Please see below for information on inviting a J-1 visitor to OU. Funding Amounts U.S. immigration regulations require that OU verify and document adequate funding arrangements for all incoming scholars. OU has set a minimum of $2,000 per month for J-1 scholars and their families. In all instances, the minimum level of funding must be met before a visa document can be issued. Please note that there can be multiple funding sources for one J-1 visitor. Self-funding is allowed. Start Dates and Processing Times The requested start date must be at least 90 days (or more than 90 days in some cases) from the date all documentation is submitted to OIS J-1 Categories J-1 Short-Term Scholar Category For appointments of 6 months or less. The advantage of this J-1 category is that the scholar will not be subject to the 12 or 24-month bar, which they would be if using the J-1 Research Scholar/Professor category. The disadvantage of this J-1 category is that the scholar can only stay in the U.S. for a maximum of 6 months, with no option to extend, transfer or change visa inside the U.S. By comparison, the J-1 Research Scholar/Professor category has a maximum of 5 years. Specialists Specialist exchange visitors are foreign specialists that are observing American institutions and methods of practice in their professional fields and sharing their specialized knowledge with their American colleagues. This is an individual who is an expert in a field of specialized knowledge or skill coming to the United States for observing, consult, or demonstrating special skills Duration of Stay in the U.S. The Specialist may participate in the Exchange Visitor Program for the length of time necessary to complete the program, but participation cannot exceed one year. For more information regarding J-1 categories see here. J-1 Visa Fees Each exchange visitor will need to pay fees to apply for the J-1 visa. SEVIS I-901 fee to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a nonimmigrant visa application processing fee to a U.S. embassy or consulate. The j-1 visa fee is $160 and the SEVIS fee is $220. You can find more information regarding the eligibility and fees of a J-1 program here. Process for Inviting New J-1 Visitors: The hosting department and sponsor (direct supervisor) will need to complete the HR-2019 form and submit additional documents: The Visitor is only responsible for Part 5, sections A and B. They may either send you the information to be typed in or may fill it out themselves. Please reach out to the office of export controls at export@ou.edu if you have any questions for part 2, section B on page 5 of the HR-2019 Please note that if the J-1 visitor will not be employed during the J-1 program, please put “N/A” on “Title or Occupation in home country” on part 5, section A, page 7 I would strongly suggest that you read through Part 4, Sections A-I. These detail your monitoring requirements (i.e. any location/program changes must be approved by OIS first) Additional supporting documents: Visitor’s outside OU funding support evidence (minimum is USD 2,000 or equivalent, per month of program time) if any Visitor’s CV Visitor’s Invitation/Offer letter from the hosting department Copy/scan of visitor and dependent(s) passport ID page I will review the completed HR-2019 and the supporting documents for accuracy and then send them to Export Controls for review. If Export Controls approves the application, I will send the DS-2019 to the sponsoring department. You will then send the DS-2019 to the J-1 visitor who will use it to apply for their visa. Please let me know if you have any questions while you are filling out the HR-2019 and preparing the supporting documents. Thanks,