STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES REVISED EXCHANGE VISITOR SKILLS LIST
Earlier this week, the State Department updated its Exchange Visitors Skills List, which is used to determine whether individuals on J-1 visas are subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement. The updated list removes several countries, including China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, meaning that research scholars and other high-skilled J-1 visa holders from these countries, as well as others taken off the list, will no longer need to return to their home countries for two years before pursuing another work or immigrant visa.
