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).
On January 29, 2025, Executive Action 13899, entitled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism”, was signed by the President of the United States. The executive action specifically mentions “alien students or staff”. “Alien”, a term that has been recently re-introduced, refers to anyone who is not a citizen or a national of the United States.
Scams are illegal and fraudulent schemes by criminals (scammers) who are trying to get money from you. Scammers will often impersonate actual agencies or companies and may contact you by phone, text or email. These criminals are often very convincing, so it’s important to be very careful so that you don’t lose your money or provide personal information to people who should not have it.
The International Center would like to remind both new and continuing international students and scholars to: