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General Requirements
A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to enter the United States (U.S.) temporarily for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants enter the U.S. for a temporary period of time, and once in the U.S. are restricted to the activity or reason for which their visa was issued. They may have more than one type of nonimmigrant visa but are admitted in only one status.
General requirements for foreign nationals seeking temporary admission include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The purpose of the visit must be temporary;
- The foreign national must agree to depart at the end of his/her authorized stay or extension;
- The foreign national must be in possession of a valid passport;
- A foreign residence must be maintained by the foreign national, in most instances;
- The foreign national may be required to show proof of financial support;
- The foreign national must be admissable or have obtained a waiver for any ground of inadmissability;
- The foreign national must abide by the terms and conditions of admission.
Business or Pleasure Visitors
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. The visitor visa is a nonimmigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1) or for pleasure or medical treatment (B-2). Persons planning to travel to the U.S. for a different purpose, such as students, temporary workers, crewmen, journalists, etc, must apply for a different visa in the appropriate category. Travelers from certain eligible countries may also be able to visit the U.S. without a visa, through the Visa Waiver Program. Read more about how to participate in the Visa Waiver Program on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website. More helpful information on the Visa Waiver program is found on the State Department Visa Services website.
Qualifying for a Visa
Applicants for visitor visas must show that they qualify under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The presumption in the law is that every visitor visa applicant is an intending immigrant. Therefore, applicants for visitor visas must overcome this presumption by demonstrating that:
- The purpose of their trip is to enter the U.S. for business, pleasure, or medical treatment;
- They plan to remain for a specific, limited period; and
- They have a residence outside the U.S. as well as other binding ties which will insure their return abroad at the end of the visit.
Alien truck drivers may qualify for admission as B-1 visitors for business to pick up or deliver cargo traveling in the stream of international commerce.
Passing through a U.S. Port of Entry
Applicants should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. Immigration authorities have the authority to deny admission, and determine the period for which the bearer of a visitor visa is authorized to remain in the United States.
At the port of entry, an Immigration official must authorize the traveler's admission to the U.S. At that time the Form I-94, Record of Arrival-Departure, which notes the length of stay permitted, is stamped. Those visitors who wish to stay beyond the time indicated on their Form I-94 must contact the USCIS to request Form I-539, Application to Extend Status. The decision to grant or deny a request for extension of stay is made solely by the USCIS.
Exchange Visitors
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides two nonimmigrant visa categories for persons to participate in exchange visitor programs in the United States. The "J" visa is for educational and cultural exchange programs designated by the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the "Q" visa is for international cultural exchange programs designated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The "J" exchange visitor program is designed to promote the interchange of persons, knowledge, and skills in the fields of education, arts, and sciences. Participants include students at all academic levels; trainees obtaining on-the-job training with firms, institutions, and agencies; teachers of primary, secondary, and specialized schools; professors coming to teach or do research at institutions of higher learning; research scholars; professional trainees in the medical and allied fields; and international visitors coming for the purpose of traveling, observing, consulting, conducting research, training, sharing, or demonstrating specialized knowledge or skills, or participating in organized people-to-people programs.
The "Q" international cultural exchange program is for the purpose of providing practical training and employment, and the sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of the participant's home country in the United States.
Background Requirements
Financial Resources
Participants in the "J"exchange visitor program must have sufficient funds to cover all expenses, or funds must be provided by the sponsoring organization in the form of a scholarship or other stipend. "Q" exchange visitors will be paid by their employing sponsor at the same rate paid to local domestic workers similarly employed.
Scholastic Preparation
"J" exchange visitors must have sufficient scholastic preparation to participate in the designated program, including knowledge of the English language, or the exchange program must be designed to accommodate non-English speaking participants. The "Q" exchange visitor must be at least 18 years old and be able to communicate effectively about the cultural attributes of his or her country.
Medical Education and Training
Exchange visitors coming under the "J" program for graduate medical education or training must meet certain special requirements. These requirements include passing the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in Medical Sciences, demonstrating competency in English, being automatically subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement (after completion of their program), and being subject to time limits on the duration of their program. Physicians coming to the United States on exchange visitor programs for the purpose of observation, consultation, teaching, or conducting research in which there is little or no patient care are not subject to the above requirements.
Forms/Petitions
Participants in the "J" program must present a Form DS-2019 Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status prepared by a designated sponsoring organization. (Forms DS-2019 are issued by the Department of State)
Participants in the "Q" program must have the designated sponsoring organization file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For more details on how to file for a Q petition, please see the Temporary Workers section.
Admission through a U.S. Port of Entry
Applicants should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has authority to deny admission. Also, the CBP, not the Department of State Consular Officer, determines the period for which the bearer of an exchange visitor visa is authorized to stay in the United States. At the port of entry, a CBP official stamps and endorses Form I-94, Record of Arrival-Departure, specifying the period of time that the alien is authorized to stay in the United States.
