Coming to FIU as a J-1 Exchange Visitor
Affiliating with an FIU department or program
Occasionally, FIU faculty and staff have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from other countries. If you are interested in such a collaboration, you will need an FIU faculty or staff member to host you. Please see the FIU homepage for links to our academic schools, departments and programs.
Whether you, as the visitor, will be paid by a research grant, by university funds, your own funds, or a combination, it is important to know that there are both U.S. federal immigration regulations and University policies to be followed.
Generally, you will enter the U.S. on a J-1 (exchange visitor) visa as either a visiting research scholar or visiting faculty. The sponsoring faculty/administration member at FIU will with his/her department/college to compile a series of documents to be submitted to the Office of International and Scholar Services (ISSS). A complete list of these requirements can be found Hosting a J-1 exchange visitor page.
If you will be coming to FIU on your own funds, you will need to provide your FIU faculty host with documentation showing the source of the funding which shows how much is available for the duration of the stay. This information is required by federal regulation. The form is then approved by the Dean of the appropriate school or college. During this process, you will be in direct contact with the faculty/administration member and the hosting department.
Once all of the approvals have been obtained, FIU’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) receives all the documents and prepares the DS-2019 that the hosting department will mail to you with all the specific instructions.
It is recommended that the necessary forms be completed at least 90 days in advance of the visit. Stays can be as short as three weeks or as long as five years, depending upon the interests and needs of the FIU faculty host, and the approval of the appropriate university officials.
We look forward to welcoming you to FIU!