Current J-1 Scholars

As a J-1 Scholar, it is your responsibility to follow all U.S. immigration regulations and properly maintain your visa status. The information below is meant to help guide you in understanding your responsibilities and provide you with the tools you need to properly maintain your status. Failure on the part of J-1 or J-2 visa holders to follow J visa regulations may have serious and long-term consequences for their immigration status in the U.S.

Immigration Advising Support

ISO Advisors provide immigration support to J-1 Scholars and J-2 Dependents. Scholars and Dependents can make an appointment with their dedicated ISO Advisor on our Appointments Webpage, or attend drop-in advising by visiting the Drop-In Advising page.

Incidental Employment & Activities

What is Incidental Employment/Activity?

As a J-1 Scholar (professor, researcher, or short-term scholar), your employment in the United States is limited to the activity and location described on your DS-2019 form. You may participate in occasional lectures and short-term consultations only after receiving authorization to do so from the GW ISO. Such lectures and consultations must be incidental to your primary program activities.

How to Request Authorization

To obtain authorization so you can engage in occasional lectures or short-term consultations, you must send the following documentation to the ISO via email at [email protected]:

A letter from the offeror presenting the terms and conditions of the offer to lecture or consult, including the duration, number of hours, field or subject, amount of compensation (if any), and description of such activity; and
A letter from your department head or supervisor at GW recommending your participation in the activity and explaining how the activity would enhance your program.

If you are receiving any type of wage or remuneration in exchange for taking part in these activities, you will need to act as an independent contractor. The term "independent contractor" means that you do not have a sustained employee-employer relationship with the institution for which you are conducting these incidental activities. If you have questions about this, please contact [email protected] before taking part in any incidental activities.

Extending Your Stay as a J-1 Scholar

The ISO may extend your DS-2019 up to the limit of the permissible period of participation based on your J-1 exchange category. For example, J-1 Research Scholars and Professors may extend their program participation up to 5 years, and J-1 Short-term Scholars may extend their program participation up to the 6-month limit.

Requesting a Program Extension
If you would like to request a program extension, reach out to the ISO via email at [email protected] at least 30 days prior to your program end date with the following:

A support letter from your academic department/supervisor establishing the need for an extension and confirming the new end date
An updated VRFC form (if you have a change in sponsorship)
Updated proof of funds through the new end date of your program
Proof of health insurance through the new end date of your program

Leaving the U.S. Before Your Program End Date

J-1 Scholars and their J-2 Dependents must depart the U.S. within the 30 days following their DS-2019 end date. If you do plan to depart the U.S. before the program end date on your DS-2019, please contact ISO at [email protected] as soon as possible. Please note that if you depart the U.S. prior to your program end date, you will forfeit your 30-day grace period.

Transferring out of GW as a J-1 Scholar

What is a Transfer?

J-1 Exchange Visitors have the option to switch employers or schools, a process referred to as "transferring." This transfer allows you to move to a new designated Exchange Visitor program, as long as you do not exceed the maximum time allowed for your specific J-1 category. The transfer process requires coordination between the two sponsoring institutions and departments.

Transfer Eligibility

You may only transfer to a program in the same field as your current program.
You must be maintaining a valid J status.
Transferring will not extend your stay beyond the allowed time for your visa category.

Requesting a Transfer

Before beginning the transfer process, please notify your ISO Advisor as well as the international office of the new institution, and your current supervisor as well as your new supervisor. We cannot set your transfer date beyond your program end date.

Note: Please remember that there cannot be any gaps in your program or your health insurance coverage due to a transfer.

To request a transfer out of GW, please fill out the J-1 Transfer Form, and send it to us via email at [email protected] along with your offer letter or invitation letter from your new institution including information on your program, role, and responsibilities, as well as a letter from your current supervisor at GW acknowledging the transfer.

Program Completion

Once you have reached the end of your program here at GW, you will have a 30-day grace period during which you must leave the U.S. During this additional 30-day period, you may NOT engage in any sort of research, employment, or study. If you travel outside the U.S. during your 30-day grace period, you forfeit the remaining grace period days.

Please see the sections below regarding the 212(e) Two-Year Home Residency Requirement and the 12 and 24-Month Bars to understand if you will be subject to any of those requirements.

Travel & Re-entry as a J-1 Scholar

J-1 Scholars are able to travel outside of the U.S. during their time at GW. If you intend to travel outside the U.S. while at GW on a J-1 visa, please visit and carefully review our Travel and Re-entry page for important regulations and recommendations.

Address Reporting

Maintaining your addresses in GWeb is extremely important. You are required by law to maintain a valid current address in GWeb at all times. Failure to do so is a violation of your immigration status and GW University Policy! The ISO will not be able to register you in SEVIS, the U.S. Government immigration database, until you report your addresses in GWeb. Your current address must be where you are physically living in the U.S. while at GW. You are required to report your address when you arrive in the U.S. and within ten days of moving for the duration of your stay in the U.S. on an F or J visa. Failure to report a change of address is a serious immigration violation and there may be penalties associated with failure to report your address change.

You can use GWeb to report changes in address 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Please also email [email protected] to notify the ISO of any changes in your address during your time at GW.

212(e) Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement

What is the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement?

