Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

OMB No. 1615-0030; Expires 08/31/2010

Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Instructions for I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign
Residence Requirement [Under Section 212(e) of the INA, as Amended]
Instructions

Read these instructions carefully to properly complete this form. If you need more space to complete an answer, use a
separate sheet of paper. Write your name and Alien Registration Number (A-Number), if any, at the top of each sheet of
paper and indicate the part and number of the item to which the answer refers.

What Is the Purpose of This Form?
To be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or for permanent
residence in the United States, or for a nonimmigrant visa as a
temporary worker, certain exchange visitors (visa categories
J-1 and J-2) must reside and be physically present in the
country of their nationality or last foreign residence for a total
of at least 2 years following departure from the United States.
An exchange visitor is subject to the 2-year foreign residence
requirement if:
1. His or her participation in the exchange program was
financed at any time in whole or in part, directly or
indirectly, by an agency of the U.S. Government or by the
government of his or her country of nationality or last
foreign residence; or
2. Prior to issuance of an exchange visitor visa, admission as
an exchange visitor without a visa, or acquisition of status
as an exchange visitor, his or her country of nationality or
last foreign residence was designated by the U.S. Secretary
of State as clearly requiring the alien's specialized
knowledge or skill; or
3. He or she entered the United States as, or changed status to,
an exchange visitor on or after January 10, 1977, to
participate in graduate medical education or training.
If a participant in an exchange program is subject to the 2-year
foreign residence requirement, his or her spouse and
unmarried minor children who were admitted as exchange
visitors or acquired such status after admission are also subject
to this requirement. If you have any question about whether
you are subject to the 2-year foreign residence requirement,
the nearest U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) office or U.S. Embassy or consulate will provide you
information.

Who May File This Application?
This application may be submitted only by an alien who
believes that compliance with the foreign residence
requirement of section 212(e) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act:

1. Would impose exceptional hardship on my U.S. citizen
or lawful permanent resident spouse or child; or
2. By an alien who believes that returning to the country of
his or her nationality or last residence would subject him
or her to persecution on account of race, religion, or
political opinion.

Waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement
may be authorized only under the following
circumstances:
1. The alien has a U.S citizen or permanent resident spouse or
unmarried minor child and establishes in an application to
USCIS that compliance with the 2-year foreign residence
requirement would impose exceptional hardship on the
spouse or child.
2. The alien establishes to USCIS that returning to his or her
country of nationality or last foreign residence would
subject him or her to persecution on account of race,
religion, or political opinion.
3. A U.S. Government agency requests the U.S. Secretary of
State to recommend a waiver on the alien's behalf for the
reason that compliance with the 2-year foreign residence
requirement would be detrimental to a program or activity
of official interest to the agency.
4. The country of the alien's nationality or last foreign
residence furnishes the U.S. Secretary of State a written
statement that it has no objection to the waiver.
NOTE: This waiver is not available to an alien who came to
the United States on or after January 10, 1977, as an exchange
visitor, or who acquired such status on or after that date in
order to receive graduate medical education or training.
In no case may the 2-year foreign residence requirement be
waived unless a favorable recommendation is made by the
Director of the U.S. Information Agency to the Secretary,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
An alien, who believes that a U.S. Government agency may be
officially interested in his or her case and may wish to request
a waiver on his or her behalf, should inquire directly to that
agency concerning such request.
Form I-612 Instructions (Rev. 08/10/09)Y

An alien who seeks a waiver of the foreign residence
requirement on the basis that the foreign country of his or her
citizenship/nationality or last foreign residence has no
objection to the waiver should, if in the United States, apply
directly to the embassy of the country concerned; or if abroad,
should inquire at his to her foreign ministry.

Spouse of Applicant
If your spouse is or was an exchange alien who is subject to
the foreign residence requirement solely because of a
relationship to you, he or she may be included in this
application by checking "A" in Block 6 of the application.
If your spouse is subject to the foreign residence requirement
because of participation in an exchange program, your spouse
may apply for a waiver of the foreign residence requirement
by submitting a separate application on Form I-612. In such
case, "B" must be checked in Block 6 on each application.

