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ARTICLE · 16 DECEMBER 2024

State Department Updates J-1 Skills List

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2024, and effective immediately, the US State Department has updated the J-1 Skills List for the first time since 2009.

United StatesImmigration
Maryanne Kline
Maryanne Kline
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Published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2024, and effective immediately, the US State Department has updated the J-1 Skills List for the first time since 2009. This update substantially reduces the list of countries whose J-1 Exchange Visitor Program participants in designated skill areas are subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement.

Background: The J-1 Two-Year Foreign Residence Requirement

J-1 Exchange Visitor visas are available to foreign nationals who want to participate in exchange visitor programs in the United States. There are multiple categories of J-1 visas; the most common are for interns, trainees, visiting professors and scholars, au pairs, and "summer work-travel" for work at seasonal resorts.

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