Starting a J-1 Exchange

Visitor Program Gloria Law, Immigration Consultant

510.761-8821 glaw55@gmail.com

Lisa Harris, Associate Director of Student Services, Palo Alto University

650.433-3851 lharris@paloaltou.edu

NAFSA Region XII Conference

October 25, 2012

What is the J-1 Visa?

“The purpose of the Exchange Visitor program is to promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges.”

Mutual Cultural and Exchange Act of 1961

J-1 Categories

Academic Programs

Student

Non-degree

Degree

Research Scholar

Short Term Scholar

Professor

Specialist

Trainee

Public Programs

Alien Physician

Au Pair

Camp Counselor

Intern

Student, (High School)

Work/Travel

Teacher

Trainee

TOPICS to be covered:

Why apply for J program (students/scholars)?

Issues to Consider

DS-3036 Application Steps

Pre-requisites

Selection of Exchange Visitors

Program Costs/Management

Health Insurance

Pre-Arrival and Orientation

Getting Help

Why have J Scholars?

Assists schools/institutions in inviting

faculty and researchers from abroad

which in turn fosters research

relationships in the current global

economy.

Allows payment of international faculty

for their research/teaching.

J-2s (J-1 dependents) are eligible for broad

work permission by application to USCIS.

Why have J students?

To establish exchange agreements with other

institutions abroad which fosters reciprocal

study abroad programs

Easier development of non-degree programs.

More flexibility in defining full-time status.

J students can work on campus, and under

academic training (18 months maximum)

Some foreign governments prefer their

students to visit U.S. in J status

What is the two year home residency

requirement?

Requires J-1 visa holder, at the end of

his/her J program to not return to the

U.S. using an H-1B, L-1 visa or LPR for

two years

Is applied at the visa officer’s discretion

If person is funded by his/her government

If area of study/research is on Skills List

If marked incorrectly, can be challenged

J-1 Time limitations – Duration of Status

J-1 Scholars

Five year Maximum

24 month bar

Short-term scholars may not extend stay beyond 6 months nor change status inside the U.S. through USCIS if subject to the 2 year home residence requirement.

J-1 Students

J-1 students get duration of status. However, a J-1 student may not change his status to J-1 scholar until the student has been out of J status for at least 12 months.

Some Issues to Consider

J regulations require at least five J visitors per

year. The five visitors can be an aggregate of

visitors in any of your approved categories.

Reciprocity – How do you plan to meet the

reciprocity requirement? Will your students

attend universities, companies, institutions

from which you accept J-1 visitors?

Issues to Consider (cont.)

The J regulations are very different from F so

in-depth training will be needed.

http://www.nafsa.org/Attend_Events/Training/Wo

rkshops/J-1_Advising_for_Beginners/

You may need to hire new staff.

Dept of State requires a J program report be

submitted to them annually.

Annual Report

The annual report is prepared by the RO in SEVIS

and includes:

a statistical summary of Forms DS-2019 usage,

a numerical count of exchange visitor participation,

and a written evaluation of the program, including

new initiatives, effectiveness, reciprocity, activities,

cross-cultural programs, etc.

GETTING READY TO

APPLY

The DS-3036 - Application Process

Review SEVIS J User Manual

Prepare pre-requisite wording and

supporting documents

Complete DS-3036 in SEVIS online

Print out DS-3036 before submitting

The DS-3036 - Application Process

Mail the relevant documents with the signed

and notarized printed copy of the Form DS-

3036. Include a copy of the Pay.gov

confirmation page showing the payment of the

fee.

You must mail the materials within 30 calendar

days of submitting the electronic Form DS-

3036. Do not fill in your form online until you

know you have every item ready to mail in.

Program applicant prerequisites

To be eligible for J program designation an organization must demonstrate:

Ability to comply with EVP/DoS regulations

Ability to provide full funding and personnel to manage the J-1 program

Be ready to start implementing program immediately upon approval of program.

The DS-3036 Manual has complete listing of pre-requisites

Pre-Requisites (cont.)

To complete the sections in SEVIS on Page 3 you will need to prepare

statements regarding the following categories. (SEVIS will only accept

500 characters so you will likely send attached documentation to a

printed version of your application):

The six categories required are:

Process of selection of Exchange Visitors

Program Costs/Fees and Deposits/Refunds

Program Funding and Financial Support

Health Care Insurance (22 CFR 62.14)

Pre-arrival and Orientation information (22 CFR 62.10.(b) and 22

CFR 62.10(e)

Method for selecting your visitors

J Students

Regular admission procedures applied to all students

or special criteria for a program you are creating?

How will you gauge English proficiency? TOEFL?

Other test?

J Scholars

Invited by Faculty?

English proficiency can be determined by department

chair. However must be ready to defend your

institution’s reasoning as to why the scholar will be

successful in their academic objective.

Program Costs/Management

Costs of managing program must NOT

be passed onto J visitors.

Costs must be handled by the institution.

DS-3036 will ask for a full description of

what costs/fees will be charged to the

participants.

Program Management

There is a need to assign at least an

Responsible Officer (RO) which is like

the PDSO in the F management.

It is strongly suggested that you also

have an Alternate Responsible Officer

(ARO) as a back up or possibly the day

to day work staff person.

Health Care Insurance (22 CFR 62.14)

Regulations specifically define the minimum

amount of health care the J-1 and all J-2s

must show proof of or purchase.

School does not necessarily need to pay for

this coverage.

J-1/J-2 coverage must include Repatriation

and Medical Evacuation which are often not

included in regular health plans. Riders can

be purchased from many insurance

companies.

Pre-Arrival and Orientation Information (22 CFR

62.110(b) and (c)

It will be necessary to create either in paper

format or on-line (preferably both) an

explanation of pre-arrival, orientation and

cross-cultural activities planned for the

Exchange Visitor and his or her immediate

family members on J status.

See J-1 User Manual for details.

Be careful and thorough!

Carefully reading the DS-3036 manual is

critical in getting this process right!

Getting Help

Find a school or institution that has a J

program similar in scope, size and goals

and:

Speak to colleagues about their

programs management.

Ask if you can review their DS-3036

materials.

Getting Help

There are attorneys, particularly those who

are members of NAFSA who can be hired

to help you in the process.

Get a recommendation from a colleague.

One other option - IIE

Institute of International Exchange

Will serve as J sponsor and issue DS-2019s

You need to provide visitor information

Each DS-2019 costs $1,500 ($750 for IIE

members)

Membership fee based on size/type of

institution ($500 - $900) http://www.iie.org/en/What-We-Do/International-Education-Services/Visa-

Sponsorship

QUESTIONS?