The ABC’s of Immigration: J-1 Visas – Establishing a
J-1 Exchange Visitor Program
In our last issue of the Siskind’s Immigration
Bulletin, you’ll remember that we covered the different activities one can
participate in with a J-1 visa. As
noted in the article, a J-1 visa holder can only come to the
What
exactly is considered a J-1 Exchange Visitor Program?
An EVP can be established by a government agency (be
it a federal, state, or local agency or an international organization).
More frequently, however, EVPs are private sector programs.
There are four basic types of private sector programs:
·
Academic institutions - sponsors may include
secondary schools, colleges, universities, seminaries, libraries, museums, and
research laboratories affiliated with academic institutions. Programs are
established to bring professors, researchers, short-term scholars, and students
to these institutions.
·
Medical Institutions - sponsors may include
hospitals, medical centers and related institutions. Programs are established to
bring certain medical trainees and research scholars to medical institutions.
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) must sponsor
foreign medical graduates entering the
·
Nonprofit Organizations - sponsors may include
teenage academic year/home stay organizations, summer camp counselor programs,
au pair programs, student summer work/travel programs and research programs.
·
Profit Making Organizations - sponsors may include
banking, investment, manufacturing, industrial and other business organizations
as well as other organizations involved in establishing ongoing specialized
training and internship programs and research organizations.
Who can
sponsor an EVP?
Program sponsors are expected to be US
"citizens." This means an
individual sponsor must be a citizen or lawful permanent resident and
organizational or institutional sponsors should be created and operating under
the laws of the
How do I
go about becoming an EVP?
The main application form to become an EVP is Form
DS-3036 and must be filed through the SEVIS system.
Additional documents, dependent upon the EVP category requested, must be
forwarded directly to the DOS for the initiation of the review process.
Current EVP application fee is a non-refundable $1748.
Sponsors must meet a number of other additional requirements including
the following:
·
A demonstration that the EVP has the financial
capacity to meet its program obligations (such as annual reports, financial
statements, tax returns, etc.)
·
Document how the EVP will ensure that J-1 visitors
have adequate medical insurance
·
A statement explaining why other visa programs are
insufficient to meet the EVP’s objectives
·
Evidence of appropriate licensure or accreditation
·
Documentation that the EVP will make available to
visitors cross-cultural activities such as sports, cultural and social events
·
Documentation that the program has reciprocity with
programs that allow Americans to go abroad to be exchange visitors. The
reciprocity need not be for a one-for-one exchange, but should make it generally
easier for Americans to have access to the culture of other countries.
Other program requirements are that the number of
visitors must be greater than five each year (unless the EVP gets a reduction
approved by the State Department), the program must last longer than three weeks
(except for short-term scholar programs) and the program must have a sufficient
orientation program.
What is
the difference between an EVP and a training/internship program?
Training and internship programs have a number of
additional rules. Such programs can
be in any of the following categories: arts and culture; information media and
communications; education, social sciences, library science, counseling and
social services; management, business, commerce and finance; health-related
occupations; aviation (not allowed for internship programs); the sciences,
engineering, architecture, mathematics and industrial occupations; construction
and building trades; agriculture, forestry and fishing; public administration
and law; and hospitality and tourism. Training
programs for unskilled workers will not be approved.
In the aftermath of September 11, the aviation
training requirements became much more stringent.
Training and internship program applications must be
accompanied by certification that the EVP has adequate physical facilities,
equipment and personnel for the program,
that the program is not designed to train employees to work in the US and it is
not designed to displace American workers. The
EVP must also submit a generalized training plan containing a statement of the
training and/or internship program's objectives, the skills to be taught, a
summary of the supervision and evaluation process, the program syllabus and an
explanation of why any on-the-job training may be used. If a third party will be
conducting the training, the application must be accompanied by documents
showing how the EVP intends to assure the third party meets State Department
rules as well as the actual executed contract with the third party.
Training and internship program sponsors also must
meet additional recordkeeping requirements. Among the items that must be kept in
the files:
·
A customized training/internship plan for each
visitor
·
The trainee/intern's resume and an evaluation of why
the visitor was selected for the program
·
Documentation that the trainee/intern has sufficient
English skills
·
Documentation that the trainee/intern has received
the necessary information about the program (the trainee should sign the
document explaining the rules)
·
A statement that the orientation program has been
completed
·
Documentation that cross-cultural activities were
offered or made available to the visitor
·
Mid-term and final evaluations of the visitor
·
A record of contacts with the visitor to check
whether any problems arose for the visitor
What
follow-up must an EVP do?
All EVPs must prepare and submit an annual report
that accounts for all DS-2019 forms issued to visitors, data on the actual
number of visitors that participated in the program, documentation of efforts to
provide reciprocity, a record of cross-cultural offerings, and documentation
relating to the orientation program. The SEVIS program keeps track of this
information and has made the annual report procedure much easier.
How long does it take
before an application is processed and/or approved?
The State Department recommends allowing six months
for processing of an application, though one would be wise to plan on it taking
even longer than this. Especially
with private training, internship and work-study programs, the period is taking
much longer.
Programs are approved in
five-year increments, with the exception of the au-pair programs, which must be
redesignated every two years. The
DOS normally approves expansions of EVPs to include new types of participant
categories when the programs come up for renewal.
However, a request can be made earlier.
Redesignation application must be made via the SEVIS Form DS-3036.
Documents do not need to be resubmitted if they have not changed since
the first application. However, in
lieu of the document, a statement that the document has not changed should be
submitted.
A list of approved programs can be found on the
Department of State website at the following link: http://exchanges.state.gov/jexchanges/.