Eligibility Requirements

Exchange visitors must have the education, experience, and proof of English language proficiency needed to participate in the academic activities in which they intend to engage. Host departments must evaluate the individual's academic and professional credentials to determine whether the individual has the credentials needed to participate successfully in the program.

Required Funding Levels

It is important that any international scholar coming to the U.S. have the financial resources to support themselves and any accompanying dependents during their stay in the U.S. Using the U.S. poverty guidelines as a starting point, OIS has determined it will not issue immigration documents unless an individual can show they have at least 125% of the U.S. poverty level.

Medical Insurance Requirements

Federal law requires all individuals in J status to have medical insurance for the duration of their entire program. The law sets the following minimum amounts of coverage:

• $100,000 medical benefits per person per accident/illness
• $25,000 for repatriation of remains, in event of death in U.S.
• $50,000 for medical evacuation in event of illness
• $500 or less in deductible per accident/illness

The willful failure to maintain insurance requirements will result in the termination of Catholic University's J-1 sponsorship for the individual. Click here for a list of insurance companies whose policies meet the requirements listed above.

Required Documents

The request form consists of two distinct parts. The PDF forms were created in Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional and can be completed electronically, but need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Adobe Reader 7.0, click here to download a free version of Adobe Reader 7.0 :