Students admitted to UCSB in the J-1 category will receive a Form DS-2019, Certificate
of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status. Please review the form and sign it at
the bottom. Also, please notice item #5 of the DS-2019 form regarding financial
support. You are responsible to have documentation of the amount of support from
organizations/sources other than UCSB. The estimated expenses may change slightly
by the time you arrive on campus. Please remember that the J-1 student visa requires
that you have appropriate insurance. NOTE: If you are transferring your J-1 student
visa sponsorship to UCSB, please see instructions below.
Also please note item #3 of the DS – 2019 form regarding the period of your program.
You can enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to the program begin date in item #3.
If your educational program will go beyond the end date in item # 3 you will need
to request an extension of your DS–2019 form from our office. The extension must
be processed before the end date on your current form. Please contact our office
two months before the end date of your DS–2019 form to request an extension. NOTE:
If you are transferring your J-1 student visa sponsorship to UCSB see below.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT FEE (SEVIS FEE):
The U.S. government now requires a fee of $100 for all new J-1 international students.
This fee must be paid prior to applying for your J-1 visa or, if you do not require
a visa (i.e., Canadians), before entering the U.S. Payment of the fee will need
to be verified at the time of the visa interview at the U.S. Consulate or upon entering
the U.S. at the airport or border crossing. The SEVIS fee is paid using a Form I-901.
To obtain the form and more information about the SEVIS fee click here.
OBTAINING A J-1 VISA:
If you are outside of the United States and require a visa to enter, you will need
to apply for a J-1 visa at the American Consulate or Embassy nearest to you. If
you indicated that your immediate family members (spouse and minor children) will
accompany you to the U.S., they should apply for a J-2 visa at the same time. Family
members will require their own DS-2019 form from our office in order to apply for
the J-2 visa and enter the U.S. As part of the visa application requirements, you
will need to present a valid passport, the DS–2019 form, and the documentation of
financial support, plus payment of the SEVIS fee. It is a good idea to apply for
your visa as soon as possible. The visa processing may take longer than you anticipated
or may require you to obtain additional documents. You should contact the nearest
U.S. Consulate or Embassy to inquire about the details of their J-1 visa application
procedures: appointment procedures, how long will it take, what documents are required,
what is the visa application fee? If the application is approved, you will be issued
a visa stamp in your passport with the classification “J-1” (or “J-2” for dependents).
The DS-2019 and other documents should be returned to you by the Consular Officer.
You will need to present these documents along with your new visa to the immigration
officer when you arrive in the U.S.
IF YOU DO NOT REQUIRE A VISA TO ENTER U.S. (Canadian citizens): Please present the
DS-2019 form along with your passport to the Immigration Officer at the port of
entry when you arrive in the U.S. You should also be prepared to present the documentation
of your financial support and SEVIS fee payment if requested by the officer.
ENTERING THE U.S. AND IMMIGRATION INSPECTION:
When you arrive to the U.S. you will go through a process called immigration inspection.
This will occur at the airport or border crossing – if traveling by land from Canada
or Mexico. You will be required to present your passport, J-1 visa stamp (if applicable),
DS-2019 form and financial documentation. The immigration officer will inspect your
documents and make a determination whether to admit you into the U.S. in J-1 student
status. The officer will also process what is called an I-94 form, referred to as
the Admission/Departure Record. This form was probably given to you on the airplane
to complete. The officer will process the I-94 form by placing the admission stamp
on it with the notations “J-1” and “D/S”. “J-1” of course refers to the status you
are being admitted into the U.S. “D/S” indicates that you are being admitted into
the U.S. until the “duration of your status”, or the duration of study program.
The officer will then give you the bottom section of this form which will be a white
card approximately 4 inches by 4 inches – some I-94 forms will look different. This
is an important document. Upon leaving the immigration inspection area, you should
be in possession of your DS–2019 form and the I-94 form (card). The I-94 form should
include an admission stamp with the notation ‘J-1’ and ‘D/S’.
Please be sure before leaving the immigration inspection area that your documents
have been properly processed. Immigration officers at the port of entry admit hundreds
of visitors in a day entering the U.S. for different purposes and with various visa
types. Errors in this processing can occur. If your documents are not properly processed,
this could be a serious inconvenience to you and will take quite some time to correct
later.
TRANSFERRING WITHIN THE U.S.:
If you are in the U.S. in J-1 ‘student’ status and transferring to UCSB from another
institution, you will need to transfer your visa sponsorship in the Student Exchange
Visitor Information System (SEVIS) from your current school to the University of
California, Santa Barbara. To initiate the transfer process, you should contact
your current International Student Adviser and inform them that you want to transfer
your J-1 student record in SEVIS to UCSB. You should determine with your current
adviser what date they should release your SEVIS record to UCSB.
UCSB cannot issue a DS-2019 form to a student who is transferring their SEVIS record
until after the transfer release date.
To complete the transfer process, you need to check in with our office as soon as
you arrive at UCSB and present your passport, I-94 card and the DS-2019 that we
issued to you. Simply receiving the new DS-2019 form from UCSB has not completed
the transfer process.
ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE:
All J-1 students and their dependents who will accompany them to the U.S. in J-2
status are required to have adequate health insurance coverage for the duration
of their stay. This is a mandatory requirement of both UCSB and the U.S. State Department
– the government agency which oversees the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. Health
insurance coverage must meet certain minimum standards. Please also refer to the
section on Accident and Sickness Insurance in the enclosed ‘Welcome’ letter and
the GSHIP brochure for graduate students and USHIP brochure for undergraduate students,
which will be mailed to you separately. The university’s student health insurance
plan (GSHIP for graduate students and USHIP for undergraduate students) will meet
the mandatory minimum requirements for health insurance coverage for you and your
dependents. If you intend to acquire your own insurance from a different source,
the plan must be comparable to the coverage detailed in the brochures you receive.
I n addition, your insurance plan must include coverage for: (1) Repatriation of
remains, in the amount of $7,500; and (2) Expenses associated with medical evacuation
in the amount of $10,000. Please note that the requirement for adequate health insurance
for J-1 students and their accompanying dependents is mandated by the federal government.
Failure to comply with this requirement would be a violation of your J-1 immigration
status.