Home residency requirement

R

RBCN

New Member
Currently I have an F-1 visa but remain subject to the Two-Year Home Residency Requirement I had previously. I have been living in my home country since December 2004 but will have to return to the U.S. for the defense of my dissertation. I will remain there for a couple of days. I would like ask to the forum the following:

a. When does the Residency Requirement start to count? Has it started to count from the date I entered my home country?
b. Will returning to the U.S. on my still valid F-1 for a couple of days affect the time accrued toward the Residency Requirement?
c. How will I know that the Residency Requirement has been fulfilled?

I would appreciate members' opinions on this. Thank you.

Ricardo.
 
a. When does the Residency Requirement start to count? Has it started to count from the date I entered my home country?

Yes, it started on the day you entered your home country after the completion of your program.

b. Will returning to the U.S. on my still valid F-1 for a couple of days affect the time accrued toward the Residency Requirement?

You will have to subtract all days you spend outside your home country

c. How will I know that the Residency Requirement has been fulfilled?

When you will have accumulated 2 years of physical presence in your home country or gotten a waiver.
 
More on residency requirement

Thank you LucyMO for you explanation. Based on your answer, it seems that my two-years home residency requirement started to run when I entered my home country for the last time in Dec. 2003, and that my return to the U.S. for only a couple of days would not have a significant impact on that. However, I would appreciate if you could re-examine the issue based on an additional piece of information.

During the 15 months I have been in my home country continously, I had not yet graduated from my Ph.D. program. I am going to graduate once I defend my dissertation in March. Would you still say that the two-year home residency requirement started to run in Dec. 2003, or would you rather say that it starts to run once I enter my country after graduation?

I sincerely appreciate your opinion on this. It is a very important piece of information for me.

Thank you.

Ricardo.
 
you started accumulating "home residency" the first time you entered your country after the completion of your J-1 program. Add all days of physical presence in your home country to see how much time you spent there.

Let's say you finished your J-1 program in December 2003 and went home for a month. You already have a whole month "done" and counted towards the completion as long as you have proof of it (airline ticket stubs, pasport stamps, apartment lease in your home country, pay stubs from your home country)....

Then you went to the US on F-1 and came back home for the entire summer in 2004. Add the summer months to the completion. And so on.
 
Also seeking clarification on fulfilling J-1 home residency requirement

Hi. I have two questions. Hope someone can help.

1. Let's say I'd started a five-year masters-doctorate program in the U.S. The first two years were on a J-1 visa. Subsequently, I'd switch over to an F-1 visa for the remaining three years. During those three years as an F-1 student, I'd reside in my home country or country of last legal residence from time to time. Does the fulfillment of the "home country residency requirement" start to run the first time I return to my home country/country of last legal residence when I'm on F-1 status, even though I am still in the same program which started with me being on a J-1 visa? Thanks.

2. Would a Fulbrighter be allowed to fulfill the home residency requirement in his/her last country of legal residence (not the country of his/her citizenship), even though s/he is a Fubrighter of her country of citizenship?

Thank you very much.
 
1. Does the fulfillment of the "home country residency requirement" start to run the first time I return to my home country/country of last legal residence when I'm on F-1 status, even though I am still in the same program which started with me being on a J-1 visa? Thanks.

Yes. Do keep proof of your presence in your home country.

2. Would a Fulbrighter be allowed to fulfill the home residency requirement in his/her last country of legal residence (not the country of his/her citizenship), even though s/he is a Fubrighter of her country of citizenship?

Yes, you have a choice of fulfilling your HRR in the country of permanent residence (at the time of your J-1 program) or the country of your nationality. Just make sure your DS-2019 correctly identifies those countries. In my case, the country of my citizenship was listed as all three (country of birth, residence and citizenship) in error.
 
Thanks

LucyMO

Thanks so much. Sorry to sound so long-winded, but on my question 1 above, that means if I spend summer in my country of residence while on F-1 or spend several months there doing my thesis, the time spent could count towards the 2-year residency requirement? Again, thanks! :)
 
Hi,

did you go to the same universitiy you have been while on a J1 or could you change universities?

Did you apply at home for the F1 and did you had any difficulties applying?

Thanks
 
all the time you spend in your home country counts. Keep proof of it. :)

to Plys: you can go to different universities on J-1.
 
LucyMO said:
you started accumulating "home residency" the first time you entered your country after the completion of your J-1 program. Add all days of physical presence in your home country to see how much time you spent there.

Let's say you finished your J-1 program in December 2003 and went home for a month. You already have a whole month "done" and counted towards the completion as long as you have proof of it (airline ticket stubs, pasport stamps, apartment lease in your home country, pay stubs from your home country)....

Then you went to the US on F-1 and came back home for the entire summer in 2004. Add the summer months to the completion. And so on.
Click to expand...

Thank you LucyMO for the help you provided me back in February. Based on your and other opinions it seems that I would be ready to return to the U.S. in August of this year. I defended my dissertation in March and now I am submitting applications for academic positions in the U.S. Regarding this I would like to ask you some follow-up questions:

a. In order to be in the US while applying for positions, I am contemplating the possibility of extending my F1 visa by registering in a non-degree seeking graduate certificate program. Is this something that can be done?

b. I submitted an inquiry to the U.S. embassy requesting their opinion about when I would fulfill the HRR and how to proceed when applying for a H1 visa. I am waiting for their response. Now I wonder if I should have written to them. What is your opinion about this?

Thank you LucyMo for your assistance.

Regards,

Ricardo.
 
a. In order to be in the US while applying for positions, I am contemplating the possibility of extending my F1 visa by registering in a non-degree seeking graduate certificate program. Is this something that can be done?

If the school issues I-20 for a program like this, I am sure it could be done. You can also try B2 visa.

b. I submitted an inquiry to the U.S. embassy requesting their opinion about when I would fulfill the HRR and how to proceed when applying for a H1 visa. I am waiting for their response. Now I wonder if I should have written to them. What is your opinion about this?

During an interview for all HRR GC and H1 visas that I have heard of, a consular officer looked at the passport stamps determining the dates of entries and exits, counted the days and then determined that HRR was fulfiled.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top