International Scholars
Under U.S. federal regulations, visiting scholars may participate in the J Research or J Professor category for up to five years; in the Short-Term J category for only six months.
Home Residency Requirement For J-1 Scholars
and Students
Sponsored International Students
Once at Northeastern, ISSI provides orientation and advising services to scholars and their dependents. Once they have received a DS-2019, scholars must pay the SEVIS fee and apply to an embassy or consulate in their home country for a visa for the duration of their program. For the duration of their program at Northeastern, the scholar is expected to report any changes concerning address, financial support or health insurance policies to ISSI, and to confer with ISSI before traveling.
Home Residency Requirement For J-1 Scholars
and Students
Scholars and students who receive a J visa may be made subject to the I.N.A. 212(e), a.k.a. the “Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement.” Not all J visa holders are made subject to this requirement, which states that the student or scholar must return to their “home” country and be physically present there for an aggregate of two years before becoming eligible for immigrant (permanent resident/green card) status, an H visa (temporary workers and dependents) or an L visa (intracompany transferees and dependents). The J visa holder may be made subject for either having received government financing (U.S. or home government, direct or indirect) for their study or research or if the skills that the J visa holder is coming to develop or practice are in a field which the student or scholar’s home government requested be included on the State Department “skills list”. In some cases, the J visa holder may apply for a waiver to this requirement. An ISSI advisor can provide for more details on this procedure.
Sponsored International Students
ISSI serves as the official liaison and host for international students sponsored by U.S. government agencies, such as those studying with Fulbright grants and scholarships, and those sponsored by embassies and private and public international organizations and companies. A staff specialist can provide more information. ISSI provides:
- orientation
- advocacy
- advising
- institutional liaison
Sponsored international students are often enrolled at Northeastern under J-1 nonimmigrant visa classification. In such cases, when the DS-2019 is issued by an authorized program sponsor other than Northeastern, the international student should be certain to provide ISSI with a copy of this document. ISSI also plays a role in the grant-renewal process for specified scholarships, notifying the sponsor/administrative agency of the student’s ability to advance in the degree program while maintaining proper nonimmigrant visa status.