The State Department (DOS) announced on December 9, 2024, a revision of its Exchange Visitors Skills List (“Skills List”) to remove certain countries from the list. The DOS is updating the countries included on the Skills List “based on criteria that is data driven, transparent, and consistent with U.S. goals for the development of foreign countries.” These criteria include per capita Gross Domestic Product, country size, and overall outbound migration rates.

The Skills List is a list of countries designated by the DOS as clearly requiring the services of persons engaged in certain fields of specialized knowledge or skills. The Skills List is used by the DOS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine whether a foreign national who has been admitted in nonimmigrant status to the United States as a J-1 exchange visitor, or who acquired such status, is subject to the two-year home residence requirement under Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The two-year home residence requirement mandates that all J-1 nonimmigrants subject to it return to their home countries or countries of last residence after completion of their J-1 period of stay and remain there for at least two years before being allowed to seek H-1B, L-1, K-1 or permanent resident status or to change status in the United States. Waivers of the two-year home residence requirement are available under certain circumstances.

The DOS has now revised the Skills List to remove over thirty-five  countries, including, notably, India and the People’s Republic of China. This is based on the industrial and technological advancement achieved by these nations in recent years. Other countries removed from the Skills List include Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montenegro, Namibia, Oman, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay.  From now on, no citizen of one of these countries will be subject to the two-year home residence requirement based on the Skills List, regardless of his or her area of specialization.

J-1 nonimmigrants who were subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement based on the Skills List at the time of their admission in J-1 status are, effective immediately and retroactively, no longer subject to that requirement if their country is not designated in the DOS’ revised list. This means that any J-1 nonimmigrants who are citizens of the removed countries and are in the process of seeking a waiver of the requirement need not pursue their waiver applications and are eligible to seek H-1B, L-1, K-1 or permanent resident status or to change status in the United States.

It should be noted that this revision only affects J-1 nonimmigrants subject to the two-year home residence requirement based on the Skills List. J-1 nonimmigrants who are subject to the requirement because they have received funding from the United States government or their home country government, remain subject to the requirement and must return home for two years or obtain a waiver if they wish to seek H-1B, L-1, K-1 or permanent resident status or to change status in the United States.

The DOS notes that it intends to review the Skills List every three years and will publish updates as appropriate.