Initial Application

To find a scholar, follow the instructions noted in the Finding an Existing Scholar Record section.

If you are unable find the record, contact IFSO at ifsoisd@ucsd.edu.

To prevent the scholar from making changes to their record while it is being processed by you and IFSO, we recommend you change the scholar’s permissions to View only at some point in your process. 

If you request the scholar to update their record directly, however, you will need to change their permissions back to Read/Write.

We leave it up to you to decide where in your process you choose to lock the scholar’s access to their record. To change permissions, select the Tasks Tab button and click on Edit Visitor Login and Permissions:

If you have special notes for this record that you would like to make, select the Notes Tab on the Horizontal Fields Navigation Bar and click on Add Note. 

The notes section is a great way to let IFSO know anything pertinent to the case.

You must include the current (non-UC San Diego) Immigration advisors contact information; full name and email address. This information will be used by IFSO to coordinate the transferring of the DS-2019 to UC San Diego.

These notes will only be visible to Department Administrators with ISD access under your specific department and to IFSO advisors. They will not be visible to the scholar.

If you need to contact the scholar to verify certain information, you can select Compose Email in the top right side of the screen. This will generate an email to the scholar.

When the scholar replies, the return email will go to the email address you entered in the Reply to field. It will not be visible in ISD.

• This is not an initial invitation and will not overwrite or generate a password.

Please verity that the scholar completed this information. Make sure that the scholar has followed these instructions: Scholar - Biographical Section Instructions.

For records in the VC Health Sciences area administered by ARC, add the ARC number.  

The scholar will have added their permanent address in their home country. Verify that they have followed the: Scholar - Address Section Instructions.

Tip: Please note that we advise the scholar to never use the mailing, alternative, or emergency address options.

REMOTE WORK

• U.S. Department of State guidance limits remote participation of J-1 Exchange Visitors in their programs to 40% of their time. J-1 Exchange Visitors are required to be on-campus or at their non-residential worksite at least three of five days a week.

• Employer Name: UC San Diego
• Start Date and End Date: These must match the appointment letter. The start and end dates will be printed on the DS-2019.
• Job Title: Select a job title from the drop-down menu.
• Other or Additional Job Title and Level: Enter the job title if not listed in the Job Title Section.
  • Add an additional job title if there are multiple.
    • Example: "& Postdoc Employee"
  • If the job title is a staff appointment under Career Tracks, indicate the level here; for example, "P3" or "S2" or "M1".
  • If Clinical, enter the PGY level.
• Faculty Sponsor: Identify the faculty sponsor.
• Does Appointment Require Teaching?: Yes or No
• Is position Full Time: Indicate yes or no for paid appointments; leave blank for unpaid appointments.
• Number of Hours Per Week: If the paid appointment is less than full time, enter the number of hours per week expected to be worked.
• Is the Position Tenure Track: Yes or No. The J-1 category does not allow persons to be appointed in tenured or tenure-track positions.
• J Visitors Only Section:
  • Will entire J program be 6 months or less?: Yes or No.
    • If Yes, is there a possibility stay will be extended?: Yes or No 
      
      • Leave this blank if the program is not 6 months or less.
  • J visitor category: Select from the drop-down menu. Only four of the options are allowed at UC San Diego, as listed below. Read the descriptions below as there are different regulations for each J-1 category.
    • Research Scholar – For scholars here for up to 5 years. Will be subject to the 24-month bar prohibiting repeat participation in a new J-1 Research Scholar/Professor program.
    • Professor – If the scholar will be primarily teaching that can be used up to 5 years. Will be subject to the 24-month bar prohibiting repeat participation in a new J-1 Research Scholar/Professor program.
    • Short-Term Scholar – For scholars here for 6 months or less. Will not be subject to the 24 month bar. There is no option to extend beyond 6 months.
    • Student Intern – For visiting undergraduate students that will be returning to their home country’s undergraduate program after UCSD.
  • Enter a short description of the scholar activity at UCSD: Add information about what the scholar will be researching and/or teaching.
    • Please be descriptive, such as “Research in..." or "Teaching courses in...”
    • For scholars with a medical degree, input either “NO ELEMENT OF PATIENT CARE” or “INCIDENTAL PATIENT CONTACT” as appropriate after program description.
• Is this a unionized position: Indicate whether this position is in a union (Collective Bargaining Unit).
• RUSH Request: Indicate “Yes” or “No.” RUSH requests entail paying the RUSH fee (for online payments, see: https://ifso.ucsd.edu/dept-facilitators/vs-recharge-form.html).
  • J-1 rush fee is required for any initial/transfer-in requests that require processing under 15 business days.
    • Initials that require a start date in less than 45 will also require a rush fee. This policy reflects the processing time of our federal agencies, which include lengthy background checks required by the U.S. Dept of State for visa applications.

• • Click on Add New button to add the site(s) of activity. 
    • Skip this step for “Student Intern” category records; you will enter it later 
  • Select the primary site of activity from the drop-down menu under Prefill SOA; if it is not listed, enter the site's individual address components in the fields.
    • For SIO, please use the UCSD main campus address
  • Add any additional sites of activity as needed.
    • There should only be one Primary Site, at which the scholar will spend most of the time.
  • Review the Site of Activity list to make sure all site of activities you added are included. 

The Funding Section in ISD must be completed for all J-1 requests. Add funding sources that will be used by the scholar during their program. 

• $2400/month for scholar
• Additional per month:
  • $800/month for spouse
  • $400/month for each child 

Funding should be entered without any spaces, dashes, periods, or dollar signs. Do not include cents, round the funding. Please note that you will be able to save the information with spaces, dashes, dollar signs, or cents but when you try to submit the case with IFSO you will receive an error.

