J-1 Visiting Scholars

J-1 visiting scholars at Penn fall include the following categories:

Professors:

A professor teaches, lectures, observes, or consults.  A professor’s primary activity will be teaching and lecturing, but may also conduct research, unless disallowed by the sponsor.”

• Minimum: 3 weeks

• Maximum:  5 years

Research Scholar:

A research scholar conducts research, observes, or consults in connection with a research project. A research scholar may also teach or lecture, unless disallowed by the sponsor.

• Minimum: 3 weeks

• Maximum:  5 years

Short-term Scholar:

A short-term scholar: comes to the US for a period of up to 6 months to lecture, observe, or consult, and participate in seminars, workshops, conferences, study tours, professional meetings, or similar types of educational and professional activities.  

• No minimum stay required

• Maximum:  6 months.  No extensions beyond six months will be permitted under any circumstances

Specialist:

A specialist is a world-renowned expert in a field of specialized knowledge or skill who comes to the US to demonstrate his/her special knowledge/skills, observe or consult. 

• Minimum: 3 weeks

• Maximum:  1 year

• J-1 scholar status may NOT be used for tenure-track faculty positions, regular faculty or support positions, administrative positions, or staff positions.  It is limited to those who hold temporary, "visiting" academic positions.

• Prior to requesting J-1 sponsorship from ISSS, departments should check their own school's internal policy regarding appointments, positions, lengths, and restrictions (e.g. SOM's Visiting Scholar policy).  If unsure, please check with your school dean's office. 

• NO CLINICAL APPOINTMENTS.  The  J-1 program may NOT be used for clinical appointments to the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Veterinary Medicine, or UPHS hospitals, or for foreign medical graduates (FMGs) who will be involved in clinical activities or for those receiving medical training.  The only exchange program authorized to sponsor FMGs as J-1 exchange visitors for internships, residencies, specialized clinical training, and in other positions involving more than incidental patient contact, is the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

12-Month Bar:

A foreign national is ineligible to participate in a professor/research scholar exchange program if he/she has held any J nonimmigrant status within the 12-month period immediately preceding the start of the exchange program. This 12-Month Bar applies to J-2 dependents as well as J-1.  The following 3 exceptions exist

• J-1 transfers to Penn without any gap;

• Prior stay in the US in J status was for less than 6 months;

• Presence in J status as a Short-Term Scholar.

24-Month Bar: 

An individual who participates in the Exchange Visitor Program as a J-1 Professor or Research Scholar becomes subject to the 24-Month Bar on "repeat participation"  as a professor or research scholar after completing his or her program even if the program lasts less than five years. The 24-Month Bar will also apply to J-2 dependents of J-1 Professors or Research Scholars if the J-2 subsequently wishes to return as a J-1 Professor or Research Scholar.

212(e) Two-Year Home Country Residence Requirement

J-1 visiting scholars who have received funding from their home country government or the US government, or whose skills are on their home country’s Skills List, must leave the US after J-1 program completion.   Not all visitors will be subject to this requirement.

Those who are subject must reside and be physically present  in their home country for an aggregate of two years before being eligible for certain immigration benefits. For more information, click here.  

If subject to the Two-Year Home Country Residence Requirement, the exchange visitor may NOT:  

• Change to another non-immigrant status (except A or G) within the US.  The visitor may however, obtain a new non-immigrant visa by travelling abroad to a consulate;

• Receive an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident (immigrant/green card) status

• Receive an H visa for temporary workers and their dependents, or an L visa for intracompany transferees and their dependents.

In some cases, this requirement may be waived upon recommendation of the home government or on other grounds.  Such waivers are the responsibility of the individual Exchange Visitor, and  ISSS is not able to give detailed guidance on the waiver process.  Detailed information can be found via the link above. The final authority to grant the waiver lies with USCIS.

Submission of a waiver application should be carefully timed. Once either a waiver approval notice (from USCIS) or a waiver recommendation (by DOS) is granted, the J-1 exchange visitor is no longer eligible for a program extension.

