Government Funding and the J-1 Two-Year Home Residence Requirement

Government funding is independent of the Exchange Visitor Skills List. A person can therefore remain subject to §212(e) because of government funding even when the person's country is not on the current Skills List.

DOS states that a J-1 is subject when the exchange program was funded in whole or in part by a U.S. government agency, the home country's government, or an international organization that received qualifying government funding. The regulation similarly reaches programs financed directly or indirectly by the U.S. government or by the government of the person's last legal permanent residence.

The funding analysis should therefore be performed separately from the Skills List analysis.

The regulation is deliberately broader than a rule limited to checks paid directly to the exchange visitor. It refers to financing that is direct or indirect and whole or partial.

As a result, the fact that a university, research institute, hospital, or other private organization issued the paycheck does not by itself answer the question. The source of the money used to finance participation may matter. A federal grant, foreign government scholarship, or government financed international program can require closer review even when funds passed through another institution before reaching the exchange visitor.

The relevant question is not simply who signed the check. It is whether qualifying government money financed participation in the exchange program.

Funding analysis commonly requires more than the DS-2019. Useful records can include award notices, scholarship letters, grant documentation, employment or fellowship letters, sponsor financial records, university appointment letters, program descriptions, and communications identifying the original source of funds.

Forms DS-2019 should be reviewed carefully because they ordinarily identify estimated financial support. However, the form should be compared with the actual program record when there is reason to believe that the listed source is incomplete or ambiguous.

Partial government funding can be enough. The fact that most expenses were paid privately does not necessarily avoid §212(e) if qualifying government funds financed another portion of the exchange program.

Likewise, a program can involve more than one government source. In a complex record, the attorney should identify each funding stream separately, determine which J program it supported, and determine whether the amount or mechanism establishes government financing within the statute and regulations.

DOS advises exchange visitors to consult their responsible program officer when determining whether an exchange program was government funded. Where uncertainty remains, an Advisory Opinion may be appropriate.

A clear funding analysis is particularly important before relying on a No Objection strategy because U.S. government funding can materially affect how DOS evaluates a waiver request.