How do I know if I am eligible for a waiver of the foreign residence requirement?

You may be eligible to apply for a waiver for the foreign residence requirement if: You have a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or child and you can provide evidence that returning to your country would impose exceptional hardship on your spouse or child.

You cannot return to your country because you would be subject to persecution because of your race, religion, or political opinion. A U.S. government agency requests a waiver directly from the Bureau of Consular Affairs for you because you are engaged in a project of official interest to the agency. Your country provides a written statement to the director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs stating that your country has no objection to a waiver. (If you came to the United States as an exchange visitor to receive graduate medical education or training, you are ineligible to receive a waiver on this ground.) A state of the United States, through the state office of public health or its equivalent, sponsors you to work as a physician in a health manpower shortage area within the state for three years as a nonimmigrant in H-1B status (temporary worker in specialty occupation). If you are granted the waiver, you must agree to begin your employment with the state within 90 days of receiving the waiver. This state request is submitted to the director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs.