Section 1. Purpose

1. To prescribe guidelines and procedures relative to the grant or non-grant of requests of exchange visitor participants for the waiver of the two-year home residency requirement through the No Objection Statement (NOS) by the Philippine Government.



2. To provide guidelines in the processing and evaluation of applications for NOS under the alternative arrangement prescribed by the Exchange Visitor Program Committee.

Section 2. Coverage

This circular shall cover all exchange visitors within the purview of Section 212 (e) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, which provides that no person admitted under the Exchange Visitor Program shall be eligible for an immigrant visa, or for permanent residence, or for non- immigrant visa until it is established that such person has resided and had been physically present in the country of his nationality, or where he had his last permanent residence for at least two (2) years following his departure from the United States.

Section 3. Declaration of Policies

It is hereby declared the policy of the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) Committee to carefully and rigorously evaluate all applications of EVP participants to the waiver of the two-year home residency requirement through the issuance of No Objection Statement, in consideration of the following objectives of the RP-US exchange program:

1. Promote mutual understanding among Filipino and American peoples by means of cultural and professional qualifications;



2. Provide an avenue for Filipinos and permanent residents in the Philippines to participate in educational and cultural programs and avail themselves of opportunities for educational/professional advancement; and



3. Ensure that maximum benefits of the program shall accrue to the Philippines by requiring participants to return to their home country after their cultural and professional training in the United States to share their acquired knowledge and experiences with their government and fellow Filipinos.

Section 4. Definition of Terms

For purposes of these Guidelines, the terms or phrases used here shall mean or be understood as follows:

1. Exchange Visitor refers to the foreign national who has been selected by a sponsor to participate in an exchange visitor program and who is seeking to enter or has entered the United States temporarily on a J-1 visa. The term does not include the visitor’s immediate family.



2. Exchange Visitor Program refers to the international exchange program administered by the United States to implement the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended, Public Law 87-256, 22 USC 2451, et seq. (1988). The purpose of the Act is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges. Educational and cultural exchanges assist in furthering the United States’ foreign policy objectives.



3. Exchange Visitor Skills List refers to a list of fields of specialized knowledge or skills designated by the US Secretary of State in April 1972, as amended, and those countries which clearly required the services of persons engaged in one or more of such fields. Any alien who is a national or resident of one of those countries and obtained an exchange visitor visa and/or became a participant in an exchange visitor program involving a designated field of specialized knowledge or skill after the effective date of public notices is subject to the two-year home country requirement of section 212(e) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act.



4. No Objection Statement refers to the statement issued by the Philippine Government that it has no objection to the waiver of the two-year home residency requirement.



5. Sponsor refers to a legal entity designated by the US Government to conduct an exchange visitor program.



6. Two-Year Home Residency Requirementrefers to the provision that an exchange visitor who is within the purview of section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act must reside and be physically present in the country of nationality or last legal permanent residence for an aggregate of at least two (2) years following departure from the United States, before the exchange visitor is eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence, a non-immigrant H visa as a temporary worker or trainee, or a non-immigrant L visa as an intra-company transferee, or a non-immigrant H or L visa as a spouse or minor child of a person who is a temporary worker or trainee or an intra-company transferee.
   
   Section 212(e) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, provides that no person admitted under the exchange visitor program shall be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa, or for permanent residence, or for non-immigrant visa until it is established that such person has resided and been physically present in the country of nationality or last legal permanent residence for an aggregate of at least two years following departure from the United States.
   
   This provision is applicable to the following exchange visitors:
   
   1. Those whose participation in the program was financed in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by an agency of the United States Government or by the Philippine Government;
   
   
   
   2. Those, who at the time of admission to the program, is a national or resident of a country which had designated as clearly requiring the services of persons engaged in the field of specialized knowledge or skills in which the alien was engaged (referring to the Exchange Visitor Skills List); and
   
   
   
   3. Those who came to the United States or acquired such status in order to receive graduate medical education or training.

Section 5. The Philippine EVP Committee

The EVP Committee is an inter-agency body, created through Administrative Order No. 242 to coordinate the Philippine participation in the Exchange Visitor Program.

1. The EVP Committee is mandated, among others, to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the Philippine participation in the exchange program. As part of its functions, it shall review and decide on applications for NOS taking into consideration the benefits that may accrue to the Philippines from its participation in the EVP and, at the same time, the continued opportunities of Filipino exchange visitors for self-realization.



