J-1 Exchange Visitor Program
General Information about the J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa
The J-1 Exchange Visitor visa is a multi-category visa within the BridgeUSA exchange program that can be used to sponsor individuals for temporary activities in the US for the purpose of educational and cultural exchange. The type of category used will depend on the visa holder's primary activity.
J-1 Categories for Scholars at Tufts
Tufts typically sponsors individuals as J-1 research scholars, professors, or short-term scholars. For each category there is a maximum duration allowed beyond which no extensions may be granted.
- J-1 research scholars are primarily engaged in research in a particular subject area
- The maximum duration for any J-1 research scholar program is five years
- J-1 short-term scholars can be engaged in research, lecturing, observation, training, consulting, or demonstrating special skills and knowledge
- The maximum duration for any J-1 short-term scholar program is six months
- J-1 professors are primarily engaged in teaching (although they may also engage in research) in a particular subject area
- The maximum duration for any J-1 professor program is five years
J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa Requirements
J-1 visiting scholars are required to show that they sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of basic living expenses and health insurance while in the US. The amount that you must document for the current year is indicated below. Please note that your actual costs may vary according to individual needs. In particular, the cost of J-1 health insurance can be significant and will depend on your health insurance needs as well as whether family members are included in your plan.
- $34,800 per year ($2,900 per month) for the J-1 visiting scholar
- If accompanied by a legal spouse and/or unmarried minor children under 21
- $6,000 per year ($500 per month) for a dependent spouse
- $3,600 per year ($300 per month) for a dependent child
Living costs in Medford and the Greater Boston area are among the highest in the United States. The estimated required resources here represent the minimum you might expect to pay for housing, utilities, and food. It's important to consider that finding affordable housing often requires living with roommates. Otherwise, your expenses could significantly exceed this estimate. We encourage scholars to plan and prepare for the possibility that your expenses may be higher than what is estimated here.
To qualify for J-1 visiting scholar status, you must submit financial documents showing that you have enough resources for your program. Acceptable financial documents include any combination of the following:
- Personal or family bank statements issued in English within the past six months, clearly indicating bank balances
- A salary letter from a home country employer indicating salary continuation and amounts during your time at Tufts
- Scholarship letters from a government, university, or other types of organization
- Other types of funding support letters or documents
Under US Department of State requirements, all J-1 Exchange Visitors and their J-2 dependent family members are required to have insurance in effect that covers sickness and accidents during the entire period of time that they are expected to participate in research or employment at Tufts University.
Learn more about the J-1 Health Insurance requirements.
The I-901 SEVIS Fee is paid by the J-1 Scholar or Student only after receiving a Form DS-2019 from Tufts. The fee should be paid at least three days prior to applying for a J-1 visa and/or entering the US in J-1 status. The J-1 SEVIS fee is currently $220.00.
J-2 family members do not pay this fee; the fee is paid only by the J-1 exchange visitor.
J-1 Scholar Visa Sponsorship
To qualify for a J-1 visa sponsorship at Tufts University, you must receive one of the following:
- A Visiting Scholar invitation for a self-funded appointment issued by a Tufts department or center for the purpose of engaging in research and related academic activities for a temporary period of time
- An offer of employment in a research, teaching, or staff role issued by a Tufts department or center for the purpose of engaging in research and related academic activities for a temporary period of time
To be eligible for J-1 scholar visa sponsorship, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must have, at minimum, a completed bachelor's degree or the equivalent
- You must have adequate English language proficiency to carry out your program activities and "function on a day-to-day basis" while in the US
- You must have sufficient financial resources to cover the cost of everyday living expenses (see Estimate of Expenses, below) for the duration of your program
- You must have health insurance that meets J-1 health insurance requirements (see information below)
For more information about these or other J-1 Scholar requirements, reading our Maintaining J-1 Scholar Status page.
Who are J-1 employees? J-1 employees include researchers, postdoctoral scholars, adjunct faculty and certain other professionals who have been offered employment at Tufts. Any visa or immigration process for an international employee will be managed by the International Center once we have been contacted by the employee's department or hiring unit.
