On December 29, 2009, the AAO reversed the CSC denial of a hardship waiver for a Venezuelan Jewish physician, finding exceptional hardship to a 16 month old Jewish American citizen child. The CSC denied the waiver in Fall 2009, using boilerplate language which has become common, suggesting that physicians filing for hardship waivers after signing a document when the J visa was issued "promising" to return home, were being disingenous; that political conditions in the home country alone could not waive the foreign residence requirement and that since the father of the American child was a physician, he could provide any medical care required by the infant child; notwithstanding the father is an adult cardiologist and the child would need a pediatric specialist. As disturbing, is that the CSC totally discounted the expert opinion of a very experienced and respected forensic psychologist, st ating that he only saw the child and parents once. This demonstrated a lack of understanding of the role of a forensic psychologist as opposed to a treating psychologist. The CSC totally ignored the Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2009 which reported escalating anti-Semitism. Finally, the CSC opined at length on the program and policy considerations in requiring a J-1 physician to return home. This language in the opinion was ultra vires as it is the function of the Department of State to weigh the program and policy considerations in waiver cases. USCIS is limited to determining whether exceptional hardship has been demonstrated.The AAO reversed relying on the Affidavit of the applicant, a letter from the Anti- Defamation League and the State Department reports, holding that "based on the social, religious, and political turmoil in Venezuela, strong anti-American and anti-Semitic sentiment, the applicant's and his family's own traumatic exper iences in Venezuela and ramifications of said events on the child's upbringing and psyche, and the concerns outlined above regarding substandard health care, the AAO finds the applicant's U.S. citizen child would experience exceptional hardship were she to accompany the applicant to Venezuela for a two-year term." It would appear the AAO gave significant weight to the forensic psychological report. It is hoped that the CSC will follow the lead on the AAO in adjudicating hardship waivers.

Congratulations to attorneys Jan Pederson and Jessica Marks on their recent AAO hardship waiver victory!