Is there a way to fix this messy process of getting J1 waiver?

[drramki]

I am in the process of obtaining J1 waiver (not a doctor) from Indian government agences and getting frustrated. I only have 2 months left in my short-term J1 and I still haven't got all my clearances from India.

 

Is there a place to file a complaint?

What is the way to clean this messy process?

 

Here is my experience:

 

I was in J1 from 2007-2011 and I was subject to 2 year HRR. I left US without obtaining waiver thinking that I will never come back. I thought I will be happy with my friends and family but it was totally different when I reached India. I was working in another country for a year and I got a position in US again in 2012. I was not able to apply for H1 as I did not have waiver.

 

I tried to apply for NORI while in other country itself. MHRD in Delhi granted a "no obligation" certificate without any problems (One officer asked for Galaxy S3 phone when I contacted for updates; however it went on smoothly without any bribe). I followed posts here in Murthy forum and no help. I think it is a random process. One may or may not get it.

 

Chennai secretariat and Trichy passport office rejected my application saying that all documents have to be attested by Indian Embassy in US. Both the agencies gave this information in writing that they cannot issue a NORI as it lacks attestation from Indian Embassy.

 

I went to US embassy in San Francisco while I was there for a conference asking to attest my papers. They categorically denied to offer any attestation services stating that I am not in US anymore. I asked them to issue this statement in writing which they denied. I got into a fight in the embassy and they also behaved as if any local government office in India.

 

I was frustrated that both Indian agencies (Chennai Sec. and Trichy RPO) and SFO consulate have denied to offer any advice and I did not have any idea what to do.

 

Meanwhile I got a job offer with a condition that I will get my waiver done in 6 months. I was offered a short-term scholar position. 4 months into my position, I am still struggling with Indian authorities to get certificates.

 

MHRD says that they have issued the certificates 2 weeks ago which I am still waiting to receive (I believe them because of my previous experience).

 

Trichy passport office is still collecting my police verification reports. My hometown is 3 hours from Trichy and my father had to goto these offices almost every week and the papers are still moving.

 

Chennai secretariat is still verifying my degree at a major university in Chennai. My case is being assisted by a retired secretariat employee and still not able to get a certiificate. Now Anna University is asking me to submit my degree certificate and other documents for them to attest my degree. I have never heard of such process in any forum or from anybody's personal experience. 

 

I left US in 2011 happily thinking of returning to home and now I have horrible experiences with Indian government offices (I have posted only parts here). Now I do not want to go back to India for any reason. Even if I dont get my waiver done and kicked out of US, I am not planning to go to India for work.

 

They just simply are not interested in doing this. And no clear process established for this one. How can we handle this in a better manner?

 

[jairichi]

Hi, 

 

  I understand your frustration. It is really a pain to get a NOC from Indian authorities if you do not have any one to follow it up. I was lucky to get it in 2.5 months time. For MHRD NOC, my uncle who works in a senior position in SAIL went and met MHRD higher official and obtained it quickly. At Chennai Secretariat, even though my dad went with his friend who is an ex-secretary, issuance of a NOC was delayed by a month. Another advantage I had here was, I knew the registrar of my universities well and so I could quickly get their response about verification of degree certificates to Secretariat. As my dad is a retired state govt. officer he approached the local police station and commissioner office and got the feedback to passport office quickly. 

 

  You have no other option other than asking your parents to follow it up regularly. One thing I would suggest is to ask your dad to approach the local police station if they have not contacted him. Most of the time they are unaware of what an NORI is. For university degree verification you have to find the department that handles it and try to get the help of the attendant and make sure it is sent to Chennai Secretariat promptly. Then, later go to Secretariat and inquire about the receipt of verification response from university based on the date it was posted. Hope these things might help.

 

  Good luck.