The visa certificate issuance process takes various steps:
- Talk to your department about J-1 visa sponsorship process soon as you have confirmed your intention to accept employment at Tufts. Your department is responsible for contacting the International Center to start the visa certificate request process.
- Once your department has started the process, your hiring department will start the visa certificate request process for you. You will be contacted by the International Center or your department during this process to provide additional information needed to obtain a visa certificate.
Documents to Prepare for your J-1 Scholar Visa Certificate Request
- Copy of Passport Identification Page
- CV or Resume
- Copy of Dependents' Passport Identification Page (if applicable)
Obtaining your J-1 Visa Certificate
Once the International Center has received a completed request for J-1 Exchange Visitor status for you, we will issue a Form DS-2019 visa certificate to you. It usually takes the International Center about 1 - 2 weeks to process a complete request for J-1 scholar status. If you will be joined by any family members, separate DS-2019 forms will be issued for them so they can apply for J-2 dependent status.
Your Form DS-2019 will be emailed electronically and include information about paying the I-901 SEVIS fee, applying for a J-1 visa, and coming to the US in J-1 status.
If you have questions, you can contact the International Center J-1 scholar advisor for your school.
Who are J-1 Visiting Scholars? Visiting scholars are persons who have been invited to come to Tufts to engage in research and related academic and scholarly activities. While visiting scholars must be invited by a Tufts department or center, they are not employees of Tufts and do not receive any employee benefits. In most cases, visiting scholars will be self-funded and self-guided in their research activities.
Eligibility for Visiting Scholar Status
You are eligible to come to Tufts as a visiting scholar only at the invitation of a Tufts faculty member, with the approval of the faculty member's department chair and the department's school dean. Note: at Tufts, there is no central process for requesting visiting scholar status. Instead, each school has its own policies and procedures for approving visiting scholar requests.
Requesting your Visa Certificate
- Once you have been invited to join Tufts as a visiting scholar, your host department will start the visa certificate request process for you.
- You will be contacted by the International Center or your department during this process to provide additional information needed to obtain a visa certificate.
Do NOT submit any documents to the International Center until you have been offered an invitation from your host department, and until your department has started the visa process for you.
The International Center charges a $650USD fee for an initial J-1 request. This fee must be paid by the visiting scholar unless the Tufts department hosting the scholar agrees to pay the fee*.
*The International Center visa processing fee is for issuance of Form DS-2019, management of the scholar's SEVIS record, and provision of ongoing advising and support services. Visiting scholars who are paying this fee can do so using Flywire. This fee does not include additional relating to the visa document process, or other fees such as health insurance fees, fees for services provided by the Tufts sponsoring department or other Tufts campus offices.
Documents to Prepare for your J-1 Visiting Scholar Visa Certificate Request
- Copy of Passport Identification Page
- CV or Resume
- Proof of non-Tufts financial resources (review financial requirements above)
- Copy of Dependents' Passport Identification Page (if applicable)
Obtaining your J-1 Visa Certificate
Once the International Center has received a completed request for J-1 Exchange Visitor status for you, we will issue a Form DS-2019 visa certificate to you. It usually takes the International Center about 1 - 2 weeks to process a complete request for J-1 visiting scholar status. If you will be joined by any family members, separate DS-2019 forms will be issued for them so they can apply for J-2 dependent status.
Your Form DS-2019 will be emailed electronically and include information about paying the I-901 SEVIS fee, applying for a J-1 visa, and coming to the US in J-1 status.
If you have questions, you can contact the International Center J-1 scholar advisor for your school.
J-1 Benefits and Restrictions
J-1 Exchange Visitors may request J-2 status for your family members when you making their initial application for a J-1 status, or after you have arrived in the US as a J-1 scholar. You must be able to show that you have adequate financial resources for your family members in the following amounts as listed in the Financial Requirements section above.
Learn more about J-2 dependents, their benefits and restrictions on the Adding J-2 Dependents page.
The following links contain information regarding J-1 visa requirements. Please read through them carefully and contact the International Center if you have additional questions.