J-1 Foreign Residency Waivers
Under the immigration laws, certain individuals presently or previously in J-1 exchange visitor visa status may be subject to a requirement that attached to their visa that they return to their home country for two years before they may become eligible for U.S permanent resident status. Basically, the two-year home residency rule attaches when a person’s exchange visitor program was funded in full or in part by the United States government, or their home government, or whose occupational classification is on a list of skills in short supply in their home country; all foreign national graduates who have come for graduate medical education or training are subject to the two-year home residence rule. These individuals also may be precluded from obtaining many types of nonimmigrant visa statuses, including, in many instances, the most common work visas, H-1B professional worker and L intracompany transferee.
Four Bases for Waivers
The law, however, provides a waiver of the two-year residence requirement under four prescribed conditions or bases:
- A statement from the exchange visitor’s home country, indicating they do not object to the exchange visitor’s receipt of a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement.
- Exceptional hardship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or child;
- A recommendation from an Interested Government Agency (IGA); or
- Anticipated persecution.
In addition, a waiver for physicians can be based on a request from a state health agency under the special “Conrad State 20” program.
Careful research should be conducted to determine whether an exchange visitor is subject to this two-year foreign residence requirement because the rule does not apply to all J-1 exchange visitors.
Special rules apply to J-1 physicians who are foreign or international medical graduates who sought J-1 Visa status in order to obtain graduate medical training in the United States.