Waiver Categories
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What are the bases upon which I can apply for a waiver of the two-year home-country
physical presence requirement?
Review the Waiver Eligibility webpage, which explains in detail the five bases set
forth in U.S. immigration law under which you may apply for a waiver of this
requirement. You may only apply under one waiver basis, so select the one basis
under which you believe you qualify for a waiver or that applies to your situation. The
five bases for recommendation of a waiver are:
No Objection Statement;
Request by an Interested U.S. Federal Government Agency;
Persecution;
Exceptional Hardship to a U.S. Citizen (or lawful permanent resident) Spouse
or Child of an Exchange Visitor; and
Request by a Designated State Public Health Department or its Equivalent
(Conrad State 30 Program).
No Objection Statement
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When in the application process should I request a No Objection Statement?
You should request the No Objection Statement from your home country government
once you have your waiver case number. You will receive your waiver case number
when you complete the online application. (See Step 1 of the Instructions.)
What if I cannot get a No Objection Statement from my home country?
If your home country will not issue a No Objection Statement on your behalf, then
you may apply for a waiver recommendation under one of the other bases, if it applies
to your situation. Otherwise, if none of the other waiver bases applies, you must fulfill
the two-year home-country physical-presence requirement.
Can I apply for a waiver recommendation based on persecution and exceptional hardship
simultaneously?
No. If you believe that you qualify for a waiver of the two-year home-country
physical presence requirement under both persecution and exceptional hardship to
your U.S. citizen (or legal permanent resident) spouse or child, you may apply for a
waiver recommendation under only one of these two bases.
How can I check the status of my Form I-612, Application for Waiver of the Foreign
Residence Requirement? USCIS has not yet made a decision of persecution or exceptional
hardship.
You must contact USCIS to check the status of your Form I-612.
My Form I-612 based on persecution or exceptional hardship was denied by USCIS. Can I
ask for reconsideration?
Requests to reconsider persecution or exceptional hardship applications must be made
to USCIS.
Each designated State Public Health Department, or its equivalent, may make
only 30 such waiver requests per year.
Which areas have been designated as medically underserved by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services?
Review the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, as this
information falls under its authority.
I want to apply for a waiver recommendation based on the request of a Designated State
Public Health Department or its equivalent (Conrad State 30 Program). Who are the contact
persons for each state public health department?
Please refer to the list of designated points of contact for state public health
departments.
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My waiver recommendation application was denied. Can I ask for reconsideration or appeal
the decision?
No. Waiver recommendation applications are thoroughly considered, and the Waiver
Review Division does not have a policy to reconsider applications once a final
determination has been made. Also, there is no policy for you to appeal the Waiver
Review Divisions determination. You may, however, reapply using another basis for
waiver, if another basis applies to your situation.
Why would a recommendation application be denied by the Waiver Review Division?
Recommendation applications are denied when the reasons given for requesting the
waiver do not outweigh the program and foreign policy considerations of the
exchange visitor program. For this reason, waiver recommendation applications from
exchange visitors who received U.S. government funding are generally denied.
My waiver recommendation application was denied, but I have new information that may
affect my eligibility. Can I send it to the Waiver Review Division and ask for reconsideration
of my denied application?
With one exception, a denied waiver recommendation application cannot be
reconsidered or appealed, and you should not apply again under the same basis as
used in your original waiver request. The one exception is if you requested a waiver
based on persecution or exceptional hardship to a U.S. citizen (or legal permanent
resident) spouse or child, and you have new relevant information which you believe
may result in a different decision. You may apply again to USCIS. However, please
be aware that you will need to submit a new waiver recommendation application,
including all documents listed in Steps 1 through 3 of the Instructions, and pay the
processing fee.
If my J-1 spouse or parent obtains a recommendation for waiver of the two-year homecountry physical presence requirement, will it also apply to me, as a J-2 spouse or child of an
exchange visitor?
Yes. If your J-1 spouse or parent receives a favorable recommendation from the
Department of States Waiver Review Division, it will be forwarded to the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If USCIS grants the waiver to your J1 spouse or parent, then you will also benefit from that waiver.
My J-1 spouse or parent is subject to the two-year home-country physical presence
requirement, but is not applying for a waiver recommendation. May I, as his or her J-2 spouse
or child, apply?
With a few exceptions, J-2 spouses and children cannot independently apply for
waiver recommendations when their J-1 spouses or parents are not applying.
The exceptions where the Waiver Review Division will consider requests for waiver
recommendations from J-2 spouses and children are:
All such cases are evaluated by the Waiver Review Division on a case-by-case basis.
If you, as a J-2 spouse or child, believe that your situation merits special consideration
based on one of the exceptions above, you should complete online form DS-3035, pay
the processing fee (Steps 1 and 2 of the Instructions), and submit a statement
explaining why you are applying for a waiver and your J-1 spouse or parent is not.
Your statement should also explain why your situation merits special consideration.
As applicable, you must also submit:
Processing Fee
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If I withdraw my waiver recommendation application, will my processing fee be refunded?
No. Processing fees are NOT refundable.
