1. Are the eligibility requirements the same for the F-1 and J-1
categories?
No. To be eligible for J-1 student status, you must have funding, at least at first, that comes substantially from any source other than personal or family funds, in the words of the regulation. Otherwise, to be eligible for J-1 status, you must parti
cipate in an exchange program formally established by a written agreement between governments, or between the University and a foreign government or institution. Thus if your funding comes from your own resources or from your family, and you will not be p
articipating in an exchange program, you will be ineligible for J-1 status, and will have no choice but to come as an F-1.
2. Will both the F-1 and the J-1 categories give me enough time to
finish my degree program?
Both will allow you to remain in the United States for as long as your academic program requires, provided that you maintain full-time registration in that program, and, if necessary, that you apply for extensions before the date of expected completion sh
own on your visa document. Note, however, that if you hold J-1 status from an agency rather than from the University itself, that agency will have full authority to impose time limits.
3. Which status, F-1 or J-1, will make it easier for me to get work
permission in the United States?
Keep these important points in mind. 1. You should not assume that you can cover any part of your expenses by working at a part-time job. 2. If you are a J-1 student, no employment of any kind is possible without the annual written approval of your J-1 sp
onsor, which is the agency or institution that issued your visa document, Form IAP-66. 3. The procedures to obtain work permission are quite different, but the employment privileges of F-1 and J-1 students are very similar. Both can work on campus up to 2
0 hours a week when classes are in session (full-time during breaks), at jobs that are related to study, for example an assistantship, or are unrelated to study. In theory both can work off campus, part time, in jobs unrelated to the field of study. In p
ractice, however, that kind of work authorization is severely restricted and very rare. Both are eligible for off-campus employment in the field of study. For F-1 students this means up to 12 months of practical training (PT), for J-1s up to 18 months of
academic training (AT). Both F-1 PT and J-1 AT are available for up to 20 hours a week when classes are in session, but may be full-time during breaks and during the annual vacation. An important difference: F-1 students do not become eligible for PT unti
l they have studied full-time for an academic year. J-1 students face no delay, but they may work only as long as they have studied. Thus if you come to the University as an F-1 for one quarter only, you will not be able to work, but if you come as a J-1
you will be eligible for up to three months of employment under AT. After completion of a course of study lasting an academic year or longer, F-1 students are eligible for any unused portion of the 12 months of PT, and J-1 students may use the remainder o
f their AT, either 18 months or the length of full time study, whichever is shorter. If, as a J-1 student, you earn a doctorate in the United States, you may be eligible for up to 36 months of postdoctoral AT or research, minus any prior AT.
4. Will my dependent spouse be eligible to work in the United
States?
The F-2 dependents of F-1 students may not work under any circumstances. The J-2 dependents of J-1's may apply to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for work authorization after their arrival in the United States, but, by regulation, they may not
use their earnings to pay the tuition, fees or living expenses of the J-1, nor can their anticipated salary be considered as a source of their own support, for purposes of the University's Financial Resources Statement or the issuing of Form IAP-66. Statu
s as an F-2 or J-2 dependent permits full-time or part-time study.
5. Would I have any obligations as an F-1 that I would not have as a
J-1, or as a J-1 that I would not have as an F-1?
Your tax obligations to the United States government would not be affected by your choice of F-1 status over J-1, or of J-1 over F-1. There are differences in health insurance requirements, but those differences will not affect you if you have no dependen
ts, and if you buy the University's student health insurance. Finally, some J-1s are subject to a requirement that they spend two years in the home country before they become eligible for immigrant status in the United States, or for long-term employment
as a nonimmigrant.