Don’t forget to use the help bubbles, summary/reminders:

• Program Sponsor Funds
  • List entire amount being given for the requested program duration.
  • Funding being distributed to the faculty/scholar by UC San Diego; UC San Diego issues a check or direct deposit to the faculty/scholar, regardless of the granting source.
  • Typically, Postdoc appointments 3252 or 3253
  • Please note that a Postdoc 3254 is NOT Program Sponsored Funds as the outside organization is paying the postdoc directly. For Postdoc 3254:
    • If it's a home country ministry, place the amount under Government Funding.
    • If it's NATO, place the amount under International Organization.
    • It its a home country academic institution, place the amount under Other Organization.
  • Program Sponsor Funds Documentation:
    • UC San Diego appointment/offer letter. Upload this in the Documents Tab.
• U.S. Government Org Funds
  • List entire amount being given for the requested program duration.
  • Funding is only considered U.S. government funding if it is paid directly to the J-1 Exchange Visitor and/or is intended specifically for international exchange. NIH or other federal agency grants to PIs to fund their research projects would not be considered "U.S. government funding" for purposes of international exchange.
  • This option would rarely be used.
• International Org. Funds
  • List entire amount being given for the requested program duration.
  • If unsure if funding is from an International Organization, input funding in "Other Organization Funding" data field.
  • This option would rarely be used.
• Government Funds
  • List entire amount being given for the requested program duration.
  • Funding the scholar will be receiving from their Home Country Government.
  • If unsure if funding is from Home Country Government, input funding in "Other Organization Funding" data field.
• Other Organization Funds
  • List entire amount being given for the requested program duration.
  • A company/academic institution/employer/government agency, not an individual person.
  • Entity distributes funds directly to Scholar.
  • Use if unsure of funding source or if the funding source does not match any of the other fields.
  • Examples:
    • A foreign employer is paying the Scholar while they are on leave from their job, such as a sabbatical.
    • Scholar received a scholarship that is distributing funds directly to them.
    • Scholar has fellowship from their home country’s government or the U.S. government.
  • Documentation Examples: 
    • Funding organization/scholarship letter indicating amount of funds and disbursement period.
    • Employer letter stating the salary and that they will continue to be paid for the date range of the program at UC San Diego. The letter should state funding amount, frequency, and that they will continue to pay this amount while the scholar is at UC San Diego, in the U.S., on sabbatical, etc. 
      • Please note: a pay statement or tax document cannot be used as proof of funding.
• Personal Funds
  • If Personal Funds or individual sponsor funds are being used, only enter the minimum amount required instead of the full bank balance.
  • Personal funds should only be listed/used/included after all other sources of funding are provided. Personal funds should be supplemental to any other funding sources. 
  • If only personal funds are included, this is an indication to IFSO that there are no additional funding sources. Please note that excluding any additional funding sources could be seen as a misrepresentation of program funding source.
  • Personal Funds are from scholar or a sponsor (individual not an entity/organization/employer)
  •  Examples:
    • J-1 has sufficient money in a personal bank account and they are fully/partially funding themselves.
    • A family or friend is fully/partially supporting the J-1 appointment. This person has enough money in their personal bank account.
  • Documentation Examples:
    • Bank statement showing personal funds of scholar or sponsor. 
    • Funding documentation from a sponsor (spouse, friend, family, etc.) must also include an affidavit of support, indicating the sponsor will support the scholar and the amount of funding that will be provided for the date range of the program. Affidavit does not need to be notarized, a simple letter signed and dated.
    • Evidence must show currently existing liquid funds. Not acceptable: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, pay statements or tax documents.

Benefits

• You must select Yes or No.
  • Indicate Yes for BELI 1,2, or 3 only.
  • Indicate No for BELI 4 or 5. These do not meet J-1 insurance coverage requirements.
  • This field has replaced Form C
• This will allow IFSO to confirm health insurance has been obtained (Gallagher/Garnett Powers, Waived, or UCSD insurance) directly with the scholar.

These are sections that should have been completed by the incoming J-1 scholar. Please go through them to verify that they have been completed.

• Position In Home Country
  • Must be completed for all J-1 requests.
  • Last position listed must be from the scholar's home country.
  • Verify that the Scholar - Home Country Position Instructions were followed.
• Passport and Visa
  • Must be completed for all requests as it contains immigration history.
  • This section alerts IFSO if this is a transfer-in, there was a previous J-1 or J-2 status, and other prior immigration history that could affect eligiblity for the J-1 status.
  • Verify that the Scholar - Passport and Visa Instructions were followed.
• Education Section
  • If the scholar indicated they have a Medical Degree, then section 3 of the J-1 submission form will need to be completed and uploaded to ISD. This section indicates if the scholar will provide any patient contact during their UC San Diego appointment.
  • Verify that the Scholar - Education Section Instructions were followed. 
• Dependent-Specific and Dependent-General
  • If the scholar indicated they will have dependents (spouse/children) with them in the U.S. that require a dependent status (J-2) they MUST include their information. All fields must be completed.
    • J-1 Spouse: An email is required as IFSO sends information to spouses.
  • Verify that the Scholar - Dependent Sections Instructions were followed.

If the scholar will be coming in the J-1 Student Intern category, make sure to complete the section titled T/IPP Information. This can be found under Other section. Please note that the T/IPP Information section will not appear if the J Visitor category is not listed as Student Intern in the Appointment Tab.

See our instructions regarding how to complete the T/IPP section.