The Skills List is a list of countries that need people with special skills. The U.S. government uses this list to decide if someone who comes to the U.S. on a “J” visa (for an exchange program) has to go back to their home country for two years. After that, they can apply for certain visas or to live in the U.S. This rule is part of a law called Section 212(e).
The Exchange Visitor Skills List will take effect on December 9, 2024. This means the new Exchange Visitor Skills List will officially start being used on December 9, 2024. After this date, the U.S. government will use this updated list to decide if people who come to the U.S. on a “J” visa (for exchange programs) need to return to their home country for two years before applying for certain visas or to stay in the U.S.
The new list does not apply to people who arrived or got their J visa status before that date. Meaning, if someone got their J visa before December 9, 2024, the old list still applies to them.
Some people come to the United States on a “J” visa to learn new skills in an exchange program. There is a rule called INA 212(e) that says certain J visa visitors must return to their home country for two years before they can apply to live permanently or get some other types of visas in the U.S.
This rule applies if:
- Your home country needs your special skills – The U.S. government has a list (called the Skills List) of countries that need people with certain skills.
- You are from one of the countries on this list – If your home country is on the Skills List, you may need to go back for two years to share the skills you learned.
The U.S. updates this Skills List every three years. It decides which countries need these skills based on things like:
- How much money people in the country make (GDP).
- The size of the country.
- How many people have left the country over time (migration).
If your home country is not on the new Skills List, you may no longer need to follow the two-year rule.
The goal of this program is to help countries grow by having their citizens return with new skills and to strengthen friendships between the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. State Department makes these decisions because it helps with U.S. foreign relations.
Philippines, The
01, 03, 04.03, 05, 09.01, 09.09, 09.10, 10, 11, 13.02, 13.06, 13.09, 13.10, 13.11, 13.12, 13.13, 14, 16, 19, 23, 25, 26, 27, 31, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44.07, 45, 49, 51.01, 51.02, 51.04, 51.06, 51.07, 51.08, 51.09, 51.10, 51.12, 51.15, 51.17, 51.19, 51.22, 51.23, 51.24, 51.25, 51.27, 51.31, 51.33, 52.04, 52.06, 52.10, 52.11, 52.13, 52.14, 52.17, 52.20, 54, 60
| 01 | Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences |
| 03 | Natural Resources and Conservation |
| 4.03 | Architecture and Related Services |
| 5.00 | Area, Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies |
| 9.01 | Communication and Media Studies |
| 9.09 | Public Relations, Advertising, Applied Communication |
| 9.10 | Publishing |
| 10.00 | Communitaion Technologies, Technicians, and Support Services |
| 11.00 | Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services |
| 13.02 | Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural |
| 13.06 | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research |
| 13.09 | Social ad Philosophical Foundations of Education |
| 13.10 | Special Education and Teaching |
| 13.11 | Student Counseling and Personnel Services |
| 13.12 | Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, including but not limited to Adult and Continuing Education, Early Childhood, Elementary, Middled School and Secondary Education, Montessori Teacher Education, Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education |
| 13.13 | Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, including but not limited to Agriculture, Art, Business, Computers, Drama, Driver Safety, English, Foreign Language, Geography, Health, History, Home Economics, Industrial Arts, Sales and Marketing, Math, Music, Physical Education, Psychology, Reading, Science, Social Studies, Speech |
| 14.00 | Engineering |
| 16.00 | Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics including Foreign Languages and Literatures, Linguistics, Language Interpretation and Transition, Comparative Literature, Language, Literature and Linguistics for all Languages in the world including various forms and study of sign language |
| 19.00 | Family and Consumer Sciences/ Human Science |
| 23.00 | English Language and Literature/Letters including English Literature, Composition, Various types of English writing |
| 25.00 | Library Science |
| 26.00 | Biological and Biomedical Sciences |
| 27.00 | Mathematics and Statistics |
| 31.00 | Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies |
| 39.00 | Theology and Religious Vocations |
| 40.00 | Physical Sciences |
| 41.00 | Science Technologies/Technicians |
| 42.00 | Psychology including but not limited to Psychometrics and Psychobiology |
| 43.00 | Security and Protective Services including Law Enforcement, Fire Protection, Corrrections |
| 44.07 | Social Work, Youth Services, Welfare, Probation |
| 45.00 | Social Sciences |
| 49.00 | Transporation and Materials Moving |
| 51.01 | Chiropractic |
| 51.02 | Communication Disorders Sciences & Services, Speech Language Pathology, Sign Language Interpretation |
| 51.04 | Dentistry, Advanced Graduate Dentristy, Oral Sciences, Dental Technology, Orthodontics |
| 51.06 | Dental Support Services/Assistant |
| 51.07 | Health and Medical Administrative Services, Health/Medical Statistics and Documentation |
| 51.08 | Medical Support Services/Assistant |
| 51.09 | Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention and Treatment Professions |
| 51.10 | Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions |
| 51.12 | Medicine/Medical Reseach |
| 51.15 | Mental and Social Health Services, Substance Abuse Counseling, Marriage/Family Counseling, Psychoanalysis |
| 51.17 | Optometry |
| 51.19 | Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy |
| 51.22 | Public Health |
| 51.23 | Rehabilitation and Therapeuic Professions |
| 51.24 | Veterinanry Medicine |
| 51.25 | Veterinanry Medical and Clinical Sciences, including all Veterinary Sciences |
| 51.27 | Medical Illustration and Informatics Medical Photography |
| 51.31 | Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition |
| 51.33 | Alternative Medicine |
| 52.04 | Business Operations Support and Assistant Services |
| 52.06 | Business/Managerial Economics, Management Studies & Economic Information Analysis |
| 52.10 | Human Resources Management and Services |
| 52.11 | International Business/Trade/Commerce |
| 52.13 | Management Sciences and Quantitative Method |
| 52.14 | Marketing/Marketing Management |
| 52.17 | Insurance |
| 52.20 | Construction Management |
| 54.00 | History |
| 60.00 | Medical Residency Programs |
In conclusion, exploring why Filipinos are still on the Skills List revealed that the Philippines continues to need professionals with specific skills to help the country grow and develop. This requirement under the INA 212(e) rule ensures that exchange visitors return home and share their knowledge, benefiting their communities. While the rule may seem restrictive, it ultimately aims to support the long-term development of countries like the Philippines by strengthening their skilled workforce.
In simple words: Filipinos are still on the Skills List because the Philippines needs people with special skills to help the country grow. The rule makes sure that after learning in the U.S., exchange visitors go back home to share their knowledge. This helps the Philippines improve and become stronger in the long run.
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