Scholar (J-1 Exchange Visitor) Requests
Export Controls Processing Times
Due to personnel changes, the Office of Export Controls (OEC) requires 5-6 weeks to review all visa Export Control clearances for visa applications.
- Keep this in mind when submitting initial, extension, and amendment requests for DS-2019 forms (J-1 visas) and H-1B filings.
- DS-2019 requests should be submitted 3-4 months prior to the requested start date.
- H-1B requests should be submitted 6 months prior to the requested start date.
If there is a time-sensitive DS-2019 (J-1) or H-1B request, contact your assigned ISSS advisor.
Exchange Visitor HCM Record Requirement
Departments must add a position or in HCM (directly or with the assistance of the HR Service Center) for all incoming J-1 exchange visitor scholars and interns prior to taking any actions in the MyISSS Departmental Services Portal or submitting DS-2019 request paperwork to ISSS.
Exchange Visitor Program Overview
The is intended to foster international exchange, understanding, and collaboration. Exchange visitor program regulations require program sponsors to:
- Verify and document that the prospective exchange visitor has sufficient English proficiency to function independently both on and off campus.
- Verify and document that the prospective exchange visitor has sufficient funding for the program
- Ensure the exchange visitor pursues their exchange visitor program goals and objectives at least 20 hours per week
- At least 3 days a week must be on the CU Boulder campus or primary CU-sponsored work site
- Monitor compliance with the
- Provide cross-cultural activities "to give their exchange visitors the broadest exposure to American society, culture, and institutions; and encourage exchange visitors to participate voluntarily in activities that are for the purpose of sharing the language, culture, or history of their home country with Americans, provided such activities do not delay the completion of the exchange visitor’s program" [].
Any international scholar for whom the university undertakes visa sponsorship must have some sort of CU Boulder affiliation. This does not mean that the visitor must be on the payroll of the university. Scholars may receive funding from various sources including: the home government, a U.S. government agency, an employer, and/or other sources.
In certain circumstances, the University of Colorado may place exchange visitors at third-party sites. However, CU Boulder, as the sponsoring institution, remains obligated to ensure that both the exchange visitor and the third-party entity understand and comply with the BridgeUSA regulations and expectations.
- Attestation of Third-Party Hosting Exchange Visitor required for third-party site placement
Review our Hosting International Scholars as Exchange Visitors on J-1 Visas prior to initiating a DS-2019 request.
- If you have questions about hiring or supporting international scholars, contact the ISSS advisor assigned to your department or institute.
Scholar Exchange Visitor Categories
Category | Minimum Participation | Maximum Participation | Acceptable Activities | Special Requirements / Restrictions |
---|---|---|---|---|
/ | 3 weeks | 5 years | Teaching, lecturing, observing, consulting and conducting research | Bachelor's degree required. No tenure track positions. |
1 day | 6 months | Lecturing, observing, consulting, training, demonstrating special skills. | Bachelor's degree expected. | |
3 weeks | 1 year | Observing, consulting, demonstrating special knowledge or skills. Sharing expertise. | Cannot be filling a permanent or long-term position. | |
3 weeks | 1 year | Full-fill educational objectives for degree program in home country. . | Internship position. Good academic standing. Must return home to finish degree. Department must submit the Exchange Visitor Student Intern Request |
Host Supervisors of Exchange Visitor Scholars
Exchange visitors in J-1 status must have a host supervisor who is full-time CU faculty (not an adjunct) who will be present (not on sabbatical) for the duration of the exchange visitor’s J-1 program. A full-time advanced researcher (not on a post-doc position) who has a supervisory role at CU Boulder is also allowed.
The J-1 exchange visitor may have other supervisors in addition to their main J-1 host supervisor.
- Any additional supervisors do not need to meet the host supervisor requirements (i.e. they can be part-time or on sabbatical).
The host supervisor indicated on the Host Department Information e-form or Change in Supervisor e-form must meet the host supervisor critera. They will be recorded as the contact for ISSS and main host supervisor responsible for overseeing the exchange visitor’s J-1 program activities.
- A research institute/department submitting an exchange visitor program DS-2019 Request or Change in Supervisor request where the host supervisor for the exchange visitor program is not full-time CU Boulder faculty/staff, must submit the CU Boulder Supervisor Form as part of their request (available on the relevant e-form request landing page in the Departmental Services Portal).
