Occasional Lectures/Consultations
All J-1 Exchange Visitors, who want to participate in occasional lectures or consultations not defined and authorized on the DS-2019, must receive written approval from their Exchange Program’s Responsible Officer (RO) or Alternate Responsible Officer (ARO). For those who are sponsored by Emory University, an RO/ARO in the ISSS office must review and authorize in writing approval for such lectures and consultations.
You may be asked to participate in occasional lectures or consultations, conferences, collaborative research, or other activities by other universities or organizations for which you will be compensated. Your RO/ARO must evaluate the proposed activity and determine if it meets the eligibility criteria outlined in the regulations.
Eligibility Criteria
-
Must be directly related to the objectives of your Exchange Visitor program;
-
Must be incidental to your primary program activities; and
-
Must not delay the completion of your Exchange Visitor program.
How To Apply
To obtain authorization, you should present the following to your scholar advisor in ISSS:
- A letter of offer from the prospective employer describing the terms and conditions of the proposed employment, including the duration, the number of hours, the field or subject of interest, the amount of compensation, and a description of the activity for which you are being hired.
- The Incidental Employment Request Form signed by your department head or supervisor:
- Attach the letter from the prospective employer;
- Confirming that the employment is directly related to your principal activity, is indeed incidental, and will not delay completion of your program;
- Explaining how the proposed activity would enhance your Exchange Visitor program; and
- Recommending approval of the employment.
- If your J-1 Responsible Officer approves, he or she will authorize the employment in writing.
Authorization To Work Beyond Occasional Lectures/Consultations
The authorization to accept compensation described above is meant only for occasional lectures or consultations. Under these circumstances, you will not be considered an employee of the institution or organization that has invited you to lecture or consult. You will be considered an independent contractor. As such, your authorization to receive payment will simply be the letter issued by your RO/ARO approving the activity. You will need to present the letter to the inviting institution or organization to receive payment. You should also keep a copy of the letter for your permanent records, proving that you had authorization to receive such payment.
If the activity will be more than incidental or occasional, for example you will be teaching a course at another school for an entire academic term or perform collaborative research over a sustained period of time, then you will likely not be considered and independent contractor but rather an employee of the institution or organization that has invited you to perform the activity. Your Exchange program’s RO/ARO must issue an amended DS-2019 reflecting this activity and indicating the amount and source of funding on the DS-2019. You should discuss this activity to your RO/ARO who will then instruct you on what procedures must be followed to receive the amended DS-2019. The amended DS-2019 can then be used as one of the documents necessary for completing the Form I-9, "Employment Eligibility Verification,” which must be complete before you can commence this activity at the institution or organization.