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Two-year Home Country Physical Presence

J-1 Exchange Visitor Program for Scholars & Student Interns

The Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement is also called the two-year home residency requirement or 212( e) which refers to the section of U.S. law.

J-1 Exchange visitors subject to the requirement cannot

  • change status to another non-immigrant status in the U.S.
  • obtain an H temporary worker or L intra-company transferee visa
  • obtain permanent residence

until they have spent 2 years in their country of last legal permanent residence or received a waiver of the requirement.

Conditions

You may be subject to the two-year home residency requirement if the following conditions apply:

  • Government funded exchange program - The program is financed in whole or in part directly or indirectly by the U.S. government or the government of the exchange visitor's nationality or last residence;
  • Graduate medical education or training - The exchange visitor entered the United States to receive graduate medical education or training;
  • Specialized knowledge or skill: The exchange visitor hold citizenship or last permanent residence as indicated on Form DS-2019 in a country that is on the Exchange Visitor Skills List and the Subject/Field Code on Form DS-2019 is on the list for that country.

To see if the consular officer preliminarily determined that you are subject to Section 212(e), refer to the visa stamp placed in your passport by the U.S. Consular Officer and the officer’s endorsement on your Form DS-2019.

If you believe the determination is not correct, you can request an advisory opinion from the U.S. Exchange Visitor Program.

The U.S. Department of State updated the Skills list in December 2024. You are not subject to the two-year home country physical presence requirement based on the Skills List if 

  • you were admitted to the United States in J status or obtained J status before December 9, 2024; and  
  • your country of legal permanent residence is no longer on the 2024 Skills List. 

Pending Waiver Applications, Form DS-3035: For applications submitted by an applicant whose country of legal permanent residence was on a prior Skills List but is not on the 2024 Skills List, the State Department will determine whether the two-year home country physical presence requirement still applies to such applicant for another reason.  If the requirement does not apply, the applicant will receive notification of the Department’s determination. 

Extensions of the J-1 Program/Form DS-2019

If you are subject to Section 212(e) and you are recommended for a waiver by the Department of State and granted a waiver by the Department of Homeland Security, you cannot extend J status, transfer to another program, or obtain a new J visa without the possibility of becoming subject to Section 212(e) again.

Waivers

Find additional information about the requirement and waivers at the U.S. Department of States’ Waiver Review website.

UC Denver does not assist students or scholars with their individual requests to waive the two-year home residency requirement. Schools, Colleges or Departments are not obligated to pay any fees incurred by an individual who requests an individual waiver. Under limited circumstances, ISSS may provide general guidance to an individual scholar about filing a request.

In the case of a tenure-eligible, tenure-track, or tenured faculty member and at the request of the hiring unit, The University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus will sometimes sponsor a J-1 waiver that requires the support of the employer, such as an Interested Government Agency waiver or State of Colorado Conrad 30 waiver. The application requires that the University engage and either the hiring unit or the faculty member pay for the services of an outside attorney authorized to represent the University in the matter.

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