If the host supervisor changes or the host supervisors goes on sabbatical during the exchange visitor program, the department administrator must submit the Exchange Visitor (Scholar) Change in Supervisor Form (available in the Departmental Services Portal) to notify ISSS of the change in supervision.
Scholar Exchange Visitor DS-2019 Request Process
The CU host department/ research institute and/or the inviting faculty/ research member is required to confirm the prospective exchange visitor has the appropriate credentials for the position and exchange visitor category and sufficient English language proficiency for participation in the proposed exchange visitor program.
- If the prospective exchange visitor has not yet been awarded an undergraduate degree at a foreign university, submit an Exchange Visitor Student Intern request.
Departments/institutes should prepare all DS-2019 Request materials well in advance of the requested exchange visitor program (DS-2019) start date.
- Ensure that the speedtype for the ISSS processing fee is not a Fund 30, 31, 35, 50, 71, 72, 73,74, 78, 80, or 99
Create/Update Person of Interest (POI) Record in HCM
Before completing the Add New Person e-form or initiating a DS-2019 Request in the MyISSS Departmental Services portal, departments must first add/update a position or in HCM (directly or with the assistance of the HR Service Center).
Determine if there is Already an HCM Record
Start by determining whether the prospective exchange visitor .Use the Transaction Launch page as the platform for searches; it supersedes row level security, department, and campus limitations to allow HCM searches of the entire university, and allows searches by partial data, which makes them much more powerful.
- Duplicate records can cause failures in online hiring steps, create tax compliance issues, and may lead to issues accessing university portals (e.g., MyISSS Student/Scholar portal, MyCUinfo).
Record Already Exists in HCM
- Update the prospective exchange visitor's record as necessary , , , ) to reflect the new exchange visitor program.
- Departments that are HRSC-supported:
- Submit a request to HRSC to update the appointment end date update.
- Provide the scholar's first and last name, employee ID, POI confirmation, new appointment end date, sponsoring department, and sponsor's position number.
- Departments that are not HRSC-supported:
- Update the end date in HCM utilizing the ‘Maintain Person of Interest’ page.
- Contact the HRSC with questions or for assistance.
- Departments that are HRSC-supported:
No Record in HCM- Adding a New Position/POI
If the prospective exchange visitor does not already have a record in HCM, you will have to add a record.
To collect the information required for the HCM record, have prospective exchange visitors (including returning scholars) complete the Scholar: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Intake Form and submit a copy of their passport.
- Departments may choose to develop their own internal form for collecting information required for the HCM record.
Departments that are HRSC-Supported
- Complete the HR Service Center (HRSC) Person of Interest (POI) Form
- Typical processing time for an is 2-3 days. Keep this timing in mind when choosing a DS-2019 program start date.
Departments that are not HRSC-Supported
- If you will add the yourself, review the resource and take all necessary steps prior to adding the record in HCM.
Previous CU Student or Scholar without Employee ID
If the prospective exchange visitor is already affiliated with the University of Colorado/CU system (previous student or scholar program) and did not previously have an Employee ID:
- Email the prospective exchange visitor's name, University ID from the previous program, and Employee ID from the HCM record to the ISSS advisor assigned to your department as soon as it is generated so ISSS can add it to the prospective exchange visitor’s MyISSS profile.
- The DS-2019 Request cannot be initiated until ISSS adds the Employee ID to the prospective scholar's MyISSS profile.
- The Employee ID from the HCM record is required to initiate the DS-2019 Request and must be entered on the Host Department Information e-form.
Initiating the DS-2019 Request
Add New Person (Create a MyISSS Profile)
After a position/POI is added in HCM for the prospective exchange visitor, the department administrator can submit the Add New Person e-form (to create a MyISSS profile) for prospective exchange visitors who do not already have a CU affiliation and MyISSS profile. Departments may use the Scholar: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Intake Form to collect information (optional, departments may choose to develop their own forms and processes).
- Do not submit an Add New Person e-form for individuals already affiliated with the University of Colorado/CU system through a previous student or scholar program.
- If you have questions about whether or not a record exists for a prospective exchange visitor, contact the ISSS advisor assigned to your department or institute.
Once the prospective exchange visitor has a MyISSS profile, the department can initiate the DS-2019 Request in the Departmental Services Portal.
DS-2019 Request
- DS-2019 Request Checklist-Scholar
- Resources to help collect the information required for the DS-2019 Request (optional, departments may choose to develop their own forms and processes)
- The exchange visitor will complete the SEVIS Record Transfer-In e-form included in the prospective exchange visitor e-forms they complete for the DS-2019 Request.