General Instructions
Step 1. Fill Out Form I-612
1. Type or print legibly in black ink.
2. If extra space is needed to complete any item, attach a
continuation sheet, indicate the item number, and date and
sign each sheet.
3. Answer all questions fully and accurately. State that an
item is not applicable with "N/A." If the answer is none,
write "none."

Step 2. General Requirements
The following documents must be submitted with this
application:
1. If you check "A" in Block 5, then you must submit
evidence of U.S. citizenship of your spouse or child:
A. If your spouse or child is a citizen by reason of birth in
the United States, submit (a) a birth certificate of the
spouse or child; or (b) if a birth certificate is
unobtainable, a copy of the baptismal certificate
(baptism must have occurred within 2 months after
birth) under seal of the church, showing the place of
birth; or (c) if the birth or baptismal certificate cannot
be obtained, affidavits of two U.S. citizens who have
personal knowledge of the birth of your spouse or child
in the United States.
B. If your spouse or child was born outside the United
States and became a citizen of the United States
through a parent and has not been issued a certificate
of citizenship, submit evidence of the citizenship and

marriage of parent, as well as termination of any prior
marriages of parent. Also submit a birth certificate of
the child and a separate statement showing the dates,
ports, and means of all arrivals and departures into and
from the United States by the spouse or child.
C. If the naturalization of your spouse or child occurred
within 90 days immediately preceding the filing of this
application, submit a copy of the naturalization
certificate.
2. If you check "A" in Block 5, then you must submit
evidence of a relationship between you and your spouse or
child.
Each application must be accompanied by a certificate of
marriage to the spouse and proof of legal termination of all
previous marriages of the applicant and spouse. If the
application is based on hardship to a child, also submit the
birth certificate of the child.
3. To support your application for a waiver: In addition to
your own required statement, you may submit any
documentary evidence available that you believe affects the
exceptional hardship or persecution issues.
4. If you are in the United States, you must submit your
original temporary entry permit (Form I-94, ArrivalDeparture Record) and the original entry permit of your
spouse, if he or she is in the United States and not a U.S.
citizen or lawful permanent resident. If the entry permit is
attached to the passport, remove and submit it for this
purpose. Do not submit the passport.

Translations. Any document containing a foreign language

submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English
language translation which the translator has certified as
complete and accurate, and by the translator's certification that
he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language
into English.

Copies. Unless specifically required that an original
document be filed with an application or petition, an ordinary
legible photocopy may be submitted. Original documents
submitted when not required will remain a part of the record,
even if the submission was not required.

Where To File?
If you live in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New
Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode
Island, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, or West
Virginia, mail your application to:
USCIS Vermont Service Center
75 Lower Welden Street
St. Albans, VT 05479-0001
Form I-612 Instructions (Rev. 08/10/09)Y Page 2

If you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, or
Texas, mail your application to:
USCIS Texas Service Center
P.O. Box 850965
Mesquite, TX 75185-0965
If you live in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, or
Nevada, mail your application to:
USCIS California Service Center
I-612 Unit
P.O. Box 30112
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0112
If you live elsewhere in the United States, mail your
application to:
USCIS Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 87751
Lincoln, NE 68501-7751

What Is the Filing Fee?
The filing fee for Form I-612 is $545.
Use the following guidelines when you prepare your check or
money order for the Form I-612 fee:
1. The check or money order must be drawn on a bank or
other financial institution located in the United States and
must be payable in U.S. currency; and
2. Make the check or money order payable to U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, unless:
A. If you live in Guam, make it payable to
Treasurer, Guam.
B. If you live in the U.S. Virgin Islands, make it
payable to Commissioner of Finance of the
Virgin Islands.
NOTE: Spell out U.S. Department of Homeland Security; do
not use the initials "USDHS" or "DHS."
Notice to Those Making Payment by Check. If you send us
a check, it will be converted into an electronic funds transfer
(EFT). This means we will copy your check and use the
account information on it to electronically debit your account
for the amount of the check. The debit from your account will
usually take 24 hours, and will be shown on your regular
account statement.

