Students Studying in The United States Completing Your J-1 Scholar Program

If you are subject to the 12 or 24-month bars on repeat participation, the clock for determining when you may return to the U.S. for certain types of J-1 programs in the future begins immediately after your J-1 program ends.

Additionally, if you are subject to the 212(e) Two Year Home Residence Requirement, you may only accrue time in towards fulfilling that requirement in your home country after your J-1 program has ended.

Please find more information about the bars and 212(e) in the links provided above. If you have questions about these requirements and whether you are subject, please reach out to OGS.

All J-1 Scholars have a 30-day grace period following their program end date during which they have lawful presence in the United States. The grace period is not denoted on the DS-2019.

During the grace period, J-1 Scholars are only permitted domestic travel. International travel during the grace period will complete the existing J-1 record. J-1 Scholars who leave the U.S. during the grace period will not be granted re-entry to the U.S. with their existing J-1 visa and DS-2019, regardless of how much grace period time has passed.

Reminder: J-1 Scholars are not eligible to transfer to another institution during the grace period.

J-1 Scholars who finish their program more than 15 days prior to the program end date on the DS-2019 must notify the Office of Global Services (OGS) by submitting an End of Program Notification. The End of Program Notification needs to be approved by the faculty host and the Human Resources Contact in the host college before OGS can make any changes to the program end date. J-1 Scholars will receive a new DS-2019 with the updated program end date. 212e-two-year-home-residency-requirement

The updated program end date will determine the start of the 24-month bar and/or the 212(e) Two-Year Home Requirement for applicable J-1 Scholars.

J-1 Scholars are not required to submit the End of Program Notification if:

• They are finishing their program less than 15 days prior to the program end date.
• They are transferring to another institution.
• They were approved for a Change of Status to a different class of admission (e.g. H-1B).

J-1 Scholars may be eligible to transfer their SEVIS record to another institution from Northeastern if they meet that institution’s eligibility requirements. The J-1 scholar transfer process requires careful coordination between both the transfer-out and transfer-in institutions, host departments, faculty supervisors, and international offices. This process can take at least a month to complete and must be completed before your DS-2019 program end date, so please plan accordingly.

In general, a J-1 scholar may be eligible to transfer out if the transfer meets the following criteria:

• The scholar will be engaged in research and/or teaching in the same subject area across both institutions
  • In general, a change in the area of research or teaching is not permitted; the scholar must be engaged in research and/or teaching in the same area when transferring sponsors
• The scholar has sufficient time within the maximum duration of program participation allowed for the J-1 category
  • J-1 research scholars and professors are permitted a maximum program duration of five years. As an example, if the scholar spends three years with one sponsor, they will have only two years of eligibility remaining with their new sponsor. If the J-1 scholar has already spent five years at their current sponsor, they will be ineligible to transfer.
• There can be no gap in between J-1 program dates
  • The transfer of sponsorship from one sponsor to the other sponsor must take place immediately; the new sponsor must agree to take over J-1 sponsorship the day after the current sponsor agrees to end their sponsorship. There is no grace period between transfer institutions.
  • Because J-1 program dates do not always align exactly with actual activities, the scholar should consult with international scholar advisors at both institutions in order to identify the best possible J-1 transfer date.

J-1 Scholars requesting to transfer out must submit the J-1 Scholar Transfer Out e-form in myOGS at least one month before the requested transfer-out date.