Exchange Visitors are required to report all off-campus locations where program activity is taking place even if payment is not involved. Examples of off-campus activities include:
- Field Work
- Visiting research institutions
- Visiting organizations
- Conferences
- Workshops
- Meetings
The activity taking place at these locations must be directly related to the objectives of your program, be incidental to your primary program activities, not delay the completion date of your program, must be approved by your UCI host faculty supervisor (PI) and must be approved by the UCI International Center.
In order for the UCI International Center to authorize off-campus activity, please follow the instructions below:
Occasional Lecture/Short-Term Consultation
The one-time or occasional activity must:
- Be directly related to the objectives of the exchange visitor’s J program
- Be incidental to the exchanges visitor’s primary program activities
- Not delay the completion dates of the visitor’s program
- Be documented in the SEVIS database.
If the exchange visitor will receive payment for the activity, they must be paid as an independent contractor.
Procedures for approval of this type of one-time activity:
- The activity must be approved in advance and in writing by the UCI International Center
- If the exchange visitor will receive payment, they must present to the UCI International Center:
- A letter from the offering institution that describes the terms/conditions of the activity, including the duration, number of hours, field/subject, amount of payment, and description of the activity, complete site of address/site of activity where the event will take place; and,
- A letter from their UCI department which recommends the activity and explains how it would enrich the exchange visitor’s program
Please send documents to internationalscholar@uci.edu. Once the International Center receives these documents, we will review and update your J-1 SEVIS record, add another site of activity and prepare a letter of authorization.
Second Site of Activity Authorization Requirements
It is possible for J-1 professors and research scholars to engage in UCI collaborative research activities at another location other than UCI (another “Site of Activity”) under the following guidelines:
This scenario only works if there is a joint collaborative research project with UCI. All appropriate paperwork must be done through UCI Research Administration (https://research.uci.edu/about-or/)and the IC will need a copy of the UCI signed agreement with dates, etc. If such agreement is not in place, the J-1 program cannot be placed at a different site. This will also require an academic appointment with UCI and the work is overseen and directed by UCI’s faculty member.
The activity:
- Must be directly related to the objectives of the exchange visitor’s J program and facilitate the UCI research project. The scholar must continue to be on an academic appointment at UCI while at the third party location. The work performed at the third party location must be overseen and directed by the UCI faculty member. Any publications or presentations resulting from the work will credit UCI and the third party in accordance with the collaborative agreement between the two.
- Must not delay the completion dates of the visitor’s J-1 program.
If an opportunity comes up that meets these guidelines, the UCI sponsoring faculty member should submit the following in writing to the IC before the event takes place:
- A copy of the agreement completed through UCI Research Administration
- A letter supporting this activity and verifying that it is directly related to the objectives of the exchange visitor’s program. This letter needs to outline how this cooperative project developed between UCI and third party and how the scholar’s participation in this project will benefit the scholar, as well as the UCI project. This letter should also verify the continued oversight of the UCI faculty member of the scholar’s research progress during this time.
- A letter from the institution or company who is offering this activity stating the nature of the activity, the dates of the activity, and the amount of the compensation granted (if different from the current compensation).
Please send documents to the International Center at internationalscholar@uci.edu. Once the International Center receives these documents, we will review and update your J-1 SEVIS record, add another site of activity and prepare a letter of authorization.