If you are subject to the requirement, then, until you have "resided and been physically present" for a total of two years in either your country of nationality or your country of legal permanent residence, you are not eligible for:

• An H, L, or immigrant visa, or for H, L, or immigrant status in the United States. H includes temporary workers, trainees, and their dependents. L includes intracompany transferees and their dependents. An immigrant is the same as a permanent resident, or holder of a "green card."  
   
• A change of your status, inside the United States, from J to any other nonimmigrant classification except A or G. The A classification includes your home government's diplomats and representatives to the United States government, and their dependents. The G classification includes your government's representatives to international organizations, such as the United Nations, and their dependents.

•  If your J-1 participation is or was funded in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of exchange, by your home government or the United States government;
• If, as a J-1 Exchange Visitor, you are acquiring a skill that is in short supply in your home country, according to the United States government's "Exchange Visitor Skills List."
•  If you have participated as a J-1 in a graduate medical education or training program, i.e. a residency, internship, or fellowship, sponsored by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates; or
• If you are the J-2 dependent of an Exchange Visitor who is subject to the requirement.

If you have ever been subject to the requirement in the past, and have neither obtained a waiver nor fulfilled it by spending two years in your country, it still holds-even if a more current Form DS-2019 reflects no basis for such a requirement.

"Occasionally, the foreign residence requirement is not correctly annotated on the Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status (Form DS-2019) or on the visa foil or both. The absence or inclusion of such a notation on a DS-2019 or visa foil that the exchange visitor is subject to the requirement is not conclusive. (USCIS) Officers must look to the Exchange Visitor Skills List, funding, or other reasons that may make a J-1 exchange visitor subject to the requirement when making a determination as to whether the J-1 exchange visitor is eligible for change of status to certain classifications, or adjustment of status." The Waiver Review Division of the U.S. Department of State always makes the final determination.   USCIS Policy Manual

The Exchange Visitor Skills List contains fields of specialized knowledge and skills.  They are necessary for the development of an exchange visitor's home country. You are subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement when you complete your exchange visitor program - if your skill is on your country’s Skills List. 

Read how your funding sources affect your 2 year requirement here.

Read about the J Waiver Application Process here.

Please read here for more information about the limitations of the J-1 Status.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy
Manual regarding the 2-year foreign residence requirement for the nonimmigrant exchange visitor (J) visa classification. Read more at www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20231024-ForeignResidenceRequirement.pdf

The Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual advises that after DOS renders a favorable 212(e) waiver recommendation and forwards that recommendation to DHS, "an exchange visitor is no longer eligible for an extension of program beyond the end date shown on the current Form DS-2019 even though they may not have completed the maximum duration of participation permitted for the category." Program sponsors and exchange visitors should receive a copy of the DOS waiver recommendation letter. Under the policy, if DOS denies the request for a waiver recommendation, extensions may be processed in the usual manner.

BEFORE YOU REQUEST A WAIVER, TALK TO ISSS FIRST!!!

There are four grounds for waiver of the requirement.

• Exceptional hardship to your spouse or a unmarried minor child who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. If, for example, you had a child who was born in the United States and was therefore a citizen of this country, and if the child had a serious medical condition that could not be treated in your country, you might obtain a waiver because the child would suffer a hardship by going there with you to live.
• Fear of persecution. If you can demonstrate that, because of your race, religion, political opinions, or nationality, you would face persecution by your home government if you went back to your country, you might qualify for a waiver.
• Interest of a United States government agency. If your participation in research or a project sponsored by a United States government agency is of sufficient importance to that agency, it can apply to Department of State for a waiverfor you-in its interest, not yours.
• A "no-objection" statement (not permitted for medical trainees). Your country's embassy in Washington can indicate in a direct letter to Department of State that it has no objection to your receiving a waiver, or the foreign ministry in your capital at home can write to the United States embassy there. A "no-objection" statement may not lead to a waiver if the Exchange Visitor has received more than $2,000 in funding from the United States government.

Please talk to ISSS before submitting a waiver! 

Please note that International Student and Scholar Services may not assist with J-1 Program Waivers as the US Department of State believes this to be a conflict of interest for J program sponsors. Read more here.