Current J-1 Students

• Important Documents

  Important Documents

  Federal law requires you to carry "registration" documents at all times, including DS-2019 (J-1) and I-94 card. For day-to-day purposes, we suggest that these documents be kept in a secure location. However, if you are traveling within the U.S. you should carry these documents with you. If you are traveling by air, train, bus or ship, you may be required to produce these documents before boarding. Keep photocopies of all your documents in a separate location in the event your documents are lost or stolen.

  Passport

  Your passport must be valid at least six months into the future. Keep your passport and other important documents in a safe place, such as a bank safe-deposit box. Report a lost or stolen passport to the police, as your government may require a police report before issuing a new passport. To renew or replace your passport, contact your home country consulate in the U.S. at www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/fco.
  
  While in the U.S., always carry with you a photocopy of the passport's identity page and photocopies of the other documents listed below.

  J-1 Visa

  The visa is the stamp that the U.S. consular officer placed on a page in your passport. The visa permitted you to apply for admission into the U.S. as a J-1 student, and need not remain valid while you are in the U.S. (Canadian citizens are not required to have a visa.)

  DS-2019 Certificate of Eligibility

  Issued by your school or sponsoring agency, this document allows you to apply for a visa, enter or re-enter the U.S., and make certain other requests to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The DS-2019 must remain valid at all times. Keep every DS-2019 for your permanent record. Do not discard the old ones.

  I-94 Arrival/Departure Record

  When you entered the U.S. you were issued Form I-94, a small white card usually stapled to the passport opposite the visa stamp. Except for brief visits to Canada, Mexico or adjacent islands, you will be issued a new I-94 card each time you enter the U.S. The I-94 card records the date and place you entered the U.S., your immigration status (for example, J-1 or J-2) and authorized period of stay (usually written simply as "D/S", meaning "duration of status").

  Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)
  SEVIS is an internet-based database that allows schools and federal immigration agencies to exchange data on the status of international students. Information is transmitted electronically throughout an F-1 or J-1 student's academic career in the U.S.

  An electronic record is created in SEVIS for you after you are admitted and confirm enrollment at Western Washington University. This allows WWU to issue an I-20 or DS-2019, which you need to gain F-1 or J-1 status. When you apply for a student visa and arrive at a U.S. port of entry, the consular officer or immigration official may consult SEVIS in addition to your supporting documents to verify eligibility for F-1 or J-1 status. International Programs & Exchanges (IPE) will continue to provide electronic reports throughout your academic career, noting information such as registration, address changes, academic program changes, degree completion, and immigration status violations.

• Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)

  SEVIS is an internet-based database that allows schools and federal immigration agencies to exchange data on the status of international students. Information is transmitted electronically throughout an F-1 or J-1 student's academic career in the U.S.
  
  

  An electronic record is created in SEVIS for you after you are admitted and confirm enrollment at Western Washington University. This allows WWU to issue an I-20 or DS-2019, which you need to gain F-1 or J-1 status. When you apply for a student visa and arrive at a U.S. port of entry, the consular officer or immigration official may consult SEVIS in addition to your supporting documents to verify eligibility for F-1 or J-1 status. International Programs & Exchanges (IPE) will continue to provide electronic reports throughout your academic career, noting information such as registration, address changes, academic program changes, degree completion, and immigration status violations.

  
  

  University Reporting Requirements

  Western Washington University is required to report the following information on F-1 students to Immigration through SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System):

  • Whether a student has enrolled at WWU or failed to enroll.
  • A change of the student or dependent's legal name or address.
  • Any student who graduates prior to the end date listed on the I-20.
  • Academic or disciplinary actions taken due to a criminal conviction
  • Whether the student drops below a full course of study without prior authorization from IPE.
  • SEVIS record termination date and reason for termination.
  • Other data generated by standard procedures such as program extension, school transfer, change in level of study or major, employment authorization, or reinstatement.
  • Any student who fails to maintain status or complete his or her program.

  It is important to understand the F-1 and J-1 student immigration regulations in order to maintain status while you are in the U.S.

• Maintaining J-1 Status

  If you have questions about maintaining your immigration status contact International Programs & Exchanges. IPE advisors will do their best to answer all of your questions on maintaining status.

  
  

  In order for you to stay temporarily in the U.S. as a lawful J-1 student, you must comply with specific regulations of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which are listed below. (This is not an exhaustive list.) This is referred to as "maintaining status" or "being in status".
  

  Period of Authorized Stay

  Your admission to the U.S. is for "duration of status;" that is, for the time during which you are pursuing a full course of study and making normal progress toward your program of study, or engaging in authorized academic training following completion of studies, plus 30 days to prepare to depart the U.S.

  Extension of Stay

  If you are granted an extension to your exchange at Western by your home university and International Programs & Exchanges (IPE), talk to the IPE advisor (or program sponsor) about issuing a new DS-2019. The new DS-2019 must be issued before your current DS-2019 expires.

  Changing Schools

  You must register full-time at the school that issued the DS-2019 you used to enter the U.S. If you are allowed to transfer to another exchange university by your home university, contact the IPE advisor (or program sponsor) prior to completing your final quarter for information about school transfer procedures.