6. What are the J-1 health insurance requirements?
Universities requires students, American and foreign, to carry health insurance, and urges coverage for their dependents. For J-1 students and their dependents, however, health insurance is not only wise, it is required by federal regulations enforced by
the United States Information Agency (USIA). Thus if you, as a J-1 student, willfully fail to carry health insurance for yourself or your J-2 dependents, you will be violating your own J-1 status, and the University will be required to terminate your part
icipation in its exchange visitor program. That would put an immediate end to any employment, and possibly to your registration in the University as a student. Note that high cost is not a valid excuse; the regulation implies that if you can't afford heal
th insurance, you can't afford J-1 status in the United States.
As a J-1 student you may purchase other insurance for your dependents that is less than equivalent, as long as it meets USIA's stipulations.
USIA's Insurance Requirements for Exchange Visitors Minimum coverage shall provide:(1) Medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness;(2) Repatriation of remains in the amount of $7,500;(3) Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of
the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000; and(4) A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.An insurance policy secured to fulfill the requirements of this section: (1) May require a waiting period for pre-exis
ting conditions which is reasonable as determined by current industry standards; (2) May include provision for Co-insurance under the terms of which the exchange visitor may be required to pay up to 25% of the covered benefits per accident or illness; and
(3) Shall not unreasonably exclude coverage for perils inherent to the activities of the exchange program in which the exchange visitor participates.Any insurance policy secured to fulfill the above requirements must, at a minimum, be:(1) Underwritten by
an insurance corporation having an A.M. Best rating of A- or above, an insurance Solvency international, Ltd. (ISI) rating of A-i or above, a Standard & Poor's Claims- paying Ability rating of A- or above, a Weiss Research, Inc. rating of B+ or above, or
such other rating as the Agency may from time to time specify; or (2) Backed by the full faith and credit of the government of the exchange visitor's home country; or (3) Part of a health benefits program offered on a group basis to employees or enrolled
students by a designated sponsor; or (4) Offered through or underwritten by a federally qualified Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) or eligible Competitive Medical Plan (CMP) as determined by the Health Care Financing Administration of the U.S. Depar
tment of Health and Human Services.Quoted from the Federal Register, March 19, 1993 page 15201, and July 7, 1994, page 34761
7. If I am unsure whether my insurance meets USIA requirements, how can
I find out?
Show this sheet to your insurance provider, and ask for assurance in writing
8. What is the J-1 two-year home-country residence requirement? Will I
be subject to it?
If you hold J-1 student status in the United States, you will be subject to this requirement IF (1) you receive financial support from your home government, the government of the United States, or an international agency, OR (2) you study in a field that
is listed under your home country on the Exchange Visitor Skills List published by the United States information Agency, OR (3) you work in the United States as a medical resident or intern. If you are subject, you will have to spend two years back in y
our country (not just outside the United States) before you become eligible for status as a nonimmigrant H-1B temporary worker or L-1 intracompany transferee, OR as an immigrant or permanent resident. If you are subject, then so are your J-2 dependents. F
-1 status will not make you subject to this requirement. Note, however, that a J-1 student who is subject, and who leaves the United States and reenters in F-1 or any other status before spending two years in his or her home country, has not satisfied the
requirement and therefore remains ineligible for status as an H-1B or L-1, or as an immigrant.
9. Can I change my status, from F-1 to J-1, or from J-1 to F-1, after my
arrival in the United States?
Probably not. Some changes are prohibited by regulations, and others are possible only in very special circumstances. As an alternative to changing inside the United States, it is sometimes possible to go home, obtain a new visa stamp in the other categor
y, and reenter in the new status. Even if you go all the way home, though, the consulate may refuse to give you the category of visa that you want.
10. Which status is recommended, F-1 or J-1?
No recommendations are made. Most Universities will follow your preference as long as you are eligible for it.
This document was based on information provided by the University of Chicago Graduate School of Law and was prepared by: US-Israel Educational Foundation Tel Aviv, Israel, 1995
Evelyn Levinson Director, Educational Information Service
U.S.-Israel Educational Foundation (USIEF) Tel Aviv, Israel
Telephone: 972-3-5172131 Fax: 972-3-5162016
E-mail: elevinson@fulbright.org.il
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