2-Year Home Residency Requirement

U.S. law provides that certain J-1 visa holders must return to their home country and be physically present there for two years before being eligible to return to the U.S. in immigrant (permanent resident/green card) status, H (temporary worker) status, or L (intracompany transferees) status. In addition, while in the U.S. persons subject to this rule will not be eligible to change their nonimmigrant status from J to permanent resident or to any other nonimmigrant category except A or G.

You are subject to this rule if:

• Your exchange program is sponsored by the U.S. or foreign government;
• The skills you are coming to the U.S. to develop or exercise are in a field which your home government requested be included on a skills list kept by the U.S. Department of State;
• You are coming to receive “graduate medical education or training.”

If you are subject to this rule, it should be noted on your visa, but that is not always the case. For additional information about this requirement, please see information provided by the U.S. Department of State: http://exchanges.state.gov/education/jexchanges/participation/waivers.htm