USA J-1 visa holders submit NORI certificates to the USA authorities to request them to waive the condition of the two-year stay back in their home country.
Indian J-1 visa holders require such a J1-waiver request to the Indian Missions/Posts concerned in the USA for their NORI certificates.
This blog is to educate people about the NORI certificate, its connection with the J-1 visa, and the procedure to get a NORI certificate.
What is a NORI Certificate?
No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) Certificate claims that the holders of a J-1 visa do not need to stay in India for two years at the end of their exchange visitor program. The holder applies a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) to waive a two-year home-country physical presence.
This request for a NORI certificate is a way the J-1 Visa holder assures the USA authorities that he is unable to return to India for two-year.
Procedure of NOC for NORI
You need three to four sets of Affidavits attested by the embassy/consulate to obtain your NOC for NORI from the following departments in India.
- You need a NOC for NORI from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Higher Education) or the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare if you work in the healthcare sector.
- The applicant needs NOC from the Home Department of the concerned State or Union Territory in India from where he belongs. NOC from the Regional Passport Office in India, where the applicant has received his previous passport.
- If the applicant has raised any loan, he needs a NOC from the concerned bank or financial institution.
The regional passport office in India you have applied for NOC will send the NOC/clearance to the Consulate. But the other two departments where you have placed your request for NOC will send your NOC/clearances to you.
Procedure to Get Affidavit Attested for NORI
- Fill out the application form
- Click here to get the format of the affidavit
- Proof of address in your foreign country
- Copy of PR card/Work or Study permit
- Pay the fee
Procedure to Get NORI Certificate
Visit the consulate/embassy with the following documents to obtain a NORI certificate.
- Application form
- NOCs from the departments mentioned above
- Original notarized affidavit
- Your original notarized bio-data
- Copies of your passports
- Copy of Third Party Barcode page from the US State Department that must contain your Waiver Review Case File Number
- Prepaid envelope from any courier company
- Copy of PR card/Work or Study permit
- Proof of your foreign country’s residence
- Proof of fee paid
Procedure for Issuing NORI Certificate
Submit the following documents with the application (Miscellaneous Service) to the CPV Division (Consular-I Section), Ministry of External Affairs, Patiala House Annexe to get a NORI Certificate if you are applying for it from India.
- NOC from the Ministry of HRD or Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
- NOC from Passport Office
- NOC from the Home Department of State/Union Territory in India
- The original notarized affidavit that must share the details of your stay in the USA on a particular visa, Indian passport number, date and place of issue, period of stay in the USA, and address in the USA to the concerned authorities.
- Copy of your passport
- Copy of Third Party Barcode page
If you are applying for a NORI certificate from a foreign country where you are currently staying, the concerned Mission/Post will issue a NORI certificate.
Few Points Related to J-1 Visa Foreign Residence Requirement
A J-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa issued in the name of research scholars, professors, and exchange visitors who participate in programs organised for cultural exchange. The US J-1 visa is especially for those who will participate in any medical or business training program in the US.
Read More: H1B Visa Interview Popular Questions & Answers
Applicants sponsored by a university, private sector, or government program get J-1 visas. The J-1 visa is the Exchange Visitor Visa or J student visa.
There are some conditions to getting a J-1 visa, and they are:
- Spend two years in your home country to apply for a J-1 visa.
- If you are on a trip while applying for a J-1 visa, you give proof of that, like your tickets, boarding passes, passport stamps, etc.
- The same conditions are applied if you marry a US citizen or green card holder.
- The restriction to stay in your home country at the end of your J-1 visa is applied when you want a work visa (H1, L1) or a work-eligible visa (H4, L2).
- The restriction does not apply when you want a social visit and business visit visas (B1, B2).
- The restriction is also not applied when you want to return to the US on another J-1 visa or an F (student) visa.
- The same restriction to stay in your home country after the expiration date of your J-1 visa is applied when you want to return to the US on an F visa after being on a J visa.
- In case you marry at the time of J-1 visa in the US, this same restriction subject is available for your spouse.
- If you are studying in the US under multiple exchange programs, each under J-1 Visas, you need a waiver from each concerned authority of exchange programs.
- If you have a J-2 spouse visa and as a principal applicant J-1, you need a waiver for yourself and your spouse.
For more information about the NORI certificate, consult an expert visa consultant.
Attestation on your legal documents is a service that you might need to apply for a NORI or a waiver. For document attestation tasks, you can consult Superb Enterprise. We are the authorised outsourcing company of the Ministry of External Affairs of India to help and guide applicants complete the certificate attestation process.
