Student/Training Visas
There are many options available for those people who wish
to enter the United States for vocational training purposes
or academic study in furtherance of a degree. Most student
visas allow for the individual to study or train in the United
States with little restriction. Typically, at the completion
of these studies the individual can then change status and
either work in the United States, or remain in the United
States through a familial relationship. However, in the case
of J-1 and J-2 visa holders the individual is often required
to return to their home country for a two-year period upon
completion of their training in the United States. This requirement
is based upon agreements between the United States Government
and the individual’s home government, as well as an
agreement between the individual and the United States Government.
This requirement often can be waived which
will allow the individual to remain in the United States without
returning home for a two-year period.
The categories of student and trainings visa are as follows:
| |
Visa |
Description |
Time Limit\ Extensions |
| 1) |
F |
Student at an academic or language
training program. |
Duration
of Status |
| 2) |
J |
Exchange Visitor. |
Varies depending
on program. |
| 3) |
M |
Student in vocational or
other recognized non-academic program.
|
Varies depending on program. |
| 4) |
Q-1 |
Participant in an international cultural exchange program. |
15 months max. |
| 5) |
Q-2 |
Irish cultural and exchange program participant. |
36 months max. |
J-1 Waiver
For those individuals who entered the United States on a
J-1 training visa, you may be subject to the “two-year
home country requirement”. This requirement bars you
from changing status in the United States, other than an "O"
visa holder, until such time that you have returned to your
home country for a period of at least two years. Fortunately,
this requirement is not absolute and can be waived.
Not all recipients of a J-1 training visa are subject to
the two-year home country requirement. Typically, a notation
will be made on the individuals IAP-66 form when they receive
the J visa as to whether or not they are subject to the two-year
home country requirement. However, this notation is not binding
and should only be used as a primary indication.
The two-year home country requirement applies in the following
situations:
| 1) |
If the individuals participation in the
J-1 program was financed, in whole or in part, by any
government agency, whether it be the individual's home
country or the United States government. |
| 2) |
If at the time the individual obtained the J visa his/her
home country had listed the individual’s field or
skill as one that is in need in the home country. This
is determined by the United
States Department of State’s skills list. |
| 3) |
If the individual received clinical graduate medical
training or education as part of their educational program
while in the United States. |
The process of removing the two-year home country requirement
is a complex task that requires applications with the United
States Department of State, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, as well as multiple Interested Government Agency’s.
Waiver of the two-year home country requirement can be accomplished
through the following means:
| 1) |
“No Objection Letter” Should the
individual’s home country agree to waive the two–year
home country requirement, and if the United States Department
of State agrees, this can be the basis of an application
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This
avenue is generally not available for physicians who have
received clinical graduate medical training or education
in the United States as a J-1 visa holder; although in
certain circumstances a modification to this strategy
may be available to physicians. |
| 2) |
Hardship or Persecution Waiver If the individual
can show that by returning to his/her home country it
would cause extreme hardship to his/her United States
Citizen spouse or child, or if it can be shown that should
the individual be forced to return to his/her home that
he/she would be subject to persecution based on race,
religion, or political opinion, then the two-year home
country that requirement can be waived. |
| 3) |
Interested Government Agency If an agency of
the United States Government agrees to sponsor an application
for a waiver of the two year home country requirement
on behalf of the J–1 visa holder, the two year home
country requirement can be waived. This is often the best
option for physicians. |
| 4) |
Conrad State 30 Program: The Federal Government
allows each state to grant J-1 waivers to thirty qualified
physicians each year, provided that these physicians agree
to work in a federally designated medically underserved
area for a period of three years. |
| 5) |
Impossibility of Performance If the individual
can prove that he/she is unable to return to his/her home
country because the government of the home country refuses
to allow him/her entrance into the country, then the two-year
home country requirement can be waived. |
Throughout the past three decades Teplen
& Associates, PLLC has shown an exemplary level of
success in applications to waive the two-year home country
requirement and has assisted on the drafting and administration
of waiver programs. Our experience with applications for waiving
the two-year home country requirement for physicians has been
extraordinarily well received. Teplen
& Associates, PLLC is associated with several hospitals,
clinics, research scientists, and private practices in New
York and across the nation.
