Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York

No Objection Statement for Korean J-1 exchange visitor

- Waiver of the J Visa Two-Year Foreign Residence Requirement -

• A participant in the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program is subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement and must apply for a waiver of that requirement if he/she seeks to remain in the United States beyond the end date of their programs or if he/she seeks to submit an application to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a change in visa status.
• The participant must file an application to receive a recommendation letter for a waiver with the Department of State: ☎(202)663-1225
• And then, the participant must file an application to receive a 'No Objection Statement (NOS)' with the Korean Government.
• "No Objection Statement (NOS)"
  • Upon the receipt of a request from an applicant, the Korean Government may issue a NOS and certify that it waives a two-year residence requirement and also that it does not object to the possibility of the J-1 Exchange Visitor becoming a resident of the U.S. The J-1 Exchange Visitor is responsible for obtaining the NOS from the Korean Government.

With the USDOS (The first step)

• An applicant has to submit all required documents (please refer below) to USDOS by mail or on-line (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en.html), and get a case number and an instruction sheet from it.

With the Korean Government (The second step)

After having received the above-mentioned case number from the USDOS.

• the applicant has to submit all required document(please refer below) for No Objection Statement to a relevant Korean Consulate General (If you reside in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, or Pennsylvania, you must submit the application to the Korean Consulate General in New York).
• And The Korean Government will review the documents and issue the NOS
• Requirements for No Objection Statement
  • Applicant must print the case number on the lower right side of any documents or envelope.
    • 1) An application form for the NOS [Download]
    • 2) Five copies of letter of reason for the waiver of J-1 visa foreign residence requirement (two copies in Korean & three copies in English)
      • Applicant's signature required
    • 3) Two copies of letter of reason for obtaining J-1 Visa (In Korean only)
    • 4) Two copies of applicant's resume (In Korean only)
    • 5) Two copies of applicant's passport
      • Front page of passport (personal information section: name, passport number, date of birth, expiration date and etc.)
      • J-1 visa page
      • I-94 page (front and back page)
    • 6) Three copies of applicant's IAP-66 or DS-2019 (front and back side)
      • Applicant's signature required
    • 7) Three copies of case number (Third Party Bar-code page) issued by the USDOS
    • 8) Processing Fee : $25(Money Order only)
      • Payable to the Korean Consulate General
    • 9) J-1 Visa Waiver Confirmation (Agreement) Letter[Download]
      • Payable to the Korean Consulate General
      • If the J-1 exchange visitor's participation in an exchange program was funded by the Korean Government, a public organization or an international organization within last 4 years, you have to get confirmation (agreement) Letter issued by the Government or the organization concerned.
      • If you have not received any support from the government or other organizations then just fill out a confirmation (agreement) letter form with making it clear that you have neither received any financial support nor registered with any organizations.

Follow-up steps

• The Korean Government, once it decides to approve, will send the NOS directly to the Waiver Review Division of USDOS through the Korean Embassy in Washington, DC.
• Once the USDOS has approved for the waiver, the USDOS will send a "Recommendation Letter" to the Department of Homeland Security (Citizenship and Immigration Services) and a copy of the "Recommendation Letter" to the applicant.