For the first time since 2009, the U.S. Department of State has proposed updates to the “Skills List” that applies to J-1 visa holders and determines, in some cases, whether the J-1 visa holder is subject to the two-year home residence requirement. These changes are to take effect on Dec. 9, 2024, via publication in the Federal Register. Notably, many countries with large volumes of J-1 exchange visitors to the United States (including India, China, and Brazil – among several others) will now be removed from the Skills List altogether, meaning citizens of those countries who utilize a J-1 visa for research, studies or other exchange programs in the United States will no longer subject themselves to the two-year home residence requirement via the Skills List.
By way of background, some J-1 visa holders can become subject to the two-year home residence requirement of section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act under certain conditions. Where the 2-year rule applies, the individual is generally prohibited from acquiring H-1B visa status or permanent resident status in the United States, unless and until they either return to their home country for two years to satisfy the requirement, or obtain a waiver of that requirement (a “J-1 waiver”).
There are three ways in which a J-1 visa holder can become subject to the two-year home residence requirement of section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act:
1) The individual utilizes a J-1 visa to engage in graduate medical training in the United States (i.e. a medical residency or fellowship program);
2) The individual receives funding from their home country government or the U.S. government in connection with their J-1 visa program (such as a Fulbright fellowship recipient or an individual who receives funding from U.S. government agencies like the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, etc.); or
3) The individual’s field of study/research for their J-1 exchange visa program appears on their home country’s Skills List – a list of fields/categories that the home country has designated are priorities, and in which the home country would like to enforce/require the individual to return upon the completion of their J-1 visa program, to utilize the knowledge and skills obtained in the United States.
Essentially, with respect to the Skills List, if an individual’s field/occupation is on their home country’s Skills List, the two-year home residence requirement is triggered; if the field/occupation does not appear on the Skills List – or if the individual’s home country as a whole does not appear on the Skills List – then the two-year home residence requirement would not be triggered.
Two-Year Home Residence Requirement Still Applies Outside Skills List
This December 2024 update to the Skills List removed many countries altogether from the Skills List, and therefore will significantly reduce the number of individuals subjected to the two-year home residence requirement. It is important to note that this update is also “retroactive” in a sense, as the 2024 Skills List supersedes the 2009 Skills List. Accordingly, J nonimmigrant exchange visitors who were subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement at the time of their admission or acquisition of J status based on designations in a previously published Skills List will no longer be subject to that requirement if their country is not designated in this revised 2024 list. In other words, if your country was listed on the Skills List at the time you received your J-1 visa, but is not on the current Skills List, you are not subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement.
J-1 visa holders should be aware, however, that this update impacts the application of the two-year rule based on the Skills List only. Individuals currently or previously in J-1 status who may have become subject to the two-year rule based on: 1) having received government funding, or 2) engaging in a medical training program, would still be governed by the same rules that have been in place in those contexts.
This update is welcome news for many foreign nationals, particularly scientists, researchers and scholars, who previously may have faced additional difficulties navigating the two-year home residence requirement prior to being able to seek an H-1B visa or permanent residency to continue their work in the United States after their J-1 research program completed. For instance, the J-1 visa is the most frequently utilized visa for postdoctoral researchers (“postdocs”) at U.S. colleges, universities and research institutions. Many U.S. institutions fill more than 50% of their postdoc positions with foreign nationals, many on J-1 visas. This effort/update to reduce the applicability of the Skills List to many such international postdocs from several countries will streamline and enhance those individuals’ opportunities to remain in the United States long-term and continue contributing to U.S. scientific endeavors.
