Two-year Residence Rule
Please note that the following information is meant to be used only by Florida State
University faculty, staff, students, and potential visitors to Florida State University
and only in the context of international visits to FSU specifically. It is not intended
to be used and should not be construed as general legal advice.
Many of those in J status (including J-2 dependents) are subject to what is commonly referred
to as the two-year rule or two-year residence requirement. The regulatory site used on visas
and I-94 cards is 212(e).
Each time an exchange visitor in J status receives a visa from a U.S. consulate abroad, the
consulate should indicate on the DS-2019 form and/or the visa whether or not the person is subject
to the two-year rule. The indication on the DS-2019 form occurs in the bottom left box of the
DS-2019 form for endorsement of the consular officer (extensions and amended forms issued by FSU
will generally not include this indication until one applies for a visa abroad). The notation
on the visa will generally say something like "Two-year rule applies" or "212(e) does not apply".
Occasionally, the consulate will not mark either document, but the rule will still be in effect
if it applies.
The two-year rule applies to those who have received U.S. or foreign government funding
specifically intended for international educational exchange or to those whose specialty appears
on a skills list for their last country of permanent residence. The skills list contains lists
of certain occupations/fields of study for each country. Exchange visitors whose field appears
on the list for their country of last permanent residence should return to that country for a
period of two years before applying for any type of immigrant visa - H, L, or permanent residency.
The skills list is at
http://exchanges.state.gov/education/jexchanges/participation/skills_list.pdf .
Time spent outside the U.S., but not in the last country of permanent residence, does not count
toward fulfillment of the two-year rule.
Most students and their families in J status are subject to the two-year rule due to their having
received government funding of their education.
The two-year rule affects changes to:
- H status - temporary worker;
- L status - intracompany transferee (foreign company hiring for a job in U.S.);
- any form of permanent residency (including spouse of U.S. citizen or permanent resident and winners of the diversity visa lottery); and
- any other status while remaining in the U.S.
The two-year rule does not affect eligibility for non-immigrant statuses, such as B - tourist, A-diplomat, or F - student, but the form I-539 does not allow those subject to the two-year rule to submit the form for a change of status while remaining in the U.S. Those wishing to change status must either receive a waiver of the two-year rule or apply for a new status at a U.S. consulate abroad. Although 212(e) does not affect J status, there is separate one-year bar rule which affects the research scholar/professor categories. Please see One-year bar. It should be noted that changing to another immigration status (such as F-1 student) does not eliminate the two-year rule. The two-year rule and one-year bar also do not affect extensions and transfers of one's current J program. Extensions may be obtained by having your academic advisor fill in the bottom portion of a request for extension and by providing all financial support information required to show available and adequate funds for the extension period. The extension form is located on our web site at DS-2019 Extensions. Florida State University does not endorse or recommend that scholars or students in J-1 status waive the two-year rule. It is recommended that those in J-1 status fulfill the two-year rule before applying for an immigrant status. For more information on the waiver issues, though, please visit http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1296.html.
Please note that once the Department of State's recommendation for approval of a waiver is received by a sponsor, no further extensions of one's J status are permitted.
All forms are available in alternative format upon request.