I previously applied for a waiver recommendation and was denied. Must I pay the processing
fee again if I reapply under another waiver basis?
Yes. Since the fee is a processing fee, it is kept whether your waiver request is
approved or denied. However, you should use the same case number as used in your
first request for any subsequent applications.
Skills List
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What is the Exchange Visitors Skills List and where can I find it?
It is a list of fields of specialized knowledge and skills that are deemed necessary for
the development of an exchange visitors home country. See the Exchange Visitors
Skills List for more information.
Which countrys skills list applies to me?
Generally, the country skills list for your country of citizenship or nationality applies
to you. However, if the country of your citizenship or nationality differs from the
country of your last legal permanent residence at the time you obtained your J-1
exchange visitor status, the skills list from the country of your last permanent
residence at the time you obtained your J status would apply. Please note that some
countries do not have skills lists.
Case Number
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How do I know what my case number is?
You will be issued a case number after you have completed the DS-3035 online
application, available on the J Visa Waiver Online website. Although the application
cannot be submitted online, the online system provides you a case number
immediately, along with further instructions.
Do I keep the same case number if I apply for future waivers of the two-year home-country
physical presence requirement?
Yes, you will use the same case number for all future waiver recommendation
applications or advisory opinion requests. If you initially submitted an advisory
opinion request, use that same number when you apply for a waiver(s) at a later date.
DS-2019/IAP-66 Forms
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Where can I obtain copies of lost DS-2019/IAP-66 forms?
The responsible officer or alternate responsible officer of the exchange visitor
program in which you participated while on the J-1 visa should be able to supply you
with copies of lost DS-2019/IAP-66 forms. However, it is your responsibility to keep
all your DS 2019/IAP-66 forms. The Waiver Review Division cannot proceed with
your waiver recommendation application until you have provided copies of all of your
DS-2019/IAP-66 forms.
I cannot get duplicate copies of my DS-2019/IAP-66 forms. What should I do?
The Waiver Review Division will accept a signed letter from your responsible
program officer with information about your program and your participation in it.
Eligibility Information - Waiver of the Exchange Visitor TwoYear Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement
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Am I subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement?
As a current or past exchange visitor (J-1) visa holder, you are subject to the two-year
home-country physical presence requirement, also known as the foreign residence
requirement under U.S. law, for one or more of the following reasons:
For information about the specific U.S. laws that created the two-year home-country
physical presence requirement, refer to References U.S. Laws, numbers 1, 2, and 3.
What does being subject to this requirement mean?
You are required to fulfill this requirement by returning to your home country for a
cumulative total period of at least two years. You are not prohibited from travelling to
the United States, but until you have fulfilled the two-year home-country physical
presence requirement, you are not permitted to do any of the following:
There is a provision in U.S. law for a waiver of this requirement by the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),
when applied for by the former exchange visitor and recommended by the Department
of State, Waiver Review Division. Learn more about requesting a waiver.
Does the two-year home-country physical presence requirement apply to me?
Exchange visitors are generally made aware of this requirement when they agree to
participate in exchange visitor programs or at their visa interviews.
However, if you are unsure whether this requirement applies to you or your situation,
you should request in writing that the Department of State, Waiver Review Division
conduct an advisory opinion. An Advisory Opinion is a review of your exchange
visitor program documents to determine if you are subject to this requirement. Learn
more on the Advisory Opinions webpage.
You may take the survey available on the J Visa Waiver Online webpage. You will
need to provide information about yourself and your exchange visitor program in
order to complete the survey. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The online survey is not an
official determination of whether the two-year requirement applies to you. You must
request an Advisory Opinion for an official determination.
I have a spouse and/or children who had J-2 status based on my participation in an exchange
visitor program. I am subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement.
Are they also subject to this requirement?
Yes. Please review further information about dependent spouses and children on the
Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
I want to request a waiver of the two-year home-country physical presence requirement from
the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
If you are subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement, but
you are not able to fulfill the requirement, you may apply to the Department of State,
Waiver Review Division for a recommendation that USCIS grant a waiver under any
one of the five applicable bases set forth in U.S. immigration law. Choose the one
basis that you qualify for or applies to your situation.
Review the listing of State Public Health Departments. Each department is allowed to
request 30 such waivers per federal fiscal year. 10 of the 30 requests may be for
exchange visitor physicians who will serve at facilities which may not be located
within a designated health care professional shortage area but which serve patients
who live within such a designated area. The state public health department will
forward the Conrad State 30 Program request directly to the Waiver Review Division,
if it agrees to sponsor you for such a waiver.
For information about the specific U.S. laws that created this waiver category, refer to
References U.S. Laws, numbers 4 and 5.
References U.S. Laws
The chart below contains a list of U.S. laws relevant to waivers of the two-year homecountry physical presence requirement.
Law:
Under these laws, J visa holders who meet certain criteria are
not able to change status to or receive visas in the following
categories until they have returned to their home countries for at
least 2 years or until they receive waivers from USCIS: H, L, K,
or immigrant lawful permanent resident (LPR).