Following their exchange program, some J-1 visa holders and their J-2 dependents are required to return to their home country for a period of two years. This 'two-year residence' requirement is explained on the back of your DS-2019 and applies to you if you meet one of the following criteria:

You receive funding from the U.S. government, your home government, or an international organization to participate in the J-1 program.
You worked or studied in J-1 status in a field that appears on your country's Exchange Visitor (EV) Skills list. You can find more information about EV Skills lists on the State Department's Website.
You took part in a graduate medical education or training program in the United States sponsored by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.

If you are subject to Section 212(e), you will not be able to obtain an H-1B temporary worker visa, US permanent residence, L, or K visas until you have satisfied the two-year home residency requirement or had the requirement waived (see below.) You also may not change to another immigration status while in the U.S. You are allowed, however, to depart the US and then re-enter with a new visa (other than H, K, L, and permanent residence visas). For example, a J-1 participant subject to 212(e) may complete their program, depart the U.S., and return as a B-2 tourist or F-1 student.

If you are unsure whether you are subject to Section 212(e), check your J-1 visa stamp and/or copies of your Form DS-2019.

Fulfilling Section 212(e)

Section 212(e) applies to you until the requirement is either fulfilled or waived. If you are subject to Section 212(e) and choose to fulfill it, you must be physically present in your country of nationality or last legal permanent residence for a total of at least two years after departing the US at the end of your J-1 program. You do not have to reside in your country of nationality or legal permanent residence in a single, continuous two-year period.

For example, if you were a J-1 Scholar subject to Section 212(e), but then left and immediately returned to the U.S. using a B-2 visa, the requirement would still apply to you even after completing your travels in the U.S. on the B-2 visa. The same would apply if you returned to the U.S. on an F-1 Visa and completed a degree program. You would need to document your return to your home country for two years or obtain a waiver.

Waiving the Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement

If you are subject to the requirement to return to your home country, you may pursue a waiver of the requirement by filing a Form DS-3035, J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application. For more information, visit the State Department's Waiver Review website to learn more about how to apply for a waiver.

12 & 24-Month Bars

The 12 and 24-month bars are different from the two-year home country residence requirement listed above. It is possible for a J-1 to not be subject to the following 12 or 24-month bar, but still be subject to the 212(e) two-year home country residence requirement listed above. Additionally, unlike the two-year home country residence requirement, the 12 or 24-month bars on repeat participation do not require you to reside in your home country or to be outside of the U.S. It requires only that you not be in J Professor or Research Scholar status for a certain amount of time before becoming eligible for another 5-year period of program eligibility in J Professor or Research Scholar status.

The 12 and 24-month rule applies to J-1 exchange visitors who have been in the U.S. previously or are currently in the U.S. on a J-1 visa and wish to return on a J-1 visa. These bars prohibit “repeat participation” in the Research Scholar or Professor categories only.

Depending on what your previous J category was, you may be subject to a 12-month bar, a 24-month bar, or have no bar. The following chart shows how long you would have to wait before applying for a new J-1 visa as a Research Scholar or Professor based on what your previous J status was. Please note that the wait times listed below specifically indicate how long you would need to wait until applying for a new visa, not how long until you may enter the U.S. on a new J-1 visa. If you have never had a J-1 visa, the bars in the chart below do not apply to you.

Please review the charts below to understand how the 12 or 24 bar may affect you based on your prior J-1 category and length of stay in the U.S.

Current or Previous J-1 Visa Category	Previous Length of Stay	Wait Time to Return on New J-1 Research Scholar/Professor Visa
J-1 Student (Non-Degree)	Less than 6 Months	No Wait
J-1 Student (Non-Degree)	More than 6 Months	12 Months
J-1 Student (Degree-Seeking)	Less than 6 Months	No Wait
J-1 Student (Degree-Seeking)	More than 6 Months	12 Months
J-1 Student Intern	Less than 6 Months	No Wait
J-1 Student Intern	More than 6 Months	12 Months
J-1 Specialist	Less than 6 Months	No Wait
J-1 Specialist	More than 6 Months	12 Months
J-1 Research Scholar/Professor Category	Any amount of time (1 day to 5 years)	24 Months
J-2 Dependent of Research Scholar/Professor Category	Any amount of time (1 day to 5 years)	24 Months
J-2 Dependent of any J-1 category except Short-Term Scholar	More than 6 Months	12 Months
J-2 Dependent of any J-1 category except Research Scholar/Professor Category	Less than 6 Months	No Wait

Notes:

J-1 transfers and J-1 Short-Term Scholar participation will not trigger either the 12-month or the 24-month bar.
For the 12-month bar, time spent physically present in any J status for more than 6 months is the trigger. If your presence is less than 6 months duration, the 12-month bar does not apply.
For the 24-month bar, completing the program as a Professor or Research Scholar is the trigger, regardless of whether the program is completed in less than six months or more than six months.
Since the 12- and 24-month bars are separate provisions, it is possible that an individual can be concurrently subject to both bars.
Although from a practical standpoint, if someone is subject to both bars only the 24-month bar is significant: since satisfying the bars can also be done concurrently, by satisfying the 24-month bar an individual will already have spent more than 12 months out of J status, thus fulfilling the 12-month bar too.