SEVIS Fee
Prospective exchange visitors seeking to begin a new program activity at Morehouse School of Medicine will be required to pay a SEVIS fee prior to applying for their J-1 visa abroad or changing their status within the country; for more information on this fee, visit the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Web site.
Definition and Eligibility
The Exchange Visitor Program brings qualified students, research scholars, and short-term scholars to the United States for a variety of educational purposes. An Exchange Visitor is under the sponsorship of an agency, institution, or organization that has been approved by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State to administer an Exchange Visitor Program. Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has been designated by the DOS as an institution with an official Exchange Visitor Program, P-1-04998. Inviting an exchange visitor to our program entails rights and responsibilities as stipulated in the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 [Public Law 87-0256] and all subsequent amendments. The MSM Exchange Visitor program is defined as "a program to provide courses of study, lecturing and research opportunities in the various fields of instruction and research conducted by the Morehouse School of Medicine for qualified foreign students, research scholars and short-term scholars and to promote the general interest of international educational and cultural exchange." THIS IS A NON-CLINICAL PROGRAM. Foreign national physicians coming for the purposes of study, research, teaching, etc., are able to participate in the J-1 program; if, however, the primary purpose of the exchange visitor's participation is of a clinical nature, the exchange visitor may not participate in the J-1 program at Morehouse School of Medicine. In such cases, the foreign national physician must come to the U.S. under the foreign national physician program of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). Contact the Office of Graduate Medical Education Administration for more information concerning ECFMG sponsorship for exchange visitors.
Exchange Visitor Categories: Morehouse School of Medicine is designated to sponsor three categories of exchange visitors on its program: students, researchers, and short-term scholars. Each category permits specific kinds of activities and has its own maintenance of stay requirements, limitations of stay, and employment options. (a) Research Scholar: individual primarily conducting research, observing or consulting in connection with a research project at research institutions, corporate research facilities, museums, libraries, post-secondary educational institutions or similar types of institutions. This category has a minimum stay of three weeks and a maximum stay of up to five years. (b) Short-term Scholar: professor, research scholar, specialist or person with similar education or accomplishments coming to the U.S. on a short-term visit for the purpose of lecturing, observing, consulting, training or demonstrating special skills at corporate research facilities, museums, libraries, post-secondary educational institutions or similar types of institutions. There is no minimum stay requirement. The maximum duration of stay is six months. (c) Student: student admitted to a degree program at an accredited educational institution for a full course of study or enrolled full time in a non degree program. No maximum duration. (d) Student: Prescribed Course of Study -a student who does not meet eligibility requirements for the above categories (e.g., lack of advanced degree) and will not be enrolling full time in coursework, but who seeks to follow a non-degree academic program; such course of study may include classroom instruction and research projects. Maximum duration is two years.
Extension of Stay
J-1s are allowed to extend their program for up to a five-year maximum period. The process is simple and quick, and can be done in the International Program Services Office.
Dependents
The spouse and unmarried minor (under age 21) children of J-1 Exchange Visitors are issued their own DS-2019 form for application for J-2 visas. J-2 spouses are eligible to work in the U.S. after applying for and receiving an employment authorization document; there are no constraints on the amount or type of work they may perform. J-2 spouse and dependents are allowed to attend school in the United States.
J-1 Exchange Visitor Request Form