How soon can I apply for J-1 waiver?

[Ram2]

Hello,

I have just ran into this forum, not sure if the same question was asked by someone before. If you see the same topic elsewhere I would really appreciate you direct me to it.

I have started a postdoctoral fellowship in May 2019 on J-1 visa (3 months in). This is one year fellowship, J-1 is valid through May 2020. I am subject to 2 year home residency requirement. I have 9 months left, I was wondering how early can I start the waiver application? Is it too early if I started now? Do I need to get the waiver approved before I started looking for jobs ( with H-1b or O-1 sponsorship)-I think this might an ideal situation for an employer since they don't have to wait on me until the waiver is approved. Or I could wait until I have a job offer, then apply for J-1 waiver? I assume this may not be great idea but wanted to ask your opinion on this. I would appreciate your suggestions/ sharing your experiences. Thanks.

[ShubhamBankar]

Hi Ram,

I think you need to get J1 waiver approved even to get H1B approved or even before the extension of your AT period. Have you started applying for NOS from Indian Gov or through NORI?