No Objection Statement

for a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirements
(for holders of the J-1 visa, exchange visitors, students, scholars and scientists from Croatia)

Croatian citizens who came to United States on the J-1 visa (exchange visitors, students, scholars and scientists from Croatia) have an obligation to fulfill a two-year residency requirement in Croatia according to the rule in Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This means that the holders of the aforementioned visa have the obligation to return to Croatia after the expiration of their visa in the United States.

U.S. and Croatian authorities have the right to waive this obligation. The Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Washington, DC has to state in every particular case its no obligation to a person not returning to Croatia in order to satisfy the two-year foreign residency requirement and remaining in the U.S. if the applicant so chooses.

Before beginning the procedure at the Embassy, the applicant has to send his request for a waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirements to the U.S. Department of State (CA/VO/L/W, Visa Services, U.S. Department of State, 2401 E. Street, N.W.., SA-1, Washington, D.C. 20522-0106) After receiving the Case File number from the U.S. Department of State under which the file has been processed, the applicant has to send the following documents to the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia:

• The applicant’s request;
• The applicant’s curriculum vitae;
• A copy of the applicant’s passport;
• A copy of the applicant’s current visa (J-1);
• The initial invitation or document which allowed applicants to come to the U.S. in the beginning;
• A letter of intention from the applicant’s employer or school which includes the applicant’s further job or study description;
• The file number under which the applicant’s request has been processed at the State Department; A check in the amount of $ 40.00 for consular fees.

All documents which are in English must be translated into the Croatian language.

This request will be sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Croatia. The application procedure will conclude with an endorsement of a notification which will be sent to the U.S. Department of State and to the applicant.