For information on Visa Application Procedures and other related information about exchange visitors, please visit the Visa Services Website of the Department of State. More specific information can be found at the Department of State Exchange Visitor (J) Visas Website.
Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP)
Also see Sec. 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-208). Section 641 of IIRIRA is one of the catalysts behind a new interagency initiative, the Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP). SEVP is designed to improve processes for foreign students and exchange visitors holding F, J and M visas, and schools, colleges and other organizations sponsoring programs for these visa holders.
SEVP will facilitate and automate several processes affecting exchange visitors, such as:
- Visa issuance
- Admissions to the U.S.
- Benefit requests
- Information reporting.
How Do I Get A Waiver Of The Foreign Residence Requirement If I Am An Exchange Visitor?
What is the Foreign Residence Requirement?
A nonimmigrant temporarily enters the United States for a specific purpose. Exchange visitors are nonimmigrants (J-1 status) who participate in the Exchange Visitor Program. This program, which is administered by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, seeks to promote peaceful relations and mutual understanding with other countries through educational and cultural exchange programs. Accordingly, many exchange visitors entering the United States are subject to a requirement that they return to their home country to share with their countrymen the knowledge, experience and impressions gained during their stay in the United States. Unless USCIS approves a waiver for this requirement, exchange visitors must depart from the United States and live in their country of residence for two years before they are allowed to apply for an immigrant visa, permanent residence, or change to a new nonimmigrant status.
Where Can I Find the Law?
The Immigration and Nationality Act is a law that governs the admission of all foreign nationals to the United States. For the part of the law about the foreign residence requirement, please see INA § 212e and INA § 214. The Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] discusses the foreign residence requirement for exchange visitors at 8 CFR § 212.7 and 22 CFR § 514.
Who is Subject to the Foreign Residence Requirement?
You are subject to the foreign residence requirement if you are a (J-1 visa status) participant in the Exchange Visitor Program and any part of your participation in the exchange program was paid for, directly or indirectly, by your government or the United States Government. Your program sponsor should have noted on your DS-2019 (previously the IAP-66) (Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status) if your program was paid for directly or indirectly by your government or the United States Government. You can also discuss this issue with officials from the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
You are from a country which has been designated by Bureau of Consular Affairs as requiring your skills (please see the Exchange Visitor Skill List for more information); or
You arrived in the United States on or after January 10, 1977 to obtain graduate medical education or training.
If you fall into one of the above categories, your dependent spouse and child are also subject to the foreign residence requirement.
Who is Eligible to Apply for a Waiver?
You may be eligible to apply for a waiver for the foreign residence requirement if:
- You have a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or child and you can provide evidence that returning to your country would impose exceptional hardship on your spouse or child.
- You cannot return to your country because you would be subject to persecution because of your race, religion, or political opinion.
- A U.S. government agency requests a waiver directly from the Bureau of Consular Affairs for you because you are engaged in a project of official interest to the agency.
- Your country provides a written statement to the director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs stating that your country has no objection to a waiver. (If you came to the United States as an exchange visitor to receive graduate medical education or training, you are ineligible to receive a waiver on this ground.)
- An interested Federal agency, any State Department of Public Health or its equivalent sponsors you to work full-time for three years as a nonimmigrant H-1B status (temporary worker in specialty occupation) physician in a geographic area designated as having a shortage of health care professionals. Waiver applicants sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs are not required to practice medicine in an area designated as having a shortage of health care professionals. If you are granted the waiver, you must agree to begin your employment within 90 days of receiving the waiver. The request of the interested State or Federal agency is submitted to the director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
How Do I Apply?
If you fall under the first two categories above, you must file a USCIS Form I-612 (Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement) by mail with the USCIS office that serves that area where you live. Please read the entire application carefully and submit the right documents, photos, and fee. Forms are available by calling 1-800-870-3676, or by submitting a request through our forms by mail system. For further information on filing fees, please see USCIS filing fees, fee waiver request procedures, and the USCIS fee waiver policy memo. Please see our USCIS Field Offices Homepage for more information on USCIS office locations.
If your government, a U.S. government agency, or a U.S. state is applying for a waiver for you, the government body should apply directly to the Bureau of Consular Affairs for the waiver. The USCIS and the Bureau of Consular Affairs will consider your case, and notify you of their decision. For further information on application for waivers, go to the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Website on this subject.
How Can I Check the Status of My Application?
To check the status of your application, please contact the USCIS office that received your application. You should be prepared to provide the USCIS staff with specific information about your application. Please click here for complete instructions on checking the status of your application.
How Can I Appeal?
If your application is denied by the Bureau of Consular Affairs or the USCIS, you will receive a letter that will tell you why the application was denied. You will also be told whether you have a right to appeal this decision and how you should appeal. For more general information on appealing USCIS decisions, please see How Do I Appeal the Denial of Petition or Application?
*Information Courtesy of US Citizenship & Immigration Services.
