Maintaining J-1 Status
As a J-1 exchange visitor, it is your responsibility to maintain your immigration status throughout the duration of your J-1 program.
“Staying in status” means you are following the rules to stay in the United States legally. It is critical that you stay in legal status.
If you fall out of status, you are no longer in the United States legally. If that happens, you could have serious problems with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). You could compromise your ability to get a U.S. visa or even enter the United States in the future. You must also be in status to receive employment authorization.
DGSOM Visa and Licensing Office is happy to provide you with the information and advice you need to maintain your status. However, maintaining your status is your responsibility.
24-month Research Scholar / Professor Bar: J-1 Exchange Visitors (and their J-2 dependents) in the Professor or Research Scholar category are subject to the 24-month bar. This means that the EV will not be able to begin a new J-1 program as Professor or Research Scholar until 24 months after their current Professor or Research Scholar Program ends.
12-month Research Scholar/ Professor Bar: J-1 Exchange Visitors (and their J-2 dependents) in any J-1 category other than Professor or Research Scholar (e.g. Degree Student, Student Non-degree) for more than 6 months are subject to the 12-month bar. This means that the EV will not be able to begin a new J-1 program as Professor or Research Scholar until 12 months after their current J-1 program ends.
Exceptions to this rule exist for those Exchange Visitors who are transferring programs or who have been present in J status in the Short-Term Scholar category.
Other bars include:
3-month Short-term Scholar Bar : J-1 Exchange Visitors at UCLA in the Professor or Research Scholar category are subject to the 3-month bar. This means that the EV will not be able to begin a new J-1 program at UCLA as Short-term Scholar until 3 months after their current Professor or Research Scholar Program ends. EV will also need to demonstrate that objectives under Short-term Scholar program will not be a continuation of previous program. A new subject of activity is required.
1-month bar : There must be at least a 1 month gap between any J-1 categories.
J-1 Exchange Visitors are allowed an additional 30-day grace period after their DS-2019 expires to prepare for their departure from the U.S. During this grace period, employment or study is not allowed. Upon departure of the U.S. within these 30 days, the J Visa status automatically expires and you will not be able to re-enter the country to reclaim the rest of your grace period time.
In compliance with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Exchange Visitors are required to have a valid address, email, and phone number during their studies/research in the U.S. DHS may terminate the EV's immigration status automatically if they do not maintain their information with UCLA. Information must be updated with the DGSOM Visa and Licensing Office within 10 days after change.
To update your information, please submit the DGSOM Address and Contact Information Update eForm through MyBruin International.
The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations governing Exchange Visitor Programs (22CFR514.14) require that the EV and his/her dependent(s) obtain health, accident, medical evacuation and repatriation of remains insurance. A qualifying insurance policy MUST provide:
- medical benefits of at least $100,000 per accident or illness
- repatriation of remains in the amount of $25,000
- expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $50,000
- a deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness
J-1 Exchange Visitors at UCLA are required to follow procedures for 1 of the 3 health insurance options listed below depending on their UCLA appointment title. If you are not sure of which category you fall into, please contact your department for clarification.
- Postdoctoral Scholar Benefit Plan (PSBP)
Postdoctoral Scholars are required to enroll in the Postdoctoral Scholar Benefits Plan (PSBP). Information regarding eligibility, requirements, and enrollment process can be found on the Gallagher site. Your UCLA academic department will assist you with enrollment when you arrive as part of the hiring process. UCLA Employee Medical Benefits
If you are a UCLA employee, you may be eligible for medical benefits. Your UCLA academic department will assist you with enrollment when you arrive as part of the hiring process. Medical benefits coverage for UCLA employees does not include the following:- repatriation of remains in the amount of $25,000
- expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $50,000
Medical evacuation and repatriation of remains coverage may be purchased separately through BETiNS to fulfill the J-1 visa requirements.
The UC CORE plan and the UC Health Savings plan does not meet the J-1 visa requirements due to the deductible amount.
- Visiting Scholar Insurance Plans
In addition to meeting federal regulations, all exchange visitors are also required to meet the appropriate campus or institutions’ medical insurance requirements. All J-1 exchange visitors appointed through UCLA Graduate are required to enrolling the Visiting Scholar Injury and Sickness Insurance Plan (VSISP) through Garnett-Powers & Associates. Information regarding eligibility, requirements, enrollment and the waiver approval process can be found on the UCLA Graduate Division website as well as on the Garnett-Powers site.
