J-1 Waiver
"Some exchange visitors with J-1 visas are subject to a two-year home-country physical presence requirement. It requires you to return home for at least two years after your exchange visitor program. This requirement is part of U.S. law, in the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212(e). If you cannot return home for two years, you must apply for a waiver. The Department of Homeland Security must approve your waiver before you can change status in the United States or receive a visa in certain categories."--(from Department of State Exchange Visitor Visa)
Waiver Categories
- No Objection Statement: a letter from the individual’s home country’s government permitting them to waive the home-country requirement and continue using their skills in the United States.
- Exceptional Hardship: the individual must demonstrate that by leaving the U.S. to fulfill the requirement in their home country, their spouse or child who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident may face exceptional hardship due to their absence.
- Persecution: the individual thinks they may be harassed or oppressed because of their religion, race, or politics if they return to their home country.
- Request by an Interested U.S. Federal Government Agency: The individual is working on a project "for or of interest to a U.S. federal government agency" and the individual's two-year absence from the project would not be in the agency's interest. The government agency may request the waiver on the individual’s behalf.
- Request by a Designated State Public Health Department or its Equivalent (Conrad State 30 Program): "a foreign medical graduate who obtained [J-1 status] to pursue graduate medical training or education" in the U.S. "may request a waiver based on the request of a designated State Public Health Department or its equivalent." The individual must meet the following criteria:
• "have an offer of full-time employment at a health care facility in a designated health care professional shortage area or at a health care facility which serves patients from such a designated area;
• "agree to begin employment at that facility within 90 days of receiving a waiver; and
• "sign a contract to continue working at that health care facility for a total of 40 hours per week and for not less than three years."--(from Department of State Exchange Visitor Visa)
For more information about Conrad, go to our Contrad State 30 Program webpage.
For more information on waiver categories please refer to U.S. Department of State's Exchange Visitor Visa Waiver website.