and research in biomedical science, microbiology and immunology would help the U.S. in the areas of infectious diseases, public health, and disease modeling.
