What is J-1 status?
Your “immigration status” is the category of legal status that you have been granted by an officer of the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration status defines the activities in which you may engage while in the United States. You may be granted J-1 status by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at a Port of Entry (airport, seaport, or land border crossing), or by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer if you entered the U.S. in a different immigration status and have requested a change of status to J-1.
J-1 Exchange Visitor status allows you to come to the United States to participate in an international exchange under the sponsorship of an organization that has been designated as a “Program Sponsor” by the Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to sponsor Exchange Visitors. J-1 status allows you to pursue various types of educational programs, including non-degree study and bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
Period of authorized stay
Your period of authorized stay is different from the validity of your visa. As a J-1 student, you should be admitted for “Duration of Status”. This means that as long as you are continuing to pursue a full course of study and following the other rules and regulations that govern your stay in the U.S., you are legally allowed to remain in the U.S.
Duration of status typically includes the following periods:
- The period of full-time enrollment while you are completing your program of study, including any vacation terms;
- The period of your post-completion Academic Training (AT) authorization, if you take advantage of that benefit after completing your program of study; AND
- A 30-day grace period following the end of your time in J-1 Exchange Visitor status, including any period of post-completion Academic Training
Basic rules for maintaining status
Important immigration documents
Passport
You should make sure your passport remains valid throughout the duration of your stay in the United States. If your passport will expire before you will complete your period of J-1 status, you should renew it, either by returning to your home country or by contacting the nearest consulate for your country in the U.S.
Visa
Your J-1 visa gives you permission to travel to the United States and to request admission to the U.S. in J-1 immigration status. Your visa does not need to remain valid for the duration of your stay in the U.S. You may continue maintaining J-1 status after your visa expires. If you leave the U.S. after your visa expires, however, you will most likely need to apply for a new J-1 visa in order to return to the U.S. in J-1 status. Please note that students from Canada typically do not need to obtain a J-1 visa in order to enter the U.S. in J-1 status.
I-94
This is the record of your arrival in the United States, maintained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The I-94 record is available online through a special CBP website. You should make sure to review your I-94 record each time you travel to the U.S. to make sure that your immigration status and the authorized period of stay are correct. You should print a copy of your I-94 record to carry with you at all times while you are inside the U.S.
DS-2019
This document is issued by a DOS-approved Program Sponsor in the U.S. and provides evidence of your eligibility for J-1 status. It describes the program of study in which you will engage, as well as the duration of that program and is required for your J-1 visa application. Your DS-2019 may not expire while you are in the U.S. and continuing your course of study. If you will not complete your course of study before the “Program End Date” on your DS-2019, you must request an extension of your DS-2019.
Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement
What is the Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement?
Some J-1 Exchange Visitors are subject to the Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement after they participate in their program as an Exchange Visitor. This requirement is sometimes referred to as the Two-Year Home Residency Requirement or as 212(e), after the paragraph of law that describes this requirement. There are three reasons that an Exchange Visitor may be subject to this Requirement:
- Participation in a Government-funded exchange: your program was funded directly or indirectly by a U.S. government agency or your home country’s government, either in whole or in part, for the purposes of international exchange.
- Specialized Knowledge or Skill: you participated in a program that involved an area of study or field of specialized knowledge that was designated as necessary to the development of your home country that has been designated in the Exchange Visitor Skills List for that country.
- Graduate Medical Education or Training: you participated in a program to receive graduate medical education or training.
An initial determination is made about whether or not you are subject at the visa interview for the initial J-1 visa. The consular officer will mark your DS-2019 to reflect their determination and that determination will also be printed on the visa.
Being subject to the requirement will remain in effect even if your funding source or field of study changes later. If you have dependents in J-2 status, each J-2 dependent will also be subject.
How does the Requirement impact an Exchange Visitor?
If you are subject to the requirement, you are ineligible to:
- Change your immigration status within the U.S.
- Adjust your status within the U.S. (adjusting status means becoming a permanent resident, also known as getting a green card)
- Receive an H, K, or L nonimmigrant visa from a U.S. consulate
- Receive an immigrant (permanent resident) visa from a U.S. consulate
You can fulfill this requirement by spending a total of at least 2 calendar years in your country of citizenship following the end of their Exchange Visitor program. Exchange Visitors are permitted to return to the U.S. in other nonimmigrant statuses (such as the F-1 Student or B-1 or B-2 Tourist statuses) before fulfilling the requirement. However, those periods of travel to the U.S., as well as travel to other countries, will be excluded from meeting the Requirement.
It can be possible to waive the Requirement under a limited set of circumstances. While this is not something that ISSS can assist with directly, you should discuss plans to try to waive the requirement with your ISSS advisor, as approval of the waiver can have an impact on other aspects of your J-1 status.
Insurance
Maintaining adequate health insurance coverage for the duration of your program is a key requirement for maintaining valid J-1 status. This requirement also applies to all J-2 dependents accompanying or joining the J-1 student.
All F and J international students are automatically enrolled in the University’s Student Insurance Plan each term; students with dependents must enroll their dependents in the student insurance plan each term. Read more about the Student Insurance Plan provided by Portland State.
If you are studying at Portland State under an exchange program–either a direct exchange between PSU and another school or through an exchange consortium, such as the IE3 Global exchanges–you may purchase insurance in your home country and request a waiver of the PSU Student Insurance Plan. In order to meet the J-1 requirements, your insurance plan must provide the following benefits:
- Medical benefits of at least $100,000 per accident or illness
- Repatriation of remains in the amount of $25,000
- Medical evacuation in the amount of $50,000
- Deductibles not to exceed $500 per accident or illness
Fulfilling these requirements should also allow the plan to qualify for a waiver of the University’s Student Insurance Plan.