Important Information for J-1 Scholars

• All incoming J-1 Exchange Visitors must report to the IPS office and complete the mandatory check in process once arriving on campus. Email ips@mtu.edu to make an appointment within the first week of arrival. You should bring your DS-2019, passport, and visa. If you have dependents, you should bring their documents as well.

• Upon arrival, your mandatory session will be scheduled with an IPS via Zoom. This Zoom session will last approximately 30 minutes. Once you have completed the orientation, your SEVIS record will be validated within three days.

• If you fail to report to the IPS office to check in, your SEVIS record will automatically be invalidated by the SEVIS system within 15 days of the program start date. This means that you will not be allowed to continue your program at MIchigan Tech and you must return home to avoid accruing unwanted presence.

• All international visa holders should print and carry their arrival record (the Form I-94) with them at all times upon arrival. You can find and print this form through https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home. The I-94 form is the most important document indicating your lawful entry into the United States, and it is required for your legal stay in this County.

• Attend the full duration of your J-1 program
• Have a valid DS-2019 with accurate program dates and signature of the ARO/RO. Travel signatures on a DS-2019 are valid for one year.
• Report early departure from your program to IPS. If you decide to depart the United States more than 30 days prior to the completion date of your program (as indicated on your DS‐2019), you MUST notify your department AND IPS. Correctly recording your program completion date is important because it can affect the date on which you can return to the United States on a new J‐1 program, or in another visa status.
• File a timely and appropriate extension request, if your program is extended.
• Make sure that the expiration date of your passport is AT LEAST 6 months in the future. 

The US Department of State regulations require all J-1 Exchange Visitors to have medical insurance for themselves and any accompanying J-2 dependents for the entire duration of the J-1 program (as indicated on the DS-2019). Fulfilling this requirement is essential not only because medical treatment in the United States is very expensive, but also because you and your family members are considered to be in violation of J-1/J-2 status if you do not have sufficient insurance. IPS is not able to provide J-1 program benefits such as work authorization, travel signatures, and extensions to anyone who is not maintaining valid status. It is your responsibility to notify IPS of dependents who are currently in the United States or who arrive subsequently and present evidence of appropriate insurance coverage for them. For more information about how to purchase health insurance or other concerns, please contact Michigan Tech Student Insurance. 

Once you have been authorized for an approved insurance plan, be sure to send a scanned copy of the insurance documents to ips@mtu.edu so that they can be uploaded into your immigration record. IPS will place a hold on your account until you provide this documentation.

It is a federal requirement that J-1 Exchange Visitors update their United States mailing address within 10 days of moving. Be sure that you always update your mailing address information on Experience using the My Account card and Update Addresses link. Your SEVIS residential address will be updated when IPS runs our weekly report, so you will only need to update the mailing address.

Time spent in the United States as a J-1 Exchange Visitor or J-2 Dependent affects when you are eligible to re-enter the US as a research scholar or professor at a later date. If you have previously been here as a research scholar or professor, it also affects when you can come back to the US.  Periods when researchers or professors are not eligible to enter the country are called 12-month and 24-month bars. You can find more information on the US Gov website.

 

• If you enter the US under another J-1 category, including Short-Term Scholar, Specialist, or Student Intern, the bar does not apply to you.
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  The bar also does not affect people who are transferring to another institution to continue their current J-1 programs.

12-month bar: The 12-month bar prohibits Exchange Visitors from starting a new program in the Research Scholar or Professor categories if they were in the US for more than six months in any J status (including J-2 dependent) during all or part of the 12-month period immediately before the start date of their new program. If any part of a J-status exchange visitor’s presence in the US was within that 12-month period, then their entire (previous) program duration would be counted towards the number of days.

24-month bar: If you have participated in the Exchange Visitor Program as a Professor or Research Scholar, you are subject to a 24-month bar. You must wait two years to repeat your participation in either of those categories. 

You may transfer from one program sponsor to another if the purpose is to complete the academic objective approved when you were admitted. The transfer process requires coordination between both the responsible officer who administrates your current program, and the responsible officer of your new J-1 program.
To transfer IN to Michigan Tech:

Inform your university’s J-1 responsible officer that you intend to transfer here.
Complete the J-1 Visiting Scholar Transfer In Request form and send it to Michigan Tech's International Programs and Services (ips@mtu.edu).
Remain at your current institution until the effective date of the transfer.
Report to IPS when you arrive. Attendance, required by federal law, must start within 30 days after your transfer date.
Get your new DS-2019 from IPS.

