Travel Information
Domestic travel: When traveling within the U.S., you should bring your passport, DS-2019 and I-94 Departure Record card with you in case an official wants to verify that you were legally admitted into the U.S.
International Travel: If you will be traveling outside the U.S., be certain to have all necessary documents for entry into all countries you intend to visit. This is your responsibility. For purposes of returning to the U.S. in J-1 status, you will need:
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A valid passport
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A valid J-1 visa (if subject to visa requirement)
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A travel signature from your Responsible Officer (RO) or Alternate Responsible Officer (ARO) on your most recently issued DS-2019. (Please be sure to bring your passport, with current visa and I-94 card, when you come to request a signature.) We recommend that the travel endorsement be no older than 6 months at the time of re-entry to the United States. Exchange visitors should contact the ISSS office at least 10 days prior to departure to obtain a travel endorsement on the Form DS-2019.
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Proof of financial support as indicated on the Form DS-2019
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Dependents: Dependent J-2 spouse and children must have their own Form DS-2019 and follow the same procedure as the exchange visitor for re-entry.
Applying for a new J-1 visa: If a new visa is required, the exchange visitor should take the valid passport, endorsed DS-2019, and evidence of financial support to a United States Consulate or Embassy when applying for the new visa stamp. You should also contact the U.S. Consulate/Embassy where you will apply for your visa to find out if there are additional requirements for the visa application as procedures and protocols vary among U.S. Consulates/Embassies. Schedule your appointment as far in advance as possible to ensure that you can visit to consulate/embassy as soon as you arrive at your destination. Processing times vary and delays in visa issuance due to administrative processing and security clearances may delay the issuance of your visa stamp. So it is important that you attend to your visa application as soon as possible after arriving at your destination to allow as much time as possible for visa processing.
Non-Emory sponsored exchange visitors: If the exchange visitor is sponsored by an agency other than Emory University, a Responsible Officer of that sponsoring agency must sign the Form DS-2019 for travel.
Automatic Revalidation: Some exchange visitors travelling to Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean countries excluding Cuba for fewer than 30 days may be eligible for automatic revalidation of their expired J-1 visas; see an ISSS advisor for more details.
Upon re-entry to the United States, you must provide copies of the new I-94 Departure Record card and the new visa stamp if one was obtained. Report to the ISSS office upon your return so that we may obtain copies of these documents for your file.
Caution to scholars traveling outside the U.S. for more than 30 days! If you will be traveling outside the U.S. for more than 30 days for purposes other than your exchange program objectives (e.g. extended vacation or time with extended family), you will need to obtain permission from your sponsoring department and from your RO/ARO before a travel endorsement will be granted by your RO/ARO. Extended absences outside the U.S. during the course of your exchange program could be construed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as your intent to abandon the objectives of your exchange program. Therefore this permission must be granted prior to securing the travel endorsement of your RO/ARO on your DS-2019. Your J-2 dependents MUST travel with you if you plan on being outside the U.S. for more than 30 days. A letter from your supervisor to CBP explaining the purpose of your travel, the intent to return to the U.S. to resume your exchange program, and verification of your funding for the exchange program is required for any trip outside the U.S. lasting more than 30 days.
J-1 Research Scholars and Professors continuing their program activities outside the US for more than 30 days must follow special procedures. Extended travel time of 30 days or more will require verification that you have permission from your hosting department to travel for this length of time for the purpose of performing your exchange program activity outside the U.S. Most trips outside the U.S. lasting more than 30 days could result in your program ending. To ensure this does not happen, permission must be granted with an explanation of how you will be continuing your current exchange program objective outside the U.S. If your program were to end because you failed to obtain permission prior to your departure, you would be barred from returning to the U.S. in either the J-1 Research Scholar or Professor categories for two years. Therefore, it is very important that you plan your travel and obtain permission for such travel well in advance to ensure that your program does not end as a result of your departure.
Your supervisor must submit an online notification form to ISSS granting permission for you to travel outside the U.S. for more than 30 days. Click here for the link for the online notification form. If approved, ISSS is required to report this absence to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State (DoS) via SEVIS. Furthermore, you will be required to email ISSS with your new address outside the U.S. within 10 days of establishing that address. ISSS is required to report this new address to both DHS and DoS via SEVIS.