I-485 and 2 year home residency requirement

[me2011]

I was on a J1 status back in 2016 and the 2 year rule 212(e) applied to me. However, I left the US on 12/08/2016 and came back to the US in 2018 on a B2 visa where i spent 2 weeks on my first trip and 2 and half months on my second trip. I came back to the US on B2 visa on 12/17/2018 (which is after my 2 year mark) got married to a US citizen and i want to apply for adjustment of status. Does it mean i still have to go back to my home country to make up for those 3 moths i spent in the US as a tourist before i can apply for adjustment of status?

does it make sense to apply for a waiver which takes 12-16 weeks to be processed.

if i leave, will I have trouble entering the US with my tourist visa again in 4 months time. will telling the immigration at the port of entry that i am married to a US citizen help or hurt me.

any advise is really appreciated.

[Spaniard88]

Sorry I don't really know about this, but maybe someone in the forum would know better.

Based on previous discussions with my lawyer he mentioned that the 2-year rule has to be completely fulfiled.
Until you have fulfilled the two-year home country physical presence requirement (or until you have received a waiver of the requirement), you are not permitted to do any of the following:

• Change status while in the United States from J-1 status to another nonimmigrant status [with the exception of A (diplomatic) visa and G (international organization) visa]. Thus, for example, you may not change status from J-1 to H-1B, F-1, L-1, etc.
• Adjust status while in the United States to lawful permanent resident status (LPR). This means that you cannot file for a green card until you either satisfy the requirement or obtain a waiver. For example, if you are married to a U.S. citizen, your spouse may not petition for green card for you if you are still subject to the J-1 2-year rule.

This means that while you cannot enter the U.S. on an immigrant visa, change or adjust status in the U.S., you can still enter the U.S. on certain nonimmigrant visas, such as for example O-1, R-1, E-1/E-2, F-1, or B1/B-2.

In short, yes you have to go back or fill up a waiver. Maybe there's a workaround but I'm not sure if this could be an issue when IO matches your dates from your I-94.

[Enub4]

I don't think is a good idea to travel with B2 now that you married to USC. B2 entry is only valid if you have intent to return to your home country. They can claim that you entered with B2 with the idea to AOS and they may deny your application. Of course this is what I understand from what I read.

Entering the USA, with B2, with the preconceived idea to file AOS is something that you should not do.

[newacct]

I was on a J1 status back in 2016 and the 2 year rule 212(e) applied to me. However, I left the US on 12/08/2016 and came back to the US in 2018 on a B2 visa where i spent 2 weeks on my first trip and 2 and half months on my second trip. I came back to the US on B2 visa on 12/17/2018 (which is after my 2 year mark) got married to a US citizen and i want to apply for adjustment of status. Does it mean i still have to go back to my home country to make up for those 3 moths i spent in the US as a tourist before i can apply for adjustment of status?

does it make sense to apply for a waiver which takes 12-16 weeks to be processed.

if i leave, will I have trouble entering the US with my tourist visa again in 4 months time. will telling the immigration at the port of entry that i am married to a US citizen help or hurt me.

any advise is really appreciated.

You have not satisfied the requirement, since you need a cumulative total of 2 years of physical presence in your home country (not in the US or any other country).

But you are not supposed to enter the US on a visitor visa with the intention of doing Adjustment of Status during that stay.

Your best options are either to get a J1 home residency requirement waiver, or to go back to your home country and do Consular Processing for an immigrant visa after you have satisfied the requirement.