This contains a list of questions I get asked through email or friends!
Disclaimer: This is based on my experience and should NOT be taken as official response!
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Are International Students eligible for ORISE (OakRidge Science) Fellowships ?
International students can apply to most ORISE fellowships (unless the position is only for US citizens). If accepted, you will be required to change your visa to J1 - long/short term research scholar depending on the length of the position. Since the J1 exchange visitor visa is sponsored by the US government or use government funds, you WILL be subject to Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement also called 212(e). -
How long does it take to get the waiver ?
There’s no official timeline on the process. However, based on my experience and others, it usually takes about an year to hear something back from USCIS. (I applied in 2017). -
What is the process to apply for the 212(e) waiver ?
This question deserves its own post! I will one day write about the process.
Applying for the J1 212(e) waiver is a three step process- Apply to the US Department of State for the Waiver
- Get a No Objection Certification (NOC) or No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) from your home government
Note: Do check with the embassy in your jurisdiction for details on the process.
For India, this is a three step process click Here.
To get a No objection certificate- Apply to NOC at the Indian Embassy (you need the application # from step 1)
- Get a NOC from
- Indian government
- State government
- The passport office that issued your passport.
- After you receive all NOC’s, submit these back to the Indian embassy. The Indian embassy will officially forward the NOC to the Department of State
- The Department of state would either recommend or reject the application of the waiver
- If recommended for waiver, the Department of State forwards your application to USCIS. USCIS makes the final decision based on the recommendation. Good luck!