Exchange Visitor (J-1) programs must be predominantly in-person. The U.S. Department of State defines predominantly as 60% in-person. Exchange visitors may participate remotely no more than 40% of their program when the host department has instituted partial remote policies and their faculty supervisor has approved their hybrid program participation. For example, if the visitor is invited to do research 5 days a week, then only 2 of the 5 days may be conducted remotely or by tele-work. The rest of the time will require in-person presence at the site(s) of activity.
J-1 Scholars who finish their program more than 15 days before to the program end date on the DS-2019 must notify their respective host department coordinators immediately, who will then submit the J-1 Early Program Completion Request eForm to the Visa and Licensing Office.
Upon receiving the eForm request, the Visa and Licensing Office will report the earlier end date in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). If we are notified about the early completion before the Scholar ceases program activities, the Visa and Licensing Office will be able to update SEVIS and the Scholar will receive the 30-day grace period from the new end date of the shortened program. During this grace period, employment or study is not allowed. Upon departure of the U.S. within these 30 days, the J Visa status automatically expires and you will not be able to re-enter the country to reclaim the rest of your grace period time.
Exchange Visitors are required to report all locations (on or off campus) where program activity is taking place even if payment is not involved. Examples of activities include:
- Field Work
- Visiting research institutions
- Visiting organizations
- Conferences
- Workshops
- Meetings
- Working at another UCLA department
The activity taking place at these locations must be directly related to the objectives of your program, be incidental to your primary program activities, not delay the completion date of your program, and must be approved by your UCLA faculty supervisor (PI).
You can report your new site of activity by submitting the DGSOM Site of Activity Request eForm through MyBruin International.
Exchange Visitors need the following documents to enter the U.S.:
- Valid passport
- Valid J-1 visa stamp (except for Canadians or when returning from Mexico, Canada or adjacent islands after a trip lasting no longer than 30 days*)
- Valid paper DS-2019 form with a travel validation signature to re-enter the U.S. after a trip abroad
Travel validation signature is valid for 1 year and accommodates multiple trips within the 1 year. In order to obtain a travel validation signature, the Exchange Visitor must fill out the DGSOM Travel Authorization Request eForm through MyBruin International.
The DGSOM Visa and Licensing Office will email you an updated DS-2019 form with travel signature.
*Automatic Visa Revalidation allows J-1 holders to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, or one of the adjacent islands to the U.S. (other than Cuba) on an expired J-1 visa if the trip is not exceeding 30 days. If you meet one of the following criteria, you will NOT be able to use the automatic revalidation rule.
- You applied for a new J-1 visa while being out of the U.S. and it has not been issued.
- You applied for a new J-1 visa and were denied.
- You have a terminated or completed SEVIS record.
- You have been out of the U.S. for more than 30 days.
- You are a citizen from one of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, North Korea
If you plan to be outside of the U.S. for more than 3 months at one time, then you will need to submit the DGSOM Out-of-Country Request eForm through MyBruin International.
Per Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, certain J-1 scholars who receive J-1 status under the following circumstances are subject to the two-year home residence requirement:
- the Exchange Visitor received funds from the U.S. government, his/her own government, or an international organization funded by government;
- the education, training, or skills that the Exchange Visitor is pursuing in the U.S. appear on the Exchange Visitor Skills List for his/her country published by the Department of State.
- Foreign medical graduates receiving training in the U.S. under the sponsorship of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).
EVs who become subject to the Two-year Home Residence Requirement are not eligible to change their visa status from J-1 to the following immigration statuses unless they return and reside in the country of their last permanent residence for two years after completing their programs in the U.S:
- H (temporary worker)
- L (intra-company transferee)
- Immigrant visa/Permanent Residency (Green Card)
In addition, EVs who are subject are not allowed to change their visa type to any other visa type inside of the U.S. For instance, to change to an F-1 student visa, EV would need to leave the U.S. and apply for their F-1 visa at a U.S. embassy prior to beginning their F-1 program.
EVs who become subject, but do not wish to comply with the residence requirement may apply for a waiver from the U.S. Department of State during or after the completion of the program. Information and guidelines are available at Waiver of the Exchange Visitor Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement. The DGSOM Visa and Licensing Office will not be involved with the process of waiver application of EVs in any form.
The DGSOM Visa and Licensing cannot extend a DS-2019 if an EV’s waiver application is approved by the Department of State or USCIS.
All J-1 exchange visitors must maintain a valid passport at all times. Your passport must always be valid for at least 6 months into the future.