Visiting Scholars
Who is a Visiting Scholar?
Visiting scholars are temporary paid or unpaid faculty or researchers. The term "courtesy appointment" is used to refer to unpaid visiting scholars. A visiting scholar can be international or American. If the visiting scholar is international and needs a J-1 visa, the Office for International Programs is happy to assist in accordance with the U.S. Department of State's J-1 Exchange Visitor Program.
J-1 Program for International Visitors
Loyola University Chicago participates in the Exchange Visitor Program through the U.S. Department of State. Through this program, Loyola is authorized to host international visitors from the following exchange visitor categories: professors, research scholars and students.
Before offering a courtesy appointment to a visiting scholar, whether American or international, departments must first obtain authorization from the Dean of the host school.
The hosting department should then complete a J-1 Request Form (PDF) and have the form signed by the department chair or dean and the provost. Return the signed form to OIP, who will prepare a DS-2019 certificate of eligibility for the visiting scholar. The visiting scholar should take the certificate directly to the U.S. Department of State to apply for a J-1 visa.
OIP will also provide the visiting scholar with information about insurance requirements, how to obtain a visa and a social security number, and what to do upon arrival in the U.S.
For more information, please contact Mary Theis at 773.508.6080, or e-mail: mtheis@luc.edu.
J-1 Exchange Visitor Regulations
Research Scholar and Professor
Foreign professors and research scholars engage in research, teaching, and lecturing with their American colleagues. The eligible participant shall not be a candidate for a tenure track position. Also, professor and research scholar participants may not be in the United States in J-visa status for any part of the 12-month period preceding the start date of their programs, indicated on their Form DS-2019. The 12-month bar is waived if the participant is a) present in the United States no more than six months; or b) participating in the Short-Term Scholar category.
At the discretion of the responsible officer, professors may freely engage in research and research scholars may freely engage in teaching and lecturing; this will not be considered a change of category. Incidental lectures or short-term consultations are permitted with the approval of the responsible officer so long as they are directly related to the objectives of the participant's program, and do not delay its completion date. The maximum duration for both categories is three years.
The responsible officer may extend a participant's program for up to six months to allow the research scholar or professor to complete a specific project or research activity. Extensions for a period longer than six months must be approved in writing by the Department of State. The responsible officer should submit a written request to the Department on behalf of the participant, no less than 60 days prior to the expiration of the participant's permitted three-year period. The fee for extension requests, payable to the Department of State at the time of application, is $198.
Student
This category provides foreign students the opportunity to study at a degree-granting post-secondary accredited educational institution. Students may participate in degree and non-degree programs. Foreign students are eligible to participate in this category if at any time during their college studies in the United States they or their program are financed directly or indirectly by the United States Government, the government of their home country, or an international organization of which the United States is a member by treaty or statute, or if they are supported substantially by funding from any source other than personal or family funds.
Students are also eligible if their program is carried out pursuant to an agreement between the United States Government and a foreign government, or pursuant to written agreement between American and foreign educational institutions, an American educational institution and a foreign government, or a state or local government in the United States and a foreign government.
For more information about exchange visitor regulations, please visit the Academic and Government Programs Division of the State Department.