Visa Categories

Exchange Visitors (J-1)

General Information:

The "J" exchange visitor program is designed to promote the interchange of persons, knowledge, and skills in the fields of education, arts, and sciences. Participants include students at all academic levels; trainees obtaining on-the-job training with firms, institutions, and agencies; teachers of primary, secondary, and specialized schools; professors coming to teach or do research at institutions of higher learning; research scholars; professional trainees in the medical and allied fields; and international visitors coming for the purpose of travel, observation, consultation, research, training, sharing, or demonstrating specialized knowledge or skills, or participating in organized people-to-people programs.

Special Requirements:

Scholastic Preparation

The "J" exchange visitors must have sufficient scholastic preparation and knowledge of the English language to enable the applicant to undertake a full course of study in the institution of learning or other place of study at which you the applicant has been accepted. If the applicant's knowledge of English is inadequate to enable the applicant to pursue a full course of study, you must submit documentation that special arrangements have been made by the accepting institution for English language tutoring.

Medical Education and Training

Exchange visitors coming under the "J" program for graduate medical education or training must meet certain special requirements. They include having passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in Medical Sciences, demonstrating competency in English, being automatically subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement (later), and being subject to time limits on the duration of their program. Physicians coming to the United States on exchange visitor programs for the purpose of observation, consultation, teaching, or research in which there is little or no patient care are not subject to the above requirements.

Required documentation:

• Two completed DS-156 and DS-157 and DS-158 application forms. Click here to download forms.
• CITIC application fee receipt
• Passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least nine months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States.
• Two American passport-sized photos each applicant
• For the "J" applicant, a completed Form DS-2019. Participants in the "J" program must present a Form DS-2019 prepared by a designated sponsoring organization. For the "Q" applicant, a notice of approval, Form I-797. Participants in the "Q" program must have the designated sponsoring organization file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS will notify the sponsor on Form I-797 when the petition is approved. It should be noted that the approval of a petition does not guarantee visa issuance to an applicant found to be ineligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
• Evidence of sufficient scholarship or personal funds to cover the applicant's expenses, or evidence that other arrangements have been made to provide for the applicant's expenses. Possession of "sufficient funds" means you the applicant is neither likely to become a public charge nor likely to engage in unauthorized employment in order to support his or herself while in the United States.

Other Documentation:

• Evidence establishing the applicant's intention to depart from the United States upon completion of his or her stay. This means you have residence in a foreign country that you have no intention of abandoning; and social, economic, and other ties that would compel your return after a temporary and lawful visit.
• Brief description of the research that you plan to carry out in the United States.

Important travel information for F, M and J

To all recipients of an F, M, or J student or exchange visitor visa: Please be aware that United States Department of Homeland Security regulations state that holders of F, M, or J nonimmigrant visas will not be admitted to the United States until a date thirty days or less prior to the beginning of your program date, or start date, as given on your Form I-20 (For F or M visas) or DS-2019 (for J visas). Please consider that date carefully when making your travel plans to the United States.

SEVIS

All students, exchange scholars and their dependents must be registered in SEVIS. SEVIS stands for Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. The host institution (for example, School) is responsible for entering your application information into SEVIS. Questions regarding SEVIS should be directly to your host institution.

Attention

• There is no reciprocity fee for the issuance of a J visa if the alien is a United States Government grantee or a participant in an exchange program sponsored by the United States Government.
• Also, there is no reciprocity fee for visa issuance to an accompanying or following-to-join spouse or child (J-2) of an exchange visitor grantee or participant.
• In addition, an applicant is eligible for an exemption from the MRV fee if he or she is participating in a Department or USAID-sponsored educational program (program numbers G-1, G-2, G-3 and G-7).
• However, all other applicants with U.S. Government sponsorships, including other J-visa applications, are subject to the MRV processing fee.