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J-1 Out of Country Program Participation

The purpose of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program and corresponding J-1 visa classification is to bring foreign national individuals to the United States for cultural and educational exchange. J-1 exchange visitors are admitted into the United States in J-1 status in order to pursue specific activities at a specific location with a specific program sponsor. In addition, J-1 exchange visitors must be continually engaged in their specific program activities on a full-time basis throughout the duration of the program and may not take an absence of more than 30 days from the program.

In very limited circumstances, a J-1 exchange visitor in the Research Scholar or Professor categories may be authorized to engage in program activities outside of the United States for an extended period of time while maintaining an active J-1 SEVIS record. This requires the Center for Global Health to authorize the specific out of country program participation in the SEVIS system in advance. Authorization for out of country program participation is granted at the sole discretion of the Center for Global Health and is not guaranteed.

Being physically present in the United States to engage in specific program activities and cultural exchange is critical to the purpose of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. Therefore, out of country program participation will only be authorized if there are compelling circumstances that require the exchange visitor to be outside of the United States participating in program activities for more than 30 days.

J-2 dependents must accompany the J-1 exchange visitor during the authorized period of time outside of the United States. In other words, J-2 dependents cannot remain in the U.S. if the J-1 exchange visitor is participating in program activities outside of the U.S.

J-1 Research Scholars or Professors who wish to apply for out of country program participation must prepare the following documents:

Once the above documents have been completed, all three documents must be submitted within the J-1 Out of Country Travel request through your Terra Dotta portal. After logging in to Terra Dotta, navigate to the Requests tab, then click J-1 Out of Country Travel.

The complete J-1 Out of Country Travel request with all required supporting documentation for the Out of Country Participation request must be submitted at least four (4) weeks in advance of the target departure date. Please note that this deadline is different than the standard J-1 Out of Country Travel request.

If the request is approved, an advisor in the Center for Global Health will notify you by email.

During Out of Country Program Participation Period

Both the exchange visitor and the sponsoring MUSC department are responsible for maintaining compliance with J-1 program regulations during the out of country program participation period. Below we have provided a brief overview of some of the main responsibilities of each party.

Sponsoring MUSC department responsibilities during out of country authorization period:

  • If exchange visitor is paid by MUSC, make arrangements to ensure the exchange visitor will be paid by MUSC during time outside of the United States
  • Continue to supervise exchange visitor and monitor progress in program activities
  • Submit the J-1 End of Program Notification request in Terra Dotta if exchange visitor decides not return to the United States

Exchange visitor responsibilities during out of country authorization period:

  • Continue to participate in J-1 program activities on a full-time basis
  • Maintain insurance coverage that meets the J-1 requirements
  • Maintain the same financial support as indicated on your current Form DS-2019
  • Maintain a U.S. residential address (most recent address) as well as a permanent foreign address and update your address within 10 days of change
  • Maintain regular communication with faculty supervisor
  • Maintain regular communication with the Center for Global Health
  • Submit a new J-1 Out of Country Participation request, if you will not return to the U.S. on the scheduled return date*
  • Submit the J-1 End of Program Notification request, if you decide not return to the U.S.

*Out of country program participation authorization is granted for specific start and end dates. If the out of country start or end date will change from the dates provided in the initial request, a new request must be submitted. However, please keep in mind that approval of a prior out of country program participation request does not guarantee approval of any subsequent out of country program participation requests.


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