Your username says you are an Aussie, although obviously you are now based in the USA. Is it possible to change your address to an Australian one? Then MQD doesn't matter... Yes, there may be some ethical concerns with this but it is technically an option.

However, there is a sort of a 'glitch', if you get the MQD waiver after passing a MQM threshold, it won't help you. You need the waiver in place before the MQM achievement. So keep that in mind. (As an example, if you are at 80k MQM but not at Plat MQD, then get the waiver, you'll stay Gold. But if you then get to 125k MQM you'll achieve Diamond).