December 6, 2024
On 12/6/2024, the US Department of State announced that, effective 12/9/2024, it is changing the J-1 "skills list." If a country is removed from the skills list, the two-year home residency obligation is retroactively removed for individuals from that country as long as they are not also subject on a different basis, e.g. government funding or J-1 program category (Alien Physician). However, if a skill is removed but the country remains on the list, any person from that country subjected to the two-year requirement based on the previous skills remains subject to the rule.
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