J-1 AND Q-1 EXCHANGE VISITORS
By: U.S. Embassy Beijing
Revised: Jan. 1, 2004

General Information:

The "J" exchange visitor program is designed to promote the interchange of persons, knowledge, and skills in the fields of education, arts, and sciences. Participants include students at all academic levels; trainees obtaining on-the-job training with firms, institutions, and agencies; teachers of primary, secondary, and specialized schools; professors coming to teach or do research at institutions of higher learning; research scholars; professional trainees in the medical and allied fields; and international visitors coming for the purpose of travel, observation, consultation, research, training, sharing, or demonstrating specialized knowledge or skills, or participating in organized people-to-people programs.

The "Q" international cultural exchange program is for the purpose of providing practical training, employment, and the sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of the participant's home country in the United States.

Special Requirements:

     Scholastic Preparation

The "J" exchange visitors must have sufficient scholastic preparation and knowledge of the English language to enable the applicant to undertake a full course of study in the institution of learning or other place of study at which you the applicant has been accepted. If the applicant's knowledge of English is inadequate to enable you the applicant to pursue a full course of study, you must submit documentation that special arrangements have been made by the accepting institution for English language tutoring.

The "Q" exchange visitor must be 18 years old and be able to communicate effectively about the cultural attributes of his or her country.

     Medical Education and Training

Exchange visitors coming under the "J" program for graduate medical education or training must meet certain special requirements. They include having passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in Medical Sciences, demonstrating competency in English, being automatically subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement (later), and being subject to time limits on the duration of their program. Physicians coming to the United States on exchange visitor programs for the purpose of observation, consultation, teaching, or research in which there is little or no patient care are not subject to the above requirements.

Required documentation:

• Two completed DS-156 and DS-157 application forms.
• 830 RMB CITIC application fee receipt.
• Passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States.
• For the "J" applicant, a completed Form IAP-66. Participants in the "J" program must present a Form IAP-66 prepared by a designated sponsoring organization. For the "Q" applicant, a notice of approval, Form I-797. Participants in the "Q" program must have the designated sponsoring organization file Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS will notify the sponsor on Form I-797 when the petition is approved. It should be noted that the approval of a petition does not guarantee visa issuance to an applicant found to be ineligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
• Evidence of sufficient scholarship or personal funds to cover the applicant's expenses, or evidence that other arrangements have been made to provide for the applicant's expenses. Possession of "sufficient funds" means you the applicant is neither likely to become a public charge nor likely to engage in unauthorized employment in order to support his or herself while in the United States.

Other Documentation:

• Evidence establishing the applicant's intention to depart from the United States upon completion of his or her stay. This means you have residence in a foreign country that you have no intention of abandoning; and social, economic, and other ties that would compel your return after a temporary and lawful visit. Under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, a visa may not be issued to any applicant who is unable to overcome the presumption that he or she is an immigrant by demonstrating the above factors to the satisfaction of the interviewing consular officer.