J-1 Student Intern Program 

Eligibility 

• Eligibility: The prospective J-1 Student Intern must be currently enrolled and pursuing a degree (e.g. Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate) at an accredited post-secondary academic institution outside the US.   
• Agreement Requirement: The J-1 Student Internship must be carried out pursuant to an official Student Intern Placement Agreement. Click here for the agreement template created by the Office of General Counsel. 
• Signatories: The Agreement should be signed by a full-time Penn faculty and the prospective Student Intern’s overseas school administrator. 
• Template Integrity: The template content should not be altered, except for the blank fields. 
• Graduation Restriction: The J-1 Student Intern category is not available to individuals who have graduated. 
• Academic Standing: The prospective J-1 Student Intern must be in good academic standing with the post-secondary academic institution where s/he is currently enrolled. 
• Return Requirement: The prospective J-1 Student Intern must return to his/her home institution outside the U.S. after the internship to complete their degree. 
• Internship Purpose: The prospective J-1 Student Intern must be accepted into an approved student internship program at Penn, rather than to engage in employment or provide services to Penn. 
• English Proficiency: The prospective J-1 Student Intern must have “verifiable English skills sufficient to function on a day-to-day basis” at Penn.
• Cultural Participation: The hosting department must have plans in place for the J-1 Student Intern to participate in American cultural activities as required by the J-1 Federal Regulations. 

J-1 English Language Proficiency Requirements 

J-1 Exchange Visitors must demonstrate English language proficiency through one of several established “objective measurements.” At Penn, this requirement can be met by one of the following options: 

1. Standardized English Language Tests 
   • Exchange visitors must provide test results directly to the host department, which will upload them to the iPenn J-1 application. Recognized tests and acceptable scores include: 
     • TOEFL Internet-Based Test: 80 cumulative, minimum 18 speaking  
     • IELTS: 6 cumulative, minimum 6 speaking 
     • Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency: 169 
     • ACTFL OPI: Intermediate High 
     • TOEIC: Listening 400, Reading 385, Speaking 160, Writing 150 
     • DET (Duolingo English Test): 110 Cumulative, Minimum 110 Speaking
   • All test scores must be less than two years old. 
2. Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) by the English Language Program (ELP) 
   • J-1 Exchange Visitors can satisfy this requirement by participating in an OPI conducted by Penn’s ELP. Results will be provided directly to the sponsoring department and reported to ISSS. 
   • For detailed information, visit the ELP website. 

Exceptions may be made if the exchange visitor: 

• is a native speaker of English as evidenced by a passport from an English-speaking country. 
• has completed a degree at an English-speaking institution. If the institution is outside the US and is in a country where English is not the native language, there must be a signed letter/documentation from the institution confirming that English is the language of instruction for the degree program. 
• is already at Penn and would like to extend their program. 

Duration and Hours 

Per J-1 Federal Regulations: 

• Internship Duration: The J-1 Student Intern may participate in a student internship program for up to 12 months for each degree level.  
• Extension Policy: Extensions beyond 12 months are not possible. 
• Minimum Hours: The internship must be a minimum of 32 hours per week. 

Appropriate Activities and Location 

• Educational Objectives: The internship at Penn must fulfill the educational objectives for the J-1 Student Intern’s current degree program at his/her home institution overseas. 
• Skill Expansion: The internship must expose the J-1 Student Intern to American techniques, methodologies, and technology, expand upon the participant’s existing knowledge and skills, and not duplicate the J-1 Student Intern’s prior experience. All internship tasks assigned must be necessary for the completion of the student internship program. 
• Activity Limitation: J-1 Student Intern’s program activities will be strictly limited to the activities outlined on the Student Intern’s DS-7002 T/IPP (see information below). 
• Location Restriction: The J-1 Student Intern activities must occur on the Penn premises (i.e. Penn’s Philadelphia campus, and not outside Penn’s campus). 
• Employment Restriction: The J-1 Student Intern must not accept any additional employment or volunteer activities outside the Student Intern duties and responsibilities.  
• Clerical Work Limitation: The internship tasks may consist of no more than 20 percent clerical work and must consist of work-based learning, rather than ordinary employment or unskilled labor. 
• Internship Purpose: Internship must exist solely to assist the Student Intern in achieving their program objectives. 
• Prohibited Positions: Internships cannot place a J-1 Student Intern in the following positions: 
  • Unskilled or casual labor 
  • Childcare or elder care 
  • Aviation 
  • Clinical positions or engaging in any other kind of work that involves patient care or contact (not even animals), including any work that would require student interns to provide therapy, medication, or other clinical or medical care 
    • also including sports or physical therapy, psychological counseling, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, social work, speech therapy, or early childhood education 

iPenn Application and DS-7002, T/IPP (Internship Placement Plan) 

