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Prospective exchange visitors seeking to begin a new program activity at Morehouse School of Medicine will be required to pay a $100 SEVIS fee prior to applying for their J-1 visa abroad or changing their status within the country; for more information on this fee, see the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website. The Exchange Visitor Program brings qualified students, research scholars, and short-term scholars to the United States for a variety of educational purposes. An Exchange Visitor is under the sponsorship of an agency, institution, or organization that has been approved by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State to administer an Exchange Visitor Program. Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has been designated by the DOS as an institution with an official Exchange Visitor Program, P-1-04998. Inviting an exchange visitor to our program entails rights and responsibilities as stipulated in the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 [Public Law 87-0256] and all subsequent amendments. The MSM Exchange Visitor program is defined as "a program to provide courses of study, lecturing and research opportunities in the various fields of instruction and research conducted by the Morehouse School of Medicine for qualified foreign students, research scholars and short-term scholars and to promote the general interest of international educational and cultural exchange." THIS IS A NON-CLINICAL PROGRAM. Foreign national physicians coming for the purposes of study, research, teaching, etc., are able to participate in the J-1 program; if, however, the primary purpose of the exchange visitor’s participation is of a clinical nature, the exchange visitor may not participate in the J-1 program at Morehouse School of Medicine. In such cases, the foreign national physician must come to the U.S. under the foreign national physician program of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). Contact the Office of Graduate Medical Education Administration for more information concerning ECFMG sponsorship for exchange visitors. The Morehouse School of Medicine is designated to sponsor 3 categories of exchange visitors on its program: students, researchers, and short-term scholars. Each category permits specific kinds of activities and has its own maintenance of stay requirements, limitations of stay, and employment options. (a) Research Scholar -individual primarily conducting research, observing or consulting in connection with a research project at research institutions, corporate research facilities, museums, libraries, post-secondary educational institutions or similar types of institutions. This category has a minimum stay of 3 weeks and a maximum stay of up to 3 years unless special permission for a longer stay is granted by ECA. (b) Short-term Scholar -professor, research scholar, specialist or person with similar education or accomplishments coming to the U.S. on a short-term visit for the purpose of lecturing, observing, consulting, training or demonstrating special skills at corporate research facilities, museums, libraries, post-secondary educational institutions or similar types of institutions. There is no minimum stay requirement. The maximum duration of stay is 6 months. (c) Student:-student admitted to a degree program at an accredited educational institution for a full course of study or enrolled full time in a nondegree program. No maximum duration. (d) Student: Prescribed Course of Study -a student who does not meet eligibility requirements for the above categories (e.g., lack of advanced degree) and will not be enrolling full-time in coursework, but who seeks to follow a non-degree academic program; such course of study may include classroom instruction and research projects. Maximum duration is 2 years. back to top Procedures for Inviting Exchange Visitors to MSM The Office of International Program Services (OIPS) is responsible for administering the Exchange Visitor Program at Morehouse School of Medicine, and for approving and signing all documentation connected with the Exchange Visitor Program (P-1-4998). Only Responsible Officers of the Exchange Visitor program at MSM, as designated by the DOS, are allowed these signatory privileges. (Medical Residents at MSM in the J-1 category of Alien Physician are sponsored by the Educational Commission on Foreign Medical Graduates, and are handled in the Graduate Medical Education Administration Office.) When a department identifies a potential exchange visitor candidate, it should contact the OIPS if it has any questions concerning the J-1 status and to obtain a DS-2019 request form. The DS-2019 request form asks pertinent information that is required to issue the federal form; it also includes a checklist of supporting documentation required to determine the eligibility of the prospective exchange visitor for the particular category requested by the department. The OIPS will issue a Form DS-2019 within 5 business days of receipt of a properly completed DS-2019 Request Form signed by the chair of the department or institute requesting the Exchange Visitor. Unless other arrangements are indicated, the official DS-2019 form and pre-arrival information will be sent directly to the prospective Exchange Visitor by the OIPS via fed-ex (billed to sponsoring department). When the Exchange Visitor receives the form DS-2019, he or she should go to the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate to apply for a J-1 visa. but only after paying the $100 SEVIS fee (click here for information on this fee). If the Consular Office determines that the person is a bona fide Exchange Visitor, the visa will be granted and the person may come to the United States on the J-1 visa. It should be noted that the Consular Officer is required to determine the intent of the applicant, and the Consular Officer's determination and decision regarding the issuance of a visa are not subject to appeal of any kind. Visa application can take many months, particularly if the applicant is subject to security checks or if they are a national of a country with poor rates of return of successful J-1 visa applicants. Citizens of Canada , the Federated States of Micronesia , and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are not required to obtain a J-1 visa stamp in their passport before entering the United States. The Department must keep itself informed as to the impending travel arrangements of prospective exchange visitors, and if problems arise that will change the arrival dates of visitors, OIPS must be notified. An MSM Personnel Action form will only be turned in by OIPS to the Dean's office when the prospective exchange visitor's arrival date is definite. Additional requirements pursuant to hosting an exchange visitor are listed on the actual DS-2019 request form; the signature of the departmental/institute chair is an attestation that the department understands these rules and responsibilities and will abide by them. After issuing the form DS-2019 and upon imminent arrival of the exchange visitor, OIPS will deliver the department’s documentation to the Dean’s office for further processing as non-faculty academic appointments (exchange visitors will be classified internally at MSM as “Research Scholars”) and, if funding is coming from MSM, eventual placement on payroll. back to top |