Complete the Transfer Out Request form and submit it to IPS (ips@mtu.edu).
Remain at Michigan Tech until the effective date of the transfer.
Report to the international office at your new university to collect your new DS-2019 within 30 days after your transfer date.

Scholars on a J-1 visa may request an extension on their visa up to the maximum permitted time limit (depending on their respective J-1 category).  This extension needs to be authorized by the host department, and a personnel from the host department needs to fill out the DS-2019 Program Extension Request (Google form). Documents required to fill this form include:

A letter from the department indicating the proposed start date (old unchanged) and end date (new), along with verification of financial support ($18,000/year minimum)

A signed approval form from the department head

For more information, please see this page.

For approved extensions, the department may change the end date for the postdoc using a Status Change Form that is available from Human Resources. It is the responsibility of HR to verify that the postdoctoral scholar has not exceeded the six year limit (total).

If a post-doc does not qualify for an extension, they may pursue changing to an H1-B visa at Michigan Tech with Immigration and Visa Services in HR.

Your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 are eligible to be in the United States with you during the duration of your program. Dependents must also maintain their legal status (meaning health insurance requirement, not engaging in authorized employment).  More information on the legal requirements for J-2 Dependents can be found on this website.

If you wish to bring a dependent to the USA (after you are already here), you must fill out our Dependent Request Google Form.

 

The list of required documents to submit are as follows:

• Your current DS-2019
• Copies of each dependent’s passports - includes all information, clear and visible. Each dependent has their own section, so be sure to upload the passports individually, and not in one document
• Dependent Request Form; filled out accurately and completely
• Proof of financial support for you and your dependents ($18,000/year for a scholar, plus an additional $4,000 for a spouse, and $2,500 per child). Financial documents can be an offer letter from MTU department, loan, or personal funding documents

More information on how to apply for a dependent's documents can be found on our website.

• If you are a J-1 Exchange Visitor that will need to leave the country for more than the 30 day allowance during your J-1 program, please visit our Out of Country webpage for more information, as well as the process to request this leave).

 

Every time that you travel outside of Houghton or Hancock, make sure to carry your passport (with the visa stamped page if applicable), DS-2019, and I-94 travel record.

If you need to travel outside of the United States temporarily, you need to carry with you the following documents to facilitate your re-entry:

• Valid passport (expiration date must be at least 6 months away from the date you are entering the United States) with the visa stamped page (if applicable)
• DS-2019 with a travel signature that is not older than a year from date of your re-entry into the United States 

If you are traveling to a country that is not your country of citizenship or permanent residency, please consult that country’s consulate to determine if you require an entry visa. Here is a list of foreign consulates in the United States.

 

Before traveling, you should always check the current governmental system and requirements to ensure that traveling is recommended for your specific situation.

For further information, please check out the Travel and Re-Entry slider on the F-1 Students page.

J-1 Exchange Visitors are permitted to work as described on the Form DS‐2019 and may accept additional employment as authorized by the sponsor. Unauthorized employment may result in the loss of valid J‐1 status. Please consult IPS regarding accepting employment, any changes in your official title, salary or department to be certain that you are authorized to engage in such employment under your current J‐1 *status.

J‐2 dependents may apply for employment authorization through the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) after arriving in the United States. Applications require a fee and take approximately 90 days to be processed by USCIS. For application procedures, please visit or contact IPS. For more information, refer to Rules for J-2 Dependents.

If you are in the U.S. for even for one day in J-1/J-2 status, you will have tax filing responsibilities during the tax filing season (January through April). If you did not have any tax obligations you are still required to complete and mail Form 8843. For more information, visit this page.

Some J-1 exchange visitors are subject to the U.S. Department of State Two-Year Foreign Residence Requirement INA 212(e) that requires them to return to their home country for two years at the end of their J-1 program. If you belong to one of the following categories, you are most likely subject to this requirement at the end of your J-1 program:
Medical doctor sponsored by Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
You come from a country on the U.S. Department of State “skills list”
You received funding from your home government or from the U.S. government through agencies, such as Fulbright
The Two-Year Foreign Residence Requirement will not prevent you from reentering the U.S. with an F-1 student, B-1/B-2 (tourist) or J-1 student visa (or some other categories) in the future, but it will prevent you from getting H-1B non-immigrant employment or Permanent Residence status unless the 2 year requirement is either fulfilled or waived.

Upon completion of your program, you and your J‐2 dependents are allowed a 30‐day grace period to depart the United States. It is critical that you depart the United States on time, prior to the end of your grace period. You are not authorized to work during the grace period.