• Application Process: Please read and print the Application Process & Checklist before proceeding to iPenn. 
• Submission by Hosting Department: Hosting department submits application for Student Intern through iPenn. 
• ISSS Review: After the department submits a J-1 Student Intern eform request in iPenn, ISSS will draft Form DS-7002 based on the Student Intern Placement Agreement and submitted eforms. 
• Document Review: ISSS will email Form DS-7002 to the J-1 Student Intern and the hosting department to review and sign the DS-7002. 
• Intern Signature: The J-1 Student Intern must sign Form DS-7002 and then email the signed copy to the Penn faculty mentor. 
• Final Approval: Once signed by the Penn faculty mentor the hosting department should email the fully signed DS-7002 to ISSS Specialist assigned to the case for Form DS-2019 issuance. 
• Visa Documentation: The DS-7002 with all three original signatures will be emailed to the J-1 applicant along with Form DS-2019, both of which are required for the J visa application and interview at the overseas US Consulate. 
  • Citizens of Canada and Bermuda are exempt from the J-1 visa requirement; however, must present both DS-7002 and DS-2019 at the port of entry into the U.S. 

NOTE: Each signatory must keep a copy of the Form DS-7002. 

Fees

• Processing Fee: Penn processing fee is $865 with an additional rush fee of $700 for cases with a program start date that is less than 30 days from the date of case submission. 
• SEVIS Fee: Instructions will be emailed to the J-1 Student Intern with the DS-7002 and DS-2019 about how to pay the SEVIS fee which is required as part of the visa interview.  

The J-1 Student Intern must take care during his/her stay in the US to maintain lawful J-1 status; failure to do so will have serious short-term and long-term consequences. 

Here are some simple steps the J-1 Student Intern can take to ensure that their stay in the US remains valid: 

• Do not accept unauthorized employment.  The only activity the J-1 Student Intern is permitted to do is the one described on the DS-2019 at the site of activity indicated in box 1.   
• Be aware of the DS-2019 expiration date.  Any requests for extensions beyond the current end date must be submitted by the Penn host department at least 6 weeks prior to the DS-2019 form’s expiration date. 
• Keep the passport valid.  Passports can be renewed by the J-1 Student Intern’s home country consulate in New York or Philadelphia or by the embassy in Washington, DC.  The DOS maintains a complete list of Foreign Embassies in the U.S. 
• J exchange visitors who travel to the United States on or after September 15, 2026, will be admitted for a fixed period not to exceed four years. Make sure your Form I-94 record reflects the end date of your DS-2019 form plus 30 days. If it does not, contact ISSS. Extending programs on or after September 15, 2026 will require additional procedures. The additional procedures will involve filing an extension of status application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which will incur a filing fee, or international travel and re-entry.
• Comply with federal health insurance requirements (see section below for details) for J-1 Student Intern and accompanying J-2 dependents. Willful disregard of these requirements will result in termination of the J-1 program and his/her legal J-1 status in the U.S. 
• Report any address change to ISSS.  The J-1 Student Interns are required to report change of address to the Department of Homeland Security within 10 days of moving; J-1 Student Interns can update changes to their US residential address, email or phone number in their iPenn record. 

Mandatory Health Insurance Requirement 

Insurance Mandate: All J-1 and J-2 status holders must carry adequate health insurance coverage, as mandated by the U.S. J-1 Federal Regulations. 

Coverage Requirements: Each J-1 Student Intern must secure insurance coverage for him/herself and J-2 dependents. if any, for the duration of the J-1 Student Intern program.  

Insurance coverage must meet the following criteria: 

• 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. 
• ALL J-1 Student Interns are required to either: 
  • Purchase a pre-selected J-1 Insurance Plan from Gallagher  
  • OR 
  • waive out of the coverage requirement by submitting evidence of comparable or better insurance to Gallagher   
• For questions regarding coverage or which plan is more appropriate, J-1 Student Interns should contact Gallagher directly. 

Please note that willful failure to comply with these insurance requirements will result in termination of the Exchange Visitor’s program. 

Evaluation Form 

• The internship supervisor and the J-1 Student Intern must complete the J-1 Student Intern Evaluation Form. 
• For internships lasting less than 6 months, one final evaluation is required. 
• For internships lasting more than 6 months, two evaluations are required 
  • A midpoint evaluation 
  • A final evaluation 
• All evaluations must be sent to ISSS within 5 business days of the end date of the J-1 Student Intern’s program at Penn. 
• If a Penn department violates the J-1 Student Intern evaluation requirements, the department will be barred from hosting any J-1 Student Interns for 12 months.  

Grace Period after Completion of Stay 

• Grace Period Duration: J-1 Student Interns are afforded a 30-day grace period to leave the US upon early completion of the program or the end date or the DS-2019 end date, whichever is earlier.  
• Restriction on Re-Entry: Please be advised that the J-1/J-2 may not leave the US during the grace period and re-enter as J-1/J-2 using Form DS-2019.  
• Extension Restriction: The grace period cannot be used to extend the J-1 activity either at Penn or elsewhere.