Requirements for Maintaining J Status
It is of critical importance that the J scholar and any accompanying family member(s) maintain their status for the duration of their program. Failure to adhere to the requirements listed below is considered a violation of their J status and can lead to the immediate termination of the J scholar's program. Our office relies on both the J scholar and their host department to provide the ISO with timely notification of any changes to the points below.
1) Check-In
A new or transferring J-1 must have their check-in with ISO upon arrival in Rochester. Scholar check-ins are done virtually through UR Compass. Scholars or their department representatives may email Scholar Services to notify ISO they have arrived in Rochester.
2) Health and Medex Insurance
All J nonimmigrant exchange visitors MUST maintain health insurance for him/herself and any accompanying family members to legally maintain the J nonimmigrant status for the duration of their program. Willful failure to purchase and maintain health insurance for yourself and any accompanying family members will result in a termination of your J-1 program! To safeguard against this, all scholars must complete an insurance attestation upon arriving at the University.
Not all positions at the University provide health insurance as an included benefit; you may be required to purchase health insurance on your own in order to maintain your status. Your insurance policy must meet required minimums to maintain valid status. If you need to purchase a policy on your own, please see Ineligibility for University Insurance and Alternative Options. University insurance policies will meet the standards to maintain J-1 status.
The University of Rochester will provide medical evacuation and repatriation of remains insurance (MEDEX) for all J-1 scholar, H-1B, O-1, and TN visa holders
3) Program Objective
You have come to UR to take part in specific activities (e.g. research, teach, observe). To maintain legal status, you must continue in this same objective, and be making normal progress toward your objective goals.
4) Address Changes
J-1 exchange visitors are required to submit a Scholar Address Change Form within 10 days of any change in your residential address, telephone number, or email address.
5) No Unauthorized Employment
J-1 scholars are expected to work as described on the form DS-2019 and may not engage in any additional employment until written approval has been granted by the ISO. Please note, additional employment may only take the form of occasional lectures and/or consultations and must be in conjunction with their primary purpose.
6) Early Completion of the Program
It is imperative that the host department and the J-1 scholar notify the ISO as soon as it is known that the scholar's program will end before the program end date listed on their most recent form DS-2019 (see box 3 on page 1 of the DS-2019). If any dependents have accompanied you in the J-2 status, you are required to inform the ISO when they have made the final departure from the U.S. Please use scholars@iso.rochester.edu for this update.