Table of Contents

Section 1. Purpose
Section 2. Coverage
Section 3. Declaration of Policies
Section 4. Definition of Terms
Section 5. The Philippine EVP Committee
Section 6. Application Requirements
Section 7. Authentication
Section 8. Endorsement by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate
Section 9. Decision Making
Section 10. Bases for the Grant of the No-Objection Statement
Section 11. Skills List
Section 12. Obligation with Philippine Government Agency
Section 13. Meritorious Cases
Section 14. Statement of No Objection
Section 15. Alternative Arrangement
Section 16. Procedures for Alternative Arrangement
Section 17. Project Proposal Format
Section 18. Project Monitoring
Section 19. Appeal/Request for Reconsideration
Section 20. Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 21. Effectivity

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.

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.

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 or 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.

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 peoples 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 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 Requirement refers 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,k 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.

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 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 Filipino Overseas serves as the Secretariat.

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:

1. After obtaining a case number from the US Department of State, the applicant fills out the NOS application form, which is available at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate in the United States.
2. The applicant submits to the Philippine Embassy or Consulate the application form, together with the following supporting documents, in six (6) copies:
1. Copy of IAP Form 66 (Certificate of Eligibility for exchange visitor participant);
2. Original copy of the clearance from former employer/company in the Philippines at the time of departure for the training program;
3. Original copy of the certificate of completion of EVP program from the training/sponsoring institution;
4. Proof of the spouse's citizenship and certified true copy of marriage contract, in case applicants requesting for NOS by virtue of their marriage to a US citizen;
5. Certified true copy of the birth certificate, in case of applicants requesting NOS by virtue of their child/children who is/are residing in the United States;
6. Certificate from the head/leader of a recognized religious denomination in the Philippines allowing the continued stay in the United States of its member, in case the applicant requesting for NOS is a priest, nun, missionary; and
7. Other documents to support the application for NOS.

Supporting documents issued by institutions and agencies in the United States must be authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate. Click here for information on authentication.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 whall be obtained before the pertinent NOS could be given.

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.

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.

If the reasons of the applicant do not fall within the criteria set for the granting of NOS, and the applicant has presented valid and reasonable justifications for his/her request, the EVP Committee may advise the applicant to develop and submit a project proposal to transfer technology for him/her to implement in lieu of the two-year home country physical presence requirement. The project proposal must benefit a particular sector and address national priorities as provided for in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan or as identified by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

The procedures and requirements in the processing and evaluation of NOS application under the alternative arrangement are as follows:

1. Upon notification from the EVP Committee, the applicant submits a project proposal to the EVP Committee Secretariat in eleven (11) copies.
2. The proposal must identify a Philippine government agency or private institution, which shall serve as partner or counterpart institution. The partner institution shall assist in the implementation of the project and assess its impact against the objective of technology and knowledge transfer. Only proposals that have been endorsed by the head of the identified partner agency/institution shall be reviewed and processed by the EVP Committee.
3. The EVP Committee Secretariat circulates the project proposal, with the partner agency endorsement, to the members of the EVP Committee for comments. The EVP Committee may also seek the technical review of other non-member agencies or institutions to determine possible benefits of the project proposal vis-a-vis the objectives of technology transfer.
4. The EVP Committe informs the applicant of any action regarding his/her project proposal. The applicant shall be expected to respond or make appropriate revisions on the proposal, if required.
5. The approved project proposal shall be covered by a memorandum of agreement to be signed by the applicant, the partner institution, and the representative of the EVP Committee to ensure commitment of the parties involved to implement the project.
6. Upon signing of the agreement, the EVP Committee informs the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. of the approval of the NOS, for endorsement to the US Government.

The format for the project proposal is as follows:

1. Project Title. This section should reflect the title/name by which the project will be officially referred to.
2. Rationale. This section should include the current status of the particular sector/institution in the Philippines relative to the expertise or technology to be introduced by the project, including the need for the expertise or technology being offered. The projected benefits to a particular sector(s)/institution(s) in the Philippines must be clearly stated. This section should also introduce the field of expertise of the exchange visitor, i.e. academic background, professional experience, professional affiliations, etc., and elaborate on the reasons for the choice of the project relative to the exchange visitor's field of expertise and to the objectives of the EVP.
3. Objectives. This section should contain the general and specific objectives of the proposed undertaking.
4. Project Description. This section should contain the background of the project. It must define the specific elements of the project and how these are expected to contribute to the realization of the major objectives and specific results. The project description should discuss the kind of input or contributions that the volunteer will be delivering in the course of his or her voluntary work. Project viability and sustainability must also be described in this section.
5. Operation/Methodology. This section should describe the steps or stages for the implementation or conduct of the project. It must elaborate on how the transfer of technology/knowledge to a particular sector/institution in the Philippines will be effected. If the proponent will be collaborating with local or international institutions, this section should explain how these institutions will be helping in the project, the respective roles of the proponent and the collaborating institution, as well as the funding sources.
6. Projected Output/End Results. This section should reflect specific projected outputs/results or outcomes of the project, which must be expressed in quantifiable/measurable and qualitative terms, as well as ways by which to sustain the benefits of the project. This section should also clearly state the target beneficiaries of the project.
7. Inputs and Budget. Major inputs required for the production of outputs should be presented on a table format. It should specify organizations, equipment, services and travel if applicable. The total cost of the project should be indicated, including the funding details.
8. Project Evaluation and Monitoring. This section should include the mechanics/scheme for the evaluation and monitoring of the project. The indicators for the evaluation have to be clearly specified.
9. Timeline. This section should provide the detail of the duration for each of the stages in the implementation of the project, including the specific year/date when the project proposal is to be started and completed. Project proposals must be implementable within two years, and must include at least one (1) working visit of the proponent in the Philippines for a reasonable period in connection with the project.
10. References. At least three local and three overseas references with their street and/or postal addresses and telephone numbers should be indicated under this section.
11. Other Requirements. A transmittal request/letter should accompany the project proposal. The applicant must also attach to the proposal his or her curriculum vitae.

The exchange visitor whose NOS application has been approved on the basis of the alternative arrangement shall be expected to work with their partner institutions in the Philippines for the implementation/completion of their project proposals.

1. The EVP Committee shall monitor activities in connection with the implementation of projects under the alternative arrangements.
2. A Project Terminal Report, detailing the outcome/results of the project, shall be submitted by the applicant to the EVP Committee Secretariat within thirty (30) days after completion of the project.

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.

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.

The provisions of these rules and regulations shall take effect fifteen days after publication.

Approved by the EVP Committee on 16 November 2001 at Manila, Philippines.

Signatures of the following affixed:

MINERVA JEAN A. FALCON
Department of Foreign Affairs, Chair

FLORANTE E. TRINIDAD
Department of Health
Member

FE HIDALGO
Dept. of Education, Culture and Sports
Member

JOSE M. ESPAÑOL, JR.
Department of Labor and Employment
Member

JOCELYN G. ALVARADO
Department of Science and Technology
Member

EDITHA S. ABERGAS
National Economic and Development Authority
Member

ALFONSO G. ABAD
Professional Regulation Commission
Member

ETHEL AGNES VALENZUELA
Commission on Higher Education
Member

MA. LOURDES T. REYES
Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority, Member

For the Deputy Executive Secretary:

HERMIL BUNAO
Office of the President

JOSE Z. MOLANO, JR.
Commission on Filipino Overseas
Member and Secretariat