DEPARTMENT OF STATE RETROACTIVELY ELIMINATES INDIA, CHINA AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES FROM THE J-1 EXCHANGE VISITOR SKILLS LIST

Effective on January 9, 2024, the Department of State (DOS) made important and significant changes to the Exchange Visitors Skills List, which determines which J-1 exchange visitors are required to return to their home country for two years unless a waiver is obtained. It is important to note that these changes do not apply to J-1 Alien Physicians, but do apply to J-1 Physician Researchers and other researchers. It also does not apply to exchange visitors whose exchange programs were funded by the United States government or home country government. The Exchange Visitor Skills List, compiled by the DOS, is a list of skills which are needed in the listed countries. The list has not been updated since 2009 and will no longer rely on each country to advise DOS of the skills needed in the home country. The Skills List is retroactive so that if a J-1 exchange visitor was subject to the Skills List previously and the J-1’s country of return or the skill the J-1 came to America to obtain has been removed from the Skills List as of January 9, 2024, the J-1 and J-2 dependents are no longer subject to the home residence requirement. The reason for the rule is to make America more attractive to world class researchers, scientists, teachers and others. Noncitizens from the removed countries will have greater employment options in America, particularly in an era when H-1B visas are difficult to obtain because the demand far outweighs the supply of visas. The cost of employing J-1s is far less than an H-1B in terms of government fees. It is hoped that the private sector and small businesses will be able to more efficiently access talent not available in America. Noncitizens from the deleted countries will be more attractive to employers. Please contact us at corey@wcslaw.com to schedule a consultation with Jan Pederson regarding a J-1, NIW or EB1A.. We will be holding a Webinar in early January 2025.

For more information, visit Federal Register :: Public Notice of Revised Exchange Visitor Skills List

Most notable, India, Brazil and China have been removed from the Skills List. Collectively, these three countries send the largest number of J-1 exchange visitors to America. The list of countries deleted from the Skills List are as follows:

· Albania

· Algeria

· Argentina

· Armenia

· Bangladesh

· Bolivia

· Brazil

· Chile

· China

· Colombia

· Costa Rica

· Dominican Republic

· Gabon

· Georgia

· Guyana

· India

· Indonesia

· Kazakhstan

· Laos

· Malaysia

· Mauritius

· Namibia

· Oman

· Paraguay

· Peru

· Romania

· Saudi Arabia

· South Africa

· South Korea

· Sri Lanka

· Thailand

· Trinidad and Tobago

· Turkey

· United Arab Emirates

· Uruguay