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J-1 Bars

J-1 bars are restrictions that may limit what an exchange visitor can do after completing a J-1 program, specifically regarding returning to the United States or changing immigration status. Depending on the visitor’s program, funding source and prior participation, one or more bars may apply and affect eligibility for future visas or extensions. Please review the following guidelines regarding these restrictions when planning next steps at the conclusion of a J-1 program.

The Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement, also known as 212(e), stipulates that a J-1 exchange visitor who is subject to this bar must return to their home country and physically remain there for an aggregate of two years before being eligible to return to the United States as a permanent resident, H-1B temporary worker or dependent, or L-1 intracompany transferee or dependent. 

To determine if you are subject to the 212(e) J-1 bar, please reference the J-1 visa stamp in your passport and DS-2019. Exchange visitors who have applied for a 212(e) waiver to remove the J-1 bar are not eligible for an extension.

Exchange visitors who are subject to this requirement are also ineligible to change their status within the United States to that of permanent resident, H-1B or L-1. Nonimmigrant category exceptions are A (diplomatic) and G (international organization).

Current or previous exchange visitors subject to the requirement may leave the United States and apply for a visa to return in any other category except permanent resident, H-1B or L-1.

  • If a J-1 exchange visitor is subject to 212(e), their J-2 dependent is also subject.

    Some J-1 exchange visitors and their J-2 dependents may not be required to meet the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement upon completing their program. Please review the amended 2024 Skills List to see if your CIP code (field of study or research) will eliminate your need to obtain a waiver to work in or immigrate to the United States after completing your exchange program. Those who receive funding from the U.S. government or their home country government remain subject to the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement.

    The 12- and 24-month bars mentioned below cannot be waived.

  • Not all exchange visitors are subject to 212(e). Whether or not you are subject to 212(e) will be determined at the time of visa issuance and will be noted on the visa stamp in your passport and DS-2019.

    Two conditions will subject an exchange visitor to 212(e).

    Condition 1: Government Funding

    If exchange visitors are funded in whole or in part by their home country’s government, they will be subject to the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement. The same applies to those funded directly by the U.S. government or through a U.S. government grant designated for international exchange. Government grants that do not specify whether the funding is for international exchange do not subject an exchange visitor to 212(e).

    Please note that 212(e) typically pertains to your direct funding. If your Principal Investigator (PI) receives government funding, you may not be subject to 212(e). This is left to the discretion of the U.S. Department of State.

    Condition 2: Exchange Visitor Skills List

    The Exchange Visitor Skills List is a compilation of disciplines organized by country. Pursuing study or research in any of the listed fields for the visitor’s home country will subject the exchange visitor to the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement. If a country is not on the skills list, then visitors from that country cannot be subjected to 212(e) based on the skills list criteria.

  • An exchange visitor may request a free written advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of State Waiver Review Division on whether they are subject to Section 212(e). This can be requested when there is doubt or a question about whether the exchange visitor is subject to 212(e), or when the exchange visitor may have been incorrectly found to be subject by a consular officer or immigration officer. It can only be requested if an exchange visitor is actually participating or has participated in an exchange visitor program.

  • If subject to the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement, exchange visitors may be eligible to apply for a waiver.

    If an exchange visitor is subject to 212(e) and would like to change status within the United States or become an H-1B temporary worker or permanent resident, a waiver must be granted. The U.S. Department of State website is the best source for information about waivers. OIS does not advise on or assist with waivers.

    The Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement will not prevent you from reentering the United States as an F-1/J-1 student, B-1/B-2 tourist or other visa categories, but it will prevent you from obtaining H-1B non-immigrant employment or permanent residency status unless the two-year requirement is either fulfilled or waived.

    There are four categories in which a waiver of the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement may be granted, according to the U.S. Department of State:

    • No objection waiver
    • Interested U.S. government agency (IGA) waiver
    • Fear of persecution waiver
    • Exceptional hardship waiver

    Once the Waiver Review Division has approved your waiver request, no further extensions or transfers will be processed by OIS. Exchange visitors may complete their current program through the end date listed on the most recent DS-2019.

    Traveling outside of the United States while one’s waiver request is pending or approved may result in the loss of one’s waiver.

Time spent in the United States as a J-1 exchange visitor or J-2 dependent might affect eligibility for future J-1 status in the research scholar or professor categories. These periods of ineligibility are referred to as the 12- and 24-month bars. 

The 12- and 24-month bars do not prevent individuals from returning to the United States in any other visa status or in J categories such as short-term scholar or student. Please note that a short-term scholar must have a new program objective. Time spent in the student or short-term scholar category does not count toward the 12- or 24-month bar.

Transferring to another institution to continue one’s current J-1 program does not prompt the 12- or 24-month bar.

The 12- and  24-month bars cannot be waived, but you may wait the required time anywhere outside of the United States.

If a J-1 is subject to the 12- or 24-month bar, their dependents who enter the United States in J-2 status are also subject.

Individuals who have been in the United States for more than six months in the previous year in any J visa status are not eligible to reenter the United States as a J-1 research scholar or professor for a 12-month period.

There are four exceptions:

  • Individuals who transfer to another institution to continue their current J-1 program.
  • Individuals who are subject to the 24-month bar.
  • Presence in J status of less than six months.
  • Presence in J status in the short-term scholar category.

All exchange visitors in the research scholar and professor categories are subject to a 24-month bar on repeat participation regardless of the previous program’s duration.

Do not confuse the 24-month bar with 212(e). These are two completely different bars. The 212(e) may apply to visitors in any J category. The 24-month bar only applies to J visa holders and their dependents who enter the United States in the research scholar or professor category.