Maintaining Your Legal J-1 Status

The Exchange Visitor Program is used to bring people to the United States for a variety of educational and cultural exchange purposes under the sponsorship of a school, an agency, or an organization that has been designated as an exchange visitor sponsor by the United States Information Agency (USIA). As a J-1 exchange visitor, you were admitted to the U.S. for "duration of status" (D/S). This means that you are permitted to stay in the U.S. as long as you maintain your status by fulfilling the requirements pertaining to J-1 exchange visitors.

Please keep in mind that there is an important difference between an J-1 visa and J-1 status. A J-1 visa is the stamped page in your passport placed there by a U.S. Consular Officer for entry purposes only. J-1 status is granted once you enter the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and USIA. Even if your visa in your passport is valid, you can still lose your legal J-1 status if you do not comply with the applicable immigration laws regulating your stay in the U.S. If you fail to maintain your legal J-1 status, you will need to apply for reinstatement, or in some cases, be forced to leave the country. With the recent changes in immigration law brought about by the Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, it is extremely important that all non-immigrants remain in close contact with the Office of International Student & Scholar Services in order to ensure they are maintaining their status

Government Regulations You Must Follow in Order to

Maintain Your Legal J-1 Status

• Maintain a valid passport at all times (unless exempt from passport requirements).
  
  
• Attend the college/university USCIS has authorized you to attend (NOTE: This is indicated in Section 2 of your DS-2019 Form).
  
  
• Maintain health insurance, for yourself and dependents, which meets the requirements of the Exchange Visitor Program.
  
  
• Complete an official transfer whenever you change educational institutions. J-1 students, please note that an immigration transfer is a completely separate process from transferring academic credit from one school to another. An immigration transfer is not complete until a Responsible Officer/Alternate Responsible Officer at your current institution signs Section 8 of your new DS-2019 Form, releasing you to transfer.
  
  
• J-1 students must complete a full course of study during normal enrollment periods. You are not required by USIA/USCIS to enroll in classes during the summer sessions; however, you may want to check with your department to see if they have any requirements for summer enrollment.
  
  
• Apply for an extension if you cannot complete your current program by the ending date listed in Section 3 of your DS-2019 Form. You can apply for an extension up to 60 days in advance. Please note that if you do not extend in a timely manner, you will be "out-of-status"/"illegal" in the United States. Subsequently, you will need to submit an application for reinstatement to the United States Information Agency.
  
  
• J-1 students must obtain a new DS-2019 Form when changing degree levels. This includes changing from bachelor's degree to master's degree, from master's degree to a doctorate degree, from Academic Training to a new degree, from one major to another major within the same degree level (e.g., Master of Science in Engineering to Master of Science in Computer Science), etc.
  
  
• J-1 students can NOT accept any type of employment (on-campus or off-campus) UNLESS officially authorized by the Responsible Officer/Alternate Responsible Officer for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Exchange Visitor Program. Employment is limited to part-time (20 hours or less per week) during normal enrollment periods; however, employment may be full-time (more than 20 hours per week) during the summer and official school breaks. When you work on-campus during normal enrollment periods, you MUST maintain your full-time student status or your employment will be considered illegal.
  
  
• J-1 Research Scholars can NOT work for anyone other than the program sponsor listed in Section 2 of the DS-2019 Form UNLESS officially authorized by the Responsible Officer/Alternate Responsible Officer for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Exchange Visitor Program.
  
  
• Before traveling outside the U.S. with the intention of re-entering, you must have the Responsible Officer/Alternate Responsible Officer sign the back of your current DS-2019 Form authorizing you to re-enter the United States.
  
  
• As an Exchange Visitor, you may be subject to the "two-year home country physical presence requirement,"[212(e)] which dictates that you must return to your home country for at least two years upon completion of your J-1 program, unless you obtain a waiver.