Comparison Chart: 

Two-Year Home Country Residence Requirement, 12-Month & 24-Month Bar

J-1 Exchange Visitors must demonstrate English language proficiency by use of one of several established “objective measurements.”

At Penn, this requirement may be met by one of the following options:

1. An acceptable score on a recognized standardized English language test.

   • The exchange visitor must provide the test results directly to the host department, who will report them to ISSS during the application process.  For most degree and exchange students, this requirement will have already been met by the English language testing requirement of standard admission procedures.

   • Currently recognized tests and acceptable scores include the following:
      

If you have scores from an alternative test that you believe may apply, please consult with ISSS before proceeding. Keep in mind that tests administered at an institutional level may not be accepted.

1. Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) conducted by the English Language Program (ELP).

   • ​J-1 Exchange Visitors may satisfy this requirement by participating in an Oral Proficiency Interview conducted by Penn’s English Language Program. The results of the interview will be provided directly to the sponsoring department who will report them to ISSS during the application process.

     For detailed information about the interview, please visit ELP’s website.

2. Host Department Interview: 

   • ​Hosting departments may choose to conduct an interview on their own to determine whether or not the Exchange Visitor speaks English proficiently enough to successfully function in the Exchange Program. This interview may be conducted either in-person, via videoconference like Skype or FaceTime, or by telephone if necessary. The interview must be documented using the English Proficiency Evaluation form. The host department will determine internally who will be the best person to conduct such an interview.

Exceptions: 

Exceptions may be made in the following cases:

• The exchange visitor is a native speaker of English;

• The exchange visitor has completed a degree at an English speaking institution;

• The exchange visitor is transferring to Penn from an institution in the US;

• The exchange visitor is already at Penn and would like to extend their program.

• The exchange visitor has previously successfully completed his/her J-1 program without any language issue. 

ALL non-postdoc J-1 Visiting Scholars and Student Interns are required to either

1. Purchase a pre-selected J-1 Insurance Plan from Gallagher (formerly Garnett-Powers) here

2. or waive out of the coverage requirement by submitting evidence of comparable or better insurance to Gallagher here

For questions regarding coverage or which plan is more appropriate, Visiting Scholars should contact Gallagher directly.

As J-1 Visiting Scholars are required to be covered for the entirety of their program, we recommend that you purchase coverage prior to your arrival.

Insurance plans that are offered to Visiting Scholars directly from the university as part of their benefits do NOT meet the medical evacuation and repatriation requirements of the Department of State.  Visiting Scholars may purchase evacuation and repatriation coverage from ISOS or another company of their choosing.

J-1 Exchange Visitors with a Postdoctoral Appointment should not purchase the above plans, but instead should consult the postdoc portal here.  Penn's postdoctoral researcher insurance plan meets the DOS required health insurance coverage requirement for both J-1 scholars and their enrolled J-2 dependents.

These policies have been put in place in order to facilitate University compliance with Department of State requirements.  The requirements state that all J-1 Exchange Visitors are required to have health insurance during the entirety of their stay, which meets the following requirements:

• Medical coverage of at least $100,000 per accident or illness.

• Medical evacuation must be covered in the amount of at least $50,000.

• Repatriation must be covered in the amount of at least $25,000.

• The deductible must not exceed $500 per accident or illness.

• Any coinsurance requirement cannot exceed 25%

• The carrier must be at least A- rated or backed by the full faith and credit of the Exchange Visitor’s home government.

• For J-1 Visiting Scholars who will be in the US for longer than 12 months, pre-existing conditions must be a covered benefit, with the waiting period for coverage no longer than 12 months.  If the insurance policy has the pre-existing conditions benefit as a set amount, benefit coverage must be the same as illness coverage.  

Willful failure to comply with these requirements will result in the termination of the Exchange Visitor’s program.  

Your spouse and unmarried minor children (under 21 years of age) are eligible for J-2 dependent status. To learn more about the procedures for J-2 Dependents, please see our J-2 Dependents page.

LEARN MORE ABOUT J-2 DEPENDENTS