You will not receive your original check back. We will
destroy your original check, but we will keep a copy of it. If
the EFT cannot be processed for technical reasons, you
authorize us to process the copy in place of your original
check. If the EFT cannot be completed because of insufficient
funds, we may try to make the transfer up to two times.
How to Check If the Fees Are Correct
The form fee on this form is current as of the edition date
appearing in the lower right corner of this page. However,
because USCIS fees change periodically, you can verify if the
fees are correct by following one of the steps below:
1. Visit our Web site at www.uscis.gov, select
"Immigration Forms" and check the appropriate fee;
2. Review the Fee Schedule included in your form
package, if you called us to request the form; or
3. Telephone our National Customer Service Center at
1-800-375-5283 and ask for the fee information.

Address Changes
If you change your address and you have an application or
petition pending with USCIS, you may change your address
online at www.uscis.gov. Click on "Change your address with
USCIS" and follow the prompts, or you may complete and
mail Form AR-11, Alien's Change of Address Card, to:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Change of Address
P.O. Box 7134
London, KY 40742-7134
For commercial overnight or fast freight services only, mail to:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Change of Address
1084-I South Laurel Road
London, KY 40744

Processing Information
Any Form I-612 that is not signed or accompanied by the
correct fee will be rejected with a notice that Form I-612 is
deficient. You may correct the deficiency and resubmit Form
I-612. An application or petition is not considered properly
filed until accepted by USCIS.

Form I-612 Instructions (Rev. 08/10/09)Y Page 3

Initial processing. Once Form I-612 has been accepted, it
will be checked for completeness, including submission of the
required initial evidence. If you do not completely fill out the
form, or file it without required initial evidence, you will not
establish a basis for eligibility, and we may deny your Form
I-612.
Requests for more information or interview. We may
request more information or evidence, or we may request that
you appear at a USCIS office for an interview. We may also
request that you submit the originals of any copy. We will
return these originals when they are no longer required.
Decision. The decision on Form I-612 involves a
determination of whether you have established eligibility for
the requested benefit. You will be notified of the decision in
writing.

USCIS Forms and Information
To order USCIS forms, call our toll-free number at
1-800-870-3676. You can also get USCIS forms and
information on immigration laws, regulations, and procedures
by telephoning our National Customer Service Center at
1-800-375-5283 or visiting our Internet Web site at www.
uscis.gov.
As an alternative to waiting in line for assistance at your local
USCIS office, you can now schedule an appointment through
our Internet-based system, InfoPass. To access the system,
visit our Web site. Use the InfoPass appointment scheduler
and follow the screen prompts to set up your appointment.
InfoPass generates an electronic appointment notice that
appears on the screen.

Privacy Act Notice
We ask for the information on this form, and associated
evidence, to determine if you have established eligibility for
the immigration benefit for which you are filing. Our legal
right to ask for this information can be found in the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. We may
provide this information to other government agencies. Failure
to provide this information, and any requested evidence, may
delay a final decision or result in denial of your Form I-612.

Paperwork Reduction Act
An agency may not conduct or sponsor an information
collection and a person is not required to respond to a
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid
OMB control number. The public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated at 20 minutes per
response, including the time for reviewing instructions and
completing and submitting the form. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including suggestions for reducing
this burden, to: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
Regulatory Products Division, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, N.
W., 3rd Floor, Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529-2210.
OMB No. 1615-0030. Do not mail your application to this
address.

Penalties
If you knowingly and willfully falsify or conceal a material
fact or submit a false document with your Form I-612, we will
deny your Form I-612 and may deny any other immigration
benefit.
In addition, you will face severe penalties provided by law and
may be subject to criminal prosecution.

Form I-612 Instructions (Rev. 08/10/09)Y Page 4