J-1 Visa Students

General Information

Please note that the following information is meant to be used only by Florida State University faculty, staff, students, and potential visitors to Florida State University and only in the context of international visits to FSU specifically. It is not intended to be used and should not be construed as general legal advice.

Exchange Visitor (J) status is granted for a variety of activities intended to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The program was established through the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act). For more information, see www.exchanges.state.gov/education/jexchanges/.

The overall J program is administered mainly through the U.S. State Department, rather than U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The J status is the only immigration status administered in this way. Therefore, in many respects, the program is very different from other immigration statuses someone from abroad may hold. To review the differences, advantages and disadvantages of this status as opposed to another, please visit the following link:  Visa vs. Status

If you are an FSU faculty member wanting to invite a colleague or post-doctoral researcher to FSU or a department representative assisting an inviting faculty member, the procedures for requesting a new program and the entire process of getting into the U.S. on the J program is on our web site on the Visa Information page. That form should also be used for those transferring a J researcher from another sponsor to FSU or changing from another status. Please note that FSU cannot issue immigration documents for anyone who is not going to be working directly with an FSU department. If you are unsure about whether the proposed program or employment fits within the J program please review the category definitions below.

The J program has various categories into which a visitor may fit depending upon their primary activities while in the U.S. Florida State University sponsors the following categories only:

• Research Scholar/Professor (up to 5 years) - provides foreign professors and research scholars the opportunity to engage in research, teaching, and lecturing with their American colleagues.
• Short-term Scholar (6 months or less) - provides foreign scholars the opportunity to exchange ideas with their American colleagues, participate in educational and professional programs, confer on common problems and projects, and promote professional relationships and communications.
• Specialist (up to 1 year)- promotes the interchange of knowledge and skills among foreign and American specialists, who are defined as experts in a field of specialized knowledge or skills, and who visit the United States for the purpose of observing, consulting, or demonstrating their special skills.
• Student (Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate) - Degree seeking students whose funding for their program is not personal or family funds - scholarship or fellowship recipients.
• Student - Non-degree (only under specific written exchange agreement between university presidents or for students who have received a scholarship or fellowship)

The scholar and specialist categories above can be financially supported by funding from FSU, a private or governmental scholarship or fellowship from the U.S. or the home country, an international organization, or a scholar's sabbatical salary. Personal funding is appropriate for visiting scholars in some circumstances.

Other categories not sponsored by FSU, but which departments may encounter are secondary school student, summer work/travel, au pair, camp counselor, trainee, international visitor, government visitor, or secondary school teacher. Please be aware that the U.S. Department of State does not generally allow someone in J status to change their category during their stay, unless the visitor will experience a severe hardship without the change (these changes are rarely granted). The visitor is seen to have come for one specific purpose, and then they are expected to return home afterward. So, for example, those in the U.S. in a summer work/travel program generally will not be able to change to a degree-seeking student category of the J program without first leaving the U.S. They may have options for changing status to another immigration status entirely, such as an F-1 student, provided that they can get through the admissions procedures and change of immigration status in time to enroll as required, and provided they are not subject to the two-year residence requirement For more information on changing status to or from J-1 status please see the Change of Status Form . Please note that au pairs are expected to study during their stay, so they may be permitted to enroll at FSU.

Various agencies, other than FSU, also sponsor J-1 exchange visitors on our campus, IIE, LASPAU, Amideast, American Councils, through grants like Fulbright, Muskie, and Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP). There are also occasionally private J-1 trainee sponsors who place trainees on our campus. The sponsor of the Exchange Visitor's program appears in box 2 of the DS-2019 form (Certificate of Eligibility). If an agency other than FSU appears in box 2, that agency must issue all immigration documentation, work authorizations, travel signatures, and specific program advice and information. The Center for Global Engagement can advise these sponsored students and scholars only on general immigration information and university procedures, as we have no legal authority with regard to their immigration record. For a full list of all J-1 sponsors of all categories and their contact information, see http://exchanges.state.gov/jexchanges/.

The J program does expect reciprocal exchange to occur. Although there is no organized program of exactly equal exchange with the countries represented on our campus under the J program, there are various exchange opportunities for students and faculty to travel abroad. For more information, please see Reciprocal Exchange Abroad.