J-1 Scholars: Professors, Researchers, and Short-Term Scholars
The Exchange Visitor Program was created to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges."
It is administered by the U.S. Department of State. Programs that wish to receive exchange visitors must apply for and receive sponsor designation from the U.S. Department of State.
J–1 exchange visitors must be registered in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Exchange visitors may come under the financial sponsorship of UTSA, or they may come on their own funding — from their personal savings, from their current employer, from their government, or from some other source. All exchange visitors are required by the U.S. Department of State to have insurance coverage while they are in the U.S.
Insurance coverage must include:
- Medical benefits of at least U.S. $50,000 per person per accident or illness.
- Repatriation of remains in the amount of U.S. $7,500.
- Expenses associated with medical evacuation in the amount of U.S. $10,000.
- A willful failure to carry insurance is considered to be a violation of the Exchange Visitor Program.
Many people who come to the U.S. on J–1 visas are subject to the Two–Year Home Country Residency requirement. For most, this is because they have received government financing for their program (from either the home country or the U.S.), or they are on the Exchange Visitors Skills List. For more information on this requirement or how it can be waived, see an international student and scholar advisor in the Office of International Programs.
More information on waivers to the Two-Year Home Country Residency Requirement can be found at the U.S. Department of State.
International