Every year, roughly 300,000 people enter the United States on J-1 exchange visitor visas — researchers, physicians, teachers, au pairs, interns. Many of them plan to go home afterward. Some don't. And for a significant subset, the federal government has strong opinions about which group they belong to.
That's because of the two-year home residency requirement under Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you're subject to it, you can't change to most other visa statuses, adjust to permanent residence, or get an H or L visa until you've spent two years back in your home country — or obtained a waiver.
Who Is Subject to the Requirement
Not every J-1 holder faces this restriction. Three specific triggers create the obligation:
Government funding. If your exchange program was funded in whole or in part by your home government or the U.S. government, you're subject to the requirement. This includes Fulbright scholars, many USAID-funded participants, and anyone whose DS-2019 was sponsored through a government-funded program.
The Skills List. The Department of State maintains a Skills List identifying countries with shortages in specific professional fields. If your home country appeared on the list for your field of expertise when you entered J-1 status, you were subject to the requirement. However, a major update in December 2024 removed 37 countries from the list entirely — including India, China, Brazil, South Korea, and Turkey — and this change applies retroactively.
Graduate medical education. If you came to the United States as a J-1 to receive graduate medical training, you're subject to the requirement regardless of your country of origin or funding source.
Your DS-2019 form should indicate whether you're subject to the requirement. If there's any ambiguity, request an advisory opinion from the Department of State's Waiver Review Division.
The Five Waiver Options
If you are subject to the requirement and don't want to spend two years back home, there are five paths to a waiver. Each has different requirements, processing realities, and success rates.
1. No Objection Statement
The most common route. Your home country's government issues a statement saying it has no objection to you remaining in the United States. You submit this through the Department of State via Form DS-3035.
The catch: this option is not available if you're subject to the requirement because of graduate medical training. And some countries are notoriously slow or reluctant to issue no objection statements. Others, particularly those that invested in your training, may simply refuse.
2. Interested Government Agency (IGA)
A U.S. federal government agency requests a waiver on your behalf because your work serves U.S. interests. The agency writes to the Waiver Review Division explaining why your continued presence benefits the United States.
This is uncommon for most exchange visitors but can be relevant for researchers doing federally funded work at national labs, NIH, or similar institutions. The requesting agency must be a federal entity. State governments and private employers don't qualify.
3. Persecution Waiver
If you can demonstrate that returning to your home country would subject you to persecution based on race, religion, or political opinion, you can apply for a waiver on those grounds. This requires filing Form I-612 with USCIS in addition to the DS-3035 with the State Department.
The standard here is similar to (but not the same as) the asylum standard. You need to show a well-founded fear of persecution, supported by country conditions evidence. USCIS adjudicates this component independently.
4. Exceptional Hardship
If you have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or child, and their separation from you (or relocation to your home country) would cause exceptional hardship, you can pursue a waiver on this basis. Like the persecution waiver, this requires both a DS-3035 and an I-612.
"Exceptional hardship" is a higher bar than ordinary hardship. USCIS looks for factors beyond the normal disruption that any family faces during an international move — things like serious medical conditions requiring U.S.-based treatment, career consequences that go beyond inconvenience, or educational disruptions for children with special needs.
5. Conrad 30 (Physicians Only)
For J-1 physicians subject to the requirement through graduate medical education, the Conrad State 30 program offers a path. Each state's health department can sponsor up to 30 physicians per year who agree to practice in a medically underserved area for at least three years.
This is the primary waiver route for international medical graduates. Demand consistently exceeds the 30-slot cap in many states, so timing and state selection matter. Some states fill their slots within weeks of the federal fiscal year opening on October 1.
The December 2024 Skills List Overhaul
In December 2024, the Department of State revised the Exchange Visitor Skills List, removing 37 countries entirely. The countries eliminated include major source nations for J-1 exchange visitors: India, China, Brazil, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Colombia, Indonesia, and Argentina, among others.
The revision applies retroactively. If you were previously subject to the two-year requirement solely because your country was on the Skills List, and your country has been removed, you are no longer subject to the requirement — even if your J-1 program ended years ago. This change freed a substantial number of people from the requirement without the need to pursue a waiver at all.
The change does not affect anyone subject to the requirement on other grounds (government funding or graduate medical education). If your requirement was triggered by the Skills List and government funding, you're still subject to it based on the funding trigger.
Processing Times and Practical Realities
The waiver process involves two agencies. The Department of State's Waiver Review Division reviews your DS-3035 and issues a recommendation to USCIS. Then USCIS makes the final decision.
State Department review times for the DS-3035 vary by waiver type. Hardship and persecution cases take longer because USCIS must independently adjudicate the I-612, which adds its own processing timeline. You can check your case status through the J Visa Waiver Online portal.
A few practical points worth noting:
- Filing a waiver application does not extend your authorized stay. If your J-1 status expires while the waiver is pending, you may be accruing unlawful presence.
- A pending waiver application does not prevent you from departing and reentering the United States, but departing could complicate your case depending on the circumstances.
- If USCIS approves the waiver, it removes the two-year requirement permanently. It does not, by itself, grant you any new immigration status.
When You Need a Lawyer
Some J-1 waiver cases are straightforward. If your country issues no objection statements routinely and your DS-2019 clearly shows the Skills List as the sole basis for the requirement, you may be able to handle the DS-3035 yourself.
But several situations call for experienced counsel:
- You're a physician navigating the Conrad 30 program, where state-level strategy and employer coordination are critical.
- You're pursuing a hardship or persecution waiver, which requires building an evidentiary record that meets USCIS standards.
- Your DS-2019 is ambiguous about why you're subject to the requirement, or you believe it may be incorrect.
- You have overlapping immigration goals, such as a pending green card application, an H-1B petition, or a family-based case, that need to be sequenced around the waiver timeline.
- The December 2024 Skills List change may apply to you, but you're not sure whether it fully eliminates your requirement.
An immigration attorney can assess which waiver category gives you the best chance, identify potential complications before they become problems, and coordinate the waiver with your broader immigration strategy.
Chris Hammond is an immigration attorney in Houston, Texas. If you have questions about J-1 waivers or other immigration matters, schedule a consultation or call (832) 831-0833.