J-1 Waiver to I-130&I-485


Niia

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My F-1 status and my OPT expire on June 1st. I have 60-day grace period during which I can stay in the US legally. We had planned a wedding for June, however, I cannot file I-130 and I-485 right away since I had previously held a J-1 visa (or maybe I could file it with the waiver at the same time?) and have 10 months of 2-year HRR left .I have been looking into filling a petition for a J-1 waiver based on hardship. From reading a lot, my understanding is that if you're married and can show that it is not possible for your spouse to come with you, or it will be difficult for them to support you while you're living somewhere else, you have a good shot.

 

Our argument is that my spouse cannot come and live in Russia with me because he has a good stable job in the US, does not speak russian and wouldn't be able to find a job there, would not fit in culturally as he is not Caucasian and Russia is pretty racist, there is a travel alert issued for Russia due to all the conflicts and terrorist attacks in that region so he wouldn't be able to come visit or come there with me for safety reasons, plus he has a child who he supports and has arrangements to see every month and at this point he cannot just leave his child (if he was to come with me he would not have a job and wouldn't be able to support him, plus he is pretty young and needs a dad, and he cannot take him away from his mother), he also has student loans that need to be paid off so he cannot just leave. 

 

If i was to go back, it is very unlikely for me to find a job there, since financial, accounting and business standards are different in Russia and with my US degree and job experience I would have to go back to school there to learn what I need to get a job. Plus, it is just hard to get one period since the economy has not been stable at all; when my mom lost her job, it took her 8 months to find a new one -- with 25 years of experience.  My spouse would not be able to support 2 different households and pay 2 rents and 2 of everything as he has student loans and a child to support; however, it would be doable if we lived together and he only paid his rent and bills that he is already paying. My mom who lives in Russia, also cannot support me and I am not her responsibility anymore as I am not a dependent and married; all of her income goes towards debt she is in. If I was to leave, it would also be difficult for my spouse to see his child as he lives in a different city but when I am there I can watch him during weekdays while he works so he can have him not just for 2 days at the end of the month on the weekend. 

 

If i were to file a waiver and wait to file I-130 and 485, would I have to leave while my waiver is pending since I would be on 60-day grace period? And should I wait to file I-130 and I-485? My understanding is that you're good to stay if you had filed those petitions right away, but I am not sure what would happen if I just filed the waiver and waited to file I-485...

 

Any opinion on whether or not these arguments are legit, what supporting documents we need, and whether or not I can stay would be greatly appreciated. 

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