J-1 Student Interns

The U.S. Department of State allows students who are enrolled in degree programs at home universities (in other countries) to be sponsored for an intern position, for up to 12 months duration, in the U.S.

Eligibility

The U.S. Department of State allows students who are enrolled in degree programs at home universities (in other countries) to be sponsored for an intern position, for up to 12 months’ duration, in the U.S.

The internship may be with or without wages, however the student must provide evidence of personal or outside funding sufficient to cover all travel, health insurance, and living expenses, for the duration of the internship. Minimum funding for J-1 scholars/student-interns. Minimum funding for J-1 scholars/student-interns.

J-1 Student Information

Sponsorship Process

  1. Not Hired by UGA

    The Office of Research and the Office of Global Engagement (OGE) have implemented VRS hosting procedures for Visiting Researchers unpaid by UGA. Complete a VRS questionnaire. Procedures can be found on the Office of Research website and questions about hosting a VRS can be directed to vrs@uga.edu.

  2. Hired by UGA

    All incoming J-1 Scholars hired by the University of Georgia will be processed through UGA Jobs. After someone’s hiring proposal has been approved, departments will use ID Manager and search by the scholar’s name to get his/her UGA ID number.

  3. File an online request for J-1 visa sponsorship

    Complete J-1 Student Intern Sponsorship form in Compass. You will find step-by-step instructions in our Compass Department User Guide

  4. Documents Created by Immigration Office

    After you submit the form, the student intern will be emailed a similar form automatically. Once both forms have been submitted, the following documents will be created by our office (Immigration Services):

    1. DS-7002: Internship Plan. You will be sent a .pdf copy to print, sign and return to our office.
    2. DS-2019: Immigration document for visa appointment.

  5. Ready to Apply for J-1 Visa

    The student-intern will be able to apply for the J-1 visa at this point. Detailed instructions will be sent to the individual regarding visas, travelling, Athens, and other items to know before arriving.

English Assessment for Exchange Visitors

To assure UGA’s compliance with United States Department of State regulations, English language proficiency for scholars seeking J-1 visas and whose applications are received on or after September 15, 2017, must be documented in one of the following three ways.

  1. Test Score
  2. Documentation from a Previous Institution
  3. Interview

Immigration Services’ full policy for English Assessment:

English Language Proficiency

Evaluations

Student-Interns and Sponsoring Departments must provide our office with written evaluations of the intern’s performance, including the number of hours performed, the type of training, and the quality of the performance.

All programs must do a concluding evaluation, and programs lasting more than six months must do a midpoint and concluding evaluation. The sponsor must retain these evaluations for at least three years following the completion of the student’s internship program. [22 C.F.R. § 62.23(i)(5)].

Evaluations are submitted in compass.uga.edu.

Internationl Travel Quick Links