Exchange visitor

Conditions you must meet

• Intend to participate in an approved programme for one of the listed exchange purposesThe purposes are a closed list on this page, unlike the B-1 activity list which is explicitly open. Graduate medical education is named separately from study, and it carries consequences elsewhere in US immigration law that this page does not cover.

  The J-1 classification (exchange visitors) is authorized for those who intend to participate in an approved program for the purpose of teaching, instructing or lecturing, studying, observing, conducting research, consulting, demonstrating special skills, receiving training, or to receive graduate medical education or training.

• Be sponsored by an exchange program designated by the U.S. Department of StateThe applicant cannot self-sponsor. Designation is a Department of State act, and without a designated sponsor there is no J-1 route at all.

  In carrying out the responsibilities of the Exchange Visitor Program, the Department of State designates public and private entities to act as exchange program sponsors. J-1 nonimmigrants are therefore sponsored by an exchange program that is designated as such by the U.S. Department of State.

• A Responsible Officer or Alternate Responsible Officer explains which documents are needed for the DS-2019Recorded because the absence of a published document list is itself the fact an applicant needs. The list exists, it is per-sponsor, and the authority does not publish it.

  An official who is authorized to issue Form DS-2019 is known as a responsible officer (RO) or alternate responsible officer (ARO). Your RO or ARO will explain to you what documents are needed in order to be issued a DS-2019.

• You may not enter the United States in J-1 status more than 30 days before your programme begins

  though you may not enter the United States in J-1 status more than 30 days before your program begins

• Admitted for duration of status — the DS-2019 governs, and no extension is filed with USCISThis is where J-1 differs most sharply from the other nonimmigrant routes in this registry. There is no Form I-539 extension and no USCIS filing: the programme sponsor extends the programme, and the stay follows.

  An exchange visitor is generally admitted for duration of status (D/S). Thus, the program duration on their DS-2019 governs their status, and an exchange visitor cannot and need not file a request for extension of stay with USCIS.

• You keep J-1 status only while you continue to engage in the programme activities your programme requires

  Generally, an exchange visitor maintains status while they continue to engage in program activities as required by the terms of their program.

• Employment is authorised only under the terms of the exchange programmeNot every J-1 involves work, and where it does the sponsor's programme terms — not the classification — set the limits.

  Some J-1 nonimmigrants enter the United States specifically to work while others do not. Employment is authorized for J-1 nonimmigrants only under the terms of the exchange program.

• Spouse and unmarried children under 21 qualify for J-2, may work, but their income may not be used to support youTwo rules that pull against each other and both are stated: J-2 dependants may be authorised to work, and the income cannot count toward the principal's support. A reader who takes only the first half will plan their finances wrongly.

  Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age, regardless of nationality, are entitled to J-2 classification. Your spouse and children are entitled to employment authorization; however, their income may not be used to support you.

Official forms

• Obtain Form DS-2019, Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status, from your sponsoring agency (DS-2019)The first step of the whole route, and it is not filed with the immigration authority — the sponsor issues it. The page names who is authorised to do so and states that this person decides what documents are needed.

  The U.S. Department of State plays the primary role in administering the J-1 exchange visitor program, so the first step in obtaining a J-1 visa is to submit a Form DS-2019, Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status, (formerly known as an IAP-66). Your sponsoring agency will provide you this form.

• A J-2 dependant files Form I-765 to obtain employment authorisation (I-765)

  To apply for employment authorization as a J-2 nonimmigrant, your spouse or child would file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

  Official form

Steps in the process

• Apply for the J-1 visa only after you hold the DS-2019The ordering is the requirement. Applying for the visa first is not a slower route, it is not a route.

  After you have obtained a Form DS-2019, you may then apply for a J-1 visa through the U.S. Department of State at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

• Extend the programme through your sponsor and the Department of State, not through USCIS

  An exchange visitor may seek to extend the length of their program through their program sponsor with the Department of State, which extends their stay in the U.S.

Also stated by the authority

Not requirements in themselves. These are alternatives, exemptions, rights and warnings the authority publishes alongside the requirements — quoted here because they can change what applies to you.

• Examples of who holds J-1 statusAn open list of examples rather than a rule. Recorded with officially_required false because it helps a reader place themselves without implying that appearing on it qualifies them.

  Examples of exchange visitors include, but are not limited to: Professors or scholars Research assistants Students Trainees Teachers Specialists Au pairs Camp counselors