  Full-Time Requirements

  A "full course of study" is 12 or more credits per quarter for undergraduate exchange students. The IPE advisor may allow exceptions to the full-time requirement, as listed below:

  • You may take fewer credits if so advised by the IPE advisor for valid academic reasons.
  • You may reduce or interrupt a full course of study because of a documented medical condition

  Do not register for fewer than the required number of credits or withdraw from a course without first receiving permission from the IPE advisor. Part-time studies could jeopardize your stay in the U.S. and make you ineligible for J-1 benefits.

• The Two Year Requirement

  The two-year home country physical presence requirement is one of the most important characteristics of Exchange Visitor status.

  
  

  Exchange Visitors subject to the two-year residence requirement must return to their "home" countries and be physically present there for an aggregate of two years before being eligible to return to the United States in immigrant (permanent resident/green card) status, H status (temporary workers and dependents), or L status (intracompany transferees and dependents). Exchange Visitors subject to the two-year home country residence requirement are not eligible to change their nonimmigrant status from J to permanent residence or to any other nonimmigrant category except A (diplomatic) and G (international organization).

  
  

  Note that former Exchange Visitors are eligible for all other nonimmigrant visa types, even if subject to the two-year residence requirement. Only lawful permanent residence, and H and L visas, are prohibited. Exchange Visitors subject to the two-year residence requirement are eligible to leave the U.S. and apply for visas to return as tourists, or as F-1 students. The usual visa requirements must be met.

  
  

  Persons with a two-year residence requirement are eligible for program transfers and extension of their J status up to the limits of time for their particular Exchange Visitor category.

  
  

  Not all Exchange Visitors are subject to the two-year residence requirement. There are three grounds on which an Exchange Visitor can become subject:

  1. If the Exchange Visitor's participation in an exchange program was financed, directly or indirectly, by the U.S. government or a foreign government for the purpose of exchange.
  2. If the skills that the Exchange Visitor is coming to develop or exercise are in a field which the Exchange Visitor's home government requested be included on the State Department "skills list".
  3. If the Exchange Visitor comes to the United States to recieve graduate medical education or training.

  
  

  An Exchange Visitor who falls into one of these groups will continue to be subject, even if funding or field of study changes. If the principal J-1 Exchange Visitor is subject to the two-year residence requirement, dependents in J-2 status are subject as well.

  
  

  An Exchange Visitor may request that the two-year home residence requirement be waived only on the following bases:

  1. Statement from the Exchange Visitor's home country that it has no objection to the waiver.
  2. Request for waiver made by an interested U.S. government agency.
  3. Interest of a state agency (only for alien physicians).
  4. Exceptional hardship to the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or child of the Exchange Visitor.
  5. Fear of persecution on account of race, religion, or political opinion.

  
  

  If the State Department recommends a waiver of the two-year foreign residence requirement, the Exchange Visitor cannot extend his or her program beyond the expiration date of the current DS-2019 form.

• Health Insurance

  All students and their dependents are required by J-1 and J-2 visa regulations to purchase and maintain an adequate health insurance plan during their stay in the U.S. A health insurance plan should have the following minimum amount of coverage:

  • Medical expense coverage of $100,000 per injury or sickness.
  • Accidental death & dismemberment indemnity in the amount of $10,000.
  • Repatriation expense benefits of $15,000.
  • Medical evacuation benefits of $50,000.
  • Plan deductible waived for treatment at WWU Student Health Services.
  • Exceed "J" visa minimum requirements.

  
  

  Make every effort to be insured during your entire stay in the U.S., including your vacation quarters and after your program of study if you stay for travel for travel in the U.S. or for Academic Training.

  Insurance Plans

  You should research individual plans through companies that insure international students in the U.S. It is important to consider what type of coverage will be needed and who will be included on the plan. Policy costs vary, depending on coverage. For example, some policies exclude coverage of pregnancies, or coverage for care received in your home country. Before choosing a plan, carefully consider your personal and family health needs and weigh them against each insurance option. Some policies are listed for consideration below.

  
  

  Note that WWU maintains no association with the companies listed. You are responsible for procuring and maintaining suitable health insurance and for any required correspondence.

  • Gateway USA
  • Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI)
  • Compass Benefits Group
  • ISO Student Health Insurance
  • CMI

  
  

  To review a policy that provides medical evacuation and repatriation benefits only, visit International SOS.

  WWU Student Health Center

  Western Washington University maintains a professionally staffed Student Health Center, conveniently located on campus, to provide treatment for basic medical conditions for current WWU students. It does not, however, provide major surgery, major illness or overnight care.

  
  

  The SHC offers same-day appointments every clinic day and discourage walk-ins, as the wait without an appointment can be significant. SHC advises calling as early in the day as possible.

  
  

  When the SHC is closed students are advised to seek services from available after-hour medical facilities in the Bellingham area. Students who engage other health facilities must plan to use private funds or their health insurance policy, if they have one, to cover resulting charges. It is strongly recommended that all students have some form of health insurance to defray the substantial costs associated with serious accidents and illness. For life-threatening emergencies, dial 911 on any telephone.