Visa Information
All Visiting Scholars to EWU must apply for a J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa. In order to begin processing your visa documents you will need to show the following:
- Contact information for the EWU Academic Department that will host you
- Detailed program activities for the duration of your proposed visit (e.g. research timeline, dates of presentations/conferences, collaboration with EWU professors)
- Passport valid for a least 6 months after your visit end-date
- English Level Assessment completed by Academic Department and SGL
- Financial support to cover all program expenses
Form DS-2019
In order to apply for the J-1 Visa, EWU must issue you a Form DS-2019. This form will show your program dates, cost estimates, and program type. If your proposed program is approved, EWU will mail this official document to you along with information on how to apply for the visa. If your visa is granted, you will travel to the U.S. and present your visa and signed Form DS-2019 to request entry in J-1 status for your program.
Visa Costs
As part of obtaining the J-1 Visa, please note that you will need to pay the SEVIS I-901 Fee to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Non-immigrant Visa Application Processing Fee. You will need to provide receipts showing the visa application processing fee and SEVIS fees have been paid when you attend your visa interview.
For more information on these fees, visit: SEVIS I-901 and Nonimmigrant Visa Application (select J Study & Exchange Visa Type).
Visa issuance fee – Please review the visa reciprocity tables to determine if an additional visa reciprocity fee must be paid upon visa issuance and the amount of the fee.
Typical Program Costs for Visiting Scholars
EWU is on a quarter-based calendar. Please discuss your program dates with SGL and your host department, as quarterly fees cannot be pro-rated. Summer is considered one term for scholars.
How to Pay your EWU Expenses
Visiting Scholars will receive a University Invoice reflecting specific University expenses on a quarterly basis and a final invoice prior to departure. Payment can be made in person (Student Financial Services on Cheney campus, or Spokane Student Services Center on the Spokane campus) with cash, Visa or MasterCard. All University fees are due prior to the end of each academic quarter and must be paid in full prior to final departure. Scholars are responsible for the cost of their housing, dining, insurance and incidental expenses and any dependent costs.
| Housing in SGL Townhouses | $360 -$720 per month |
| Utilities | $100 per month |
| Food | $675 per month |
| Administrative Fee | $500 |
| Technology Access | $40 |
| Bus Access | $20 |
| EWU Int’L Scholar Health Insurance | $700 |
| Total for one quarter | $4,665 – $5,745 |
“Two-Year Rule”
In some cases, a Visiting Scholar may be subject to the “Two-Year Rule.” Those that are subject to the rule must either be physically present in their home country for an aggregate of two years after their J1 program in the U.S., or obtain a waiver of the “Two-Year Rule” before becoming eligible for:
- H (Temporary Worker or dependent) and L (Intracompany Transferee or dependent) visas.
- Change of Status applications (except to visa classifications A & G)
- Adjustment to US Permanent Resident (“green card”) status.
The ‘Two-Year Rule” does not prohibit applications for other non-immigrant visas, provided all other eligibility criteria are met. Dependents (J2’s) of those who are subject to the “Two-Year Rule” are also subject.
Who is Subject to the “Two-Year Rule”?
J1 Visiting Scholars, and their dependents (J2’s) become subject to the “Two-Year Rule” if any one of the following three criteria are met:
- If the exchange program was financed directly or indirectly by the US Government or a foreign government for the purpose of exchange.
- If the skills that the exchange visitor is coming to develop or exercise are in a field which the exchange visitor’s “home” government requested be on the Department of State’s Skills List. The Skills List is compiled by the Department of State. It lists occupational fields and skills possessed by exchange visitors that the home government wishes to have return to the country. If an individual is a national of one country, but was a permanent resident of another country prior to entering the US as an exchange visitor, then one looks to the country of last permanent residence for purposes of assessing subjectivity to the “Two-Year Rule.”
- If the exchange visitor comes to the US to receive “graduate medical education or training.”
We encourage Visiting Scholars to reach out to the School of Global Learning with any questions about the “Two-Year Rule” and waiver eligibility.