2. The EVP Committee is composed of the heads of the following Philippine Government agencies or their duly designated representatives with at least the rank of a Director:



1. Department of Foreign Affairs
2. Department of Health
3. Department of Education, Culture and Sports
4. Department of Labor and Employment
5. Department of Science and Technology
6. National Economic and Development Authority
7. Professional Regulation Commission
8. Commission on Higher Education
9. Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
10. Office of the President
11. Commission on Filipinos Overseas



3. The Committee is chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas serves as the Secretariat.

Section 6. Application Requirements

Exchange visitor participants from the Philippines applying for waiver of the two-year home residency requirement through the No Objection Statement from the Philippine Government shall comply with the following requirements:

Section 7. Authentication

Supporting documents issued by institutions and agencies in the United States must be authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate.

Section 8. Endorsement by the Philippine Embassy/Consulate

The Philippine Embassy or Consulate shall endorse and transmit the application for NOS to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) Committee Secretariat, in Manila.

Section 9. Decision Making

All applications and requests for NOS shall be evaluated by the EVP Committee Secretariat to determine which applications are eligible for waiver under Sec. 10 below.

1. Applications which are eligible under Sec. 10 below shall be issued NOS. Notice of this action shall be given to the Committee in its next regular meeting.



2. NOS applications which are not eligible under Sec. 10 hereof shall be decided upon by the Committee. The Committee may decide through referendum or during regular meetings.



3. The approval or disapproval of an NOS application in Sec. 9b shall require a consensus, or the concurrence of a qualified majority or 75% of the Committee membership.

Section 10. Bases for the Grant of the No-Objection Statement

The EVP Committee shall grant NOS to applicants in the following cases, provided that the exchange program was not funded wholly or in part by any agency of the Philippine Government, or any public or private educational or other institution in the Philippines, and that the participant has no outstanding financial or service obligations with any government agency, or any public or private institution in the Philippines:

1. The skill/profession of the exchange visitor participant is not in the Skills List of the Philippines;



2. The applicant is married to a US citizen or legal permanent resident, or has a minor child who is a US citizen residing in the United States;



3. The applicant is a religious worker (priest, nun, missionary) in a recognized religious denomination; and



4. The applicant has an ailing family member in the United States and his separation from the latter would cause a severe and direct threat to the life of the said family member.

The EVP Committee shall not grant NOS to applicants who have not attended or have not completed their training programs, unless the reasons for non-completion or non-attendance are any of the following:

1. violations of the participant’s recognized rights by training institution or sponsor, as proven by supporting documents; and



2. cancellation, suspension, or termination of the training program for causes not attributable to the applicant (As amended by EVP Resolution 02-2003).

Section 11. Skills List

Education and training opportunities in fields of professions contained in the Philippine Skills List are necessarily covered by the two-year home residency requirement. Thus, all NOS applications of EVP participants whose field of training in the US is included in the Skills List shall be evaluated on a case-to-case basis taking into consideration the provisions of Section 1 and the priorities of the Philippine Government.

Section 12. Obligation with Philippine Government Agency

If the training of the NOS applicant was funded in part or in whole by agencies of the Philippine Government, or by private or public higher education institutions in the Philippines, the applicant shall reimburse the expenses incurred by said agencies or institutions in relation to his training or studies in the United States. The reimbursable amount shall be determined by the Philippine government agency or private/public educational institution concerned, financial clearance of which shall be obtained before the pertinent NOS could be given.

Section 13. Meritorious Cases

The NOS may also be granted to exchange visitor participants for valid and reasonable justifications on a case-to-case basis as may be determined by the EVP Committee.

Section 14. Statement of No Objection

The EVP Committee shall transmit its decision on NOS applications to the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. in the form of an endorsement letter. The decision of the EVP Committee shall be conveyed by the Philippine Embassy to the US Department of State. The Philippine Embassy shall furnish the applicant with a copy of the Philippine Government’s decision.

(Sections 15 to 18 have been repealed pursuant to EVP Resolution No. 02-2006.)

Section 19. Appeal/Request for Reconsideration

The decision of the EVP Committee may be appealed within 30 days from receipt of the decision. The appeal process shall be as follows:

1. The applicant submits to the EVP Committee Secretariat a request for reconsideration within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the decision. For this purpose, the appeal/request for reconsideration postmarked beyond the reglamentary period shall be deemed to have exceeded the allowable period for appeal.



2. The appeal/request for reconsideration shall include new information or documents to support/justify the appeal. It shall be acted upon by the EVP Committee within 30 days from receipt thereof.



3. The decision of the EVP Committee on the appeal shall be final.

Section 20. Miscellaneous Provisions

1. EVP participants with approved NOS shall be encouraged to return to the Philippines for at least one (1) working visit for a reasonable period to consult, teach or share his/her expertise with counterparts in the country.



2. The EVP Committee reserves the right to deny a No Objection Statement to EVP participants who fail to comply with the guidelines indicated herein.

Section 21. Effectivity