Communique – Volume 16, Number 7

September 2020

Greetings from the ISSO!

In this issue:

Scholar Services will Continue Remotely into the Fall

The Scholar Services Team remains committed to advising and assisting our international scholar community during this challenging time. All processing and interactions will continue to occur via e-mail, telephone or Zoom. International scholars / employees and host departments can continue to contact their ISSO scholar advisor for assistance.

More details about how we are supporting BU’s various international communities is available on the ISSO website. We will continue to update this page as necessary.

New J-1 Scholar Check-in and Orientation for the Fall

ISSO Scholar Services continues to provide New J-1 Scholar Check-in and Orientation remotely for our arriving J-1 scholars. The J-1 regulations require all new J-1 scholars who are sponsored under Boston University’s J-1 Exchange Visitor designation to attend a session.  Since these mandatory sessions will occur remotely into the fall, arriving scholars must confirm their attendance via registration in Zoom.

We have been instructing all incoming J-1 scholars to contact us upon arrival in the U.S. so that we can provide them details that will allow them to register for a New J-1 Scholar Orientation and Check-in. Attendance is required as soon as possible after admission to the U.S. as the regulations mandate such attendance so that the ISSO, as their program sponsor, can ‘validate’ the arrival via their SEVIS record. In order to comply with the required reporting time frames and insure maintenance of the scholar’s status in the U.S., the ISSO must complete the SEVIS validation within 30 days of the program start date noted on the Form DS-2019. Given that the sessions will be occurring remotely, we appreciate any assistance that host departments can provide to remind arriving J-1 scholars to connect with the ISSO and register for their required session. In addition, if you have any details about the arrival of a new J-1 scholar, please notify us so that we can reach out to them directly.

J-1 Sponsorship Minimum Funding Estimates Updated

We have updated the minimum funding levels required for J-1 Exchange Visitor sponsorship. The new figures will be required for all new and continuing J-1 sponsorship requests submitted on or after September 1, 2020.

The new estimates are as follows:

Funding requirement figures for scholars

per month per year
Scholar only $ 2,417 $29,004
Scholar plus first dependent (spouse or child) $ 3,405 $40,860
Scholar plus two dependents $ 4,295 $51,540
Scholar plus three dependents $ 4,898 $58,776
For each additional dependent beyond three, add $  282 $ 3,379

While the J-1 exchange visitor categories allow some flexibility with regard to source(s) of funding, the scholar and/or the host department must demonstrate financial support to meet or exceed an established minimum funding requirement for the full period of the scholar’s academic appointment. If dependents will accompany the scholar in J-2 status, we must establish that the funding is sufficient to support them as well.

Please note the following:

  • The minimum amounts listed DO NOT apply to Postdoctoral Appointments or to other research positions that require a different minimum based on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidance and/or standard institutional postdoctoral minimum salaries.
  • Host departments should NOT use these minimums as a standard to calculate salary. Researchers, faculty members and other paid positions should be awarded a salary that meets department and University equity standards and is commensurate with the scholar’s related experience.
  • BU salary, per diem, stipends, grants and other non-salary funding should be reflected in the appointment letter and on page 3 of Form B, Scholar Information

Further information on the minimum funding requirements for J-1 scholars at Boston University is available.

The Scholar Services Team remains committed to advising and assisting our international scholar community during this challenging time. We appreciate your  continued support!