Visa Rules and Regulations

Family

Your legally married spouse and your unmarried children under 21 years old are eligible for J-2 visa status (click here for information about unmarried/cohabitating partners).

• Each J-2 family member must have their own DS-2019 and get their own J-2 visa from the American Embassy/Consulate. (Only Canadian citizens do not need visas in their passport to enter the United States.)

• All J-2 family dependents must travel with their own DS-2019 and valid passport.
• Your J-2 family members can enter the U.S. with you, or they can enter the U.S. separately after you if there have not been any significant changes in your J-1 program since the initial DS-2019s were issued.
• J-2 family members are not required to enter the U.S. within 30 days after the start date listed in Box 3 of the DS-2019.
• Your family should always know your U.S. home address, where you will work, and what type of work you do.

Any other relatives, such as parents or cousins, may visit the U.S. with Visa Waiver for Tourism (must visit for not more than 90 days and have citizenship from a specific list of countries).  Those who do not qualify for Visa Waiver for Tourism may enter the U.S. with B-2 Tourism visa status.

Two-Year Home Residency

Definition

Some J-1 Exchange Visitors may have a two-year home residency requirement, also known as Section 212(e). A two-year home residency obligates some J visa holders to return to their home country for an aggregate of two years upon completion of their J-1 program.

The J-1 Exchange Visitor must first live in their home country for two years or receive a “Waiver” (permission from the J-1's home government and the U.S. government to be released from the two-year home residency) if they want to obtain:

•     H visa status
•     K visa status
•     L visa status
•     Change to any other visa status without leaving the U.S.
•     Permanent residence in the U.S (green card.)

Two-Year Home Residency May Apply for Three Reasons

J-1 Exchange Visitors have a two-year home residency if any of the following reasons apply:

    1. they come to the U.S. with money provided either by their home country government, the U.S. government or some international organizations that receive government money; or
    2. their country of citizenship or country of last permanent residence appears on the U.S. Department of State's Skills List and the J-1’s skill is on the list; or
    3. they come to the U.S. to obtain clinical training with ECFMG visa sponsorship

J-2 family dependents will also have a two-year home residency if the J-1 has a two-year home residency. The two-year home country residence requirement and other conditions of J-1 status are explained to the J-1 Exchange Visitor on the second page of the DS-2019.

The Exchange Visitor's home country and the U.S. Department of State frequently grant an official release ("Waiver") from the two-year home residency for those who would like to stay in the U.S. after completing their J-1 medical research program.

Starting New J-1 Programs

The U.S. government restricts the repeated use of J-1 visa status.  If you complete your J-1 program or exhaust the maximum length of time for your type of J-1 visa status, you may be restricted from obtaining J-1 visa status again.

24-month bar: A 24-month bar on repeat participation is imposed on a J-1 Research Scholar/Professor and their J-2 dependents before being eligible to return to the U.S. in either category once their SEVIS record/program is completed. If a Research Scholar or Professor “completed” his or her program before the full 5-year period was over, the continuity of the 5-year period is broken and the 5-year window is “closed.” In such a case, the J Beneficiary is not eligible to capture the remaining unused time, and the J Beneficiary must wait for 24 months before beginning a new program as a J-1 Research Scholar or Professor.

12-month bar: Individuals who have been in the U.S. for more than 6 months in the previous 12 months in J visa status are not eligible to enter the U.S. as a J-1 Research Scholar or Professor for a 12-month period.  Time spent in the J-1 Short-term Scholar category does not count towards the 12-month bar.

Significant breaks:  The U.S. government requires significant breaks between J programs even if a bar does not apply.