- The exchange visitor will coordinate the release of their J-1 SEVIS record to CU Boulder with their current host institution.
- Department Invitation Letter templates (print on department letterhead)
Completed DS-2019 request paperwork for a new exchange visitor program must be submitted to ISSS at least 3 to 6 months in advance of the desired exchange visitor program start date.
- It is possible that an exchange visitor program start date may have to be delayed due to timing issues related to internal review procedures, export control licensing (if applicable), and visa acquisition.
Office of Export Controls (OEC) Review
All DS-2019 requests, initial and program extensions, must be reviewed by the Office of Export Controls (OEC) for export control concerns before ISSS can begin processing the request.
- This initial review can take 5 to 6 weeks and the outcome could require additional steps that can further delay the exchange visitor program start date.
If you are submitting a DS-2019 Request on behalf of a CU Boulder Research Institute (e.g., LASP, CIRES) that has its own internal export control review process, you will have to upload documentation of the completed internal review in the Export Control Review e-form.
- LASP
- Export control review must be completed by Greg Steele (gregory.steele@lasp.colorado.edu)
- CIRES
- Export control review must be completed by Ted de Maria (demaria@colorado.edu) and Cameron Walker (cameron.walker@colorado.edu)
The Export Control Review e-form with the internal export control review documentation will be sent to the Office of Export Controls for a final review.
If the exchange visitor will participate in sponsored research projects, you must include complete project information and a description of the exchange visitor’s proposed project activities in the Program Information & Details e-form.
The export control review will result in one of the following outcomes:
- OEC determines that no export license is required for the proposed exchange visitor program.
- OEC approves the Export Control Form, and the request is forwarded to ISSS for processing.
- OEC approves the Export Control Form, and the request is forwarded to ISSS for processing.
- OEC requires additional information from the sponsor to complete the review. Assuming OEC’s request is answered promptly, this will typically add 1 to 2 week to the review process before a final determination is made.
- If it is determined that no license is required, OEC will approve the Export Control Form and the request will be forwarded to ISSS for processing.
- If a license is required, the request will be processed as described below.
- OEC determines that the exchange visitor requires an export license from the US government.
- The departments decided to modify the exchange visitor’s activities so a federal license is no longer required (since it can take 3 to 6 months to obtain an export license).
- OEC will indicate, “The exchange visitor's proposed activities will be modified.” on the Export Control Review Form and submit the e-form to ISSS. The DS-2019 Request will be set to Draft Status for the department to update. All the DS-2019 Request e-forms will have to be resubmitted again including the Departmental Responsibilities & Attestation e-forms. OEC will review the request again and once OEC provides approval on the Export Control Form, the DS-2019 Request will be forwarded to ISSS for processing.
- The department requests OEC apply for the export license.
- OEC will indicate that they will apply for the export license on the Export Control Review Form and submit the e-form to ISSS. ISSS will not process the DS-2019 Request until the license is obtained. OEC will let ISSS know when the license is obtained. The Export Control Form will be set to Draft Status so OEC can mark, “An export license has been obtained and this Export Control Review Form is approved.”
- The departments decided to modify the exchange visitor’s activities so a federal license is no longer required (since it can take 3 to 6 months to obtain an export license).
Departments are charged a nonrefundable $100 fee for ISSS to process the DS-2019/DS-7002 request paperwork, for both new exchange visitor requests and extensions. The CU Boulder hosting department must pay this fee and cannot be transferred to the exchange visitor.
This fee cannot be charged to a fund 30, 31, 35, 50, 71, 72, 73, 74, 78, 80, or 99 speedtype. Departments can pay this fee by including the department speedtype on the paperwork.
DS-2019 Request Resources
DS-2019 Request (Scholar)
- Scholar: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Intake Form
- Department: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Program Worksheet
- Department: Exchange Visitor Program Details-Scholar
DS-2019 Request (Student Intern)
- Student Intern: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Intake Form
- Department: Prospective Exchange Visitor Program Worksheet- Student Intern
- Department: Exchange Visitor Program Details-Student Intern
- Student Intern Training Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) Details
DS-2019 Request (Extension)
DS-2019 Request (Internal Transfer)
Exchange Visitor Program Templates (print on department letterhead)
- Exchange Visitor Program Summary Template
- Exchange Visitor Program (eligible for benefits) Invitation Letter
- Exchange Visitor Program (NOT eligible for benefits) Invitation Letter
Exchange Visitor Program Forms (required in certain situations)