{"id":181065,"date":"2022-12-01T10:30:47","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T10:30:47","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-06T14:26:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T14:26:27","slug":"can-a-j-1-or-j-2-visa-holder-apply-for-eb-5","status":"publish","type":"faq","link":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/vi\/faq\/visa-comparison-and-overlap\/can-a-j-1-or-j-2-visa-holder-apply-for-eb-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a J-1 or J-2 visa holder apply for EB-5?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A J-1 or J-2 visa holder is permitted to begin the EB-5 process and <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/an-eb-5-investors-guide-to-form-i-526\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">file Form I-526E<\/a>. The only potential complication is if the J-1 or J-2 visa holder\u2019s status is subject to the two-year home residency requirement. After filing Form I-526E, the J-1 or J-2 visa holder will not be allowed to adjust status and receive a <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5affiliatenetwork.com\/eb-5-conditional-permanent-resident-status\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conditional Green Card<\/a> until they have complied with the two-year home residency requirement. To fulfill the requirement, the prospective EB-5 investor must either return to their home country for a minimum of two years upon completion of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/working-in-the-united-states\/students-and-exchange-visitors\/exchange-visitors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exchange visitor program<\/a> or obtain a waiver exempting them.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Mph1urtijq8?rel=0;&amp;autoplay=1&amp;mute=1&amp;loop=1&amp;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"678\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Who is Subject to the Two-Year Home Residency Requirement?<\/h3>\n<p>J-1 or J-2 visa holders may be subject to the two-year home residency requirement if any of the following are applicable to them:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The visa holder participated in a government funded exchange program.<\/li>\n<li>The visa holder participated in a program that required specialized skill or knowledge in the interest of advancing development in a specific field or area of study in their home country.<\/li>\n<li>The visa holder participated in a program of graduate-level medical training or education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Waiver Eligibility and How to Obtain One<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FAQ-198_image-2.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If the J-1 or J-2 visa holder is unable to fulfill the two-year home residency requirement, they may apply for a waiver. Any of the following qualify as valid bases for recommendation of a waiver: a no objection statement; special request through an interested U.S. federal government agency; belief of persecution upon return to home country; proof that departure would cause exceptional hardship to the visa holder\u2019s U.S. citizen spouse or child; or special request through a designated State Public Health Department.<\/p>\n<p>To apply for a waiver, the J-1 or J-2 visa holder needs to submit <a href=\"https:\/\/j1visawaiverrecommendation.state.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an electronic application<\/a> through the U.S. Department of State website along with supporting documents and the application fee. Depending on the basis of their recommendation, they may also need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/i-612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">file Form I-612<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Applying for an EB-5 Visa<\/h3>\n<p>Once the two-year home residency requirement has been met, the J-1 or J-2 visa holder may apply for an EB-5 visa. The first step would be to <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/eb-5-immigration-attorneys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hire an experienced immigration attorney<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/2018\/05\/04\/the-importance-of-due-diligence-for-eb-5-investors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conduct due diligence<\/a> on the available EB-5 investment projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"faq-topic":[193],"class_list":["post-181065","faq","type-faq","status-publish","hentry","faq-topic-visa-comparison-and-overlap"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq\/181065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faq"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq\/181065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faq-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eb5visainvestments.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq-topic?post=181065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}