US Lists 44 Countries Subject to 2-Year Home Residency Rule Under Exchange Visitor Program
The US State Department has released its Exchange Visitor Skills List by Country, which identifies 44 countries whose residents may be forced to return home for two years after completing an exchange visitor program before applying for some US immigration benefits.
The list includes countries from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands. African countries make up the majority.
What the two-year requirement means
Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act grants the US Secretary of State the ability to identify certain countries as plainly requiring specified fields of specialized knowledge or abilities.
If a person’s country of nationality or residence and their field of expertise are both on the Skills List, they must spend two years physically present in their home country after completing their exchange program before becoming eligible for certain immigration benefits, such as permanent residency or specific visa changes.
The requirement is not uniform for all exchange visitors from these countries. It is only valid when both the country and the relevant skill field are stated.
The State Department emphasizes that each country’s skills list may differ, and nationals are invited to consult the Federal Register website for complete information specific to their own country.
Countries subject to a two-year home residency.
According to the federal government, these are the 44 countries whose nationals are subject to the two-year home residency rule.
- Belize
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burma (Myanmar)
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- The Gambia
- Ghana
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Palestinian Authority (West Bank and Gaza)
- Philippines
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Venezuela
- Yemen
- Zambia
The paper is especially relevant for Nigerians and other African citizens participating in exchange programs in the United States under the J-1 visa category, which is often utilized by academics, scholars, and professionals.