Time Limits & Program Bar Information for Scholars

Time Limit

The total stay in the U.S. for Exchange Visitors in the "Professor or Research Scholar" category is limited to five years. Extensions beyond this five-year period are not possible. The total stay in the U.S. for Exchange Visitors in the "Short-Term Scholar" category is limited to six months. Extensions beyond six months are not possible.

12-Month Bar

A person who is outside the U.S. may not enter the U.S. in the J professor or research scholar category if they were in J status (research scholar, professor, student, trainee, etc.) for 6 of the previous 12 months. 

Note:

• Time in J-2 status does count toward the calculation of the time in J status for the 12-month bar.
• Time as a Short-Term Scholar does NOT count toward the calculation of the time in J status for the 12-month bar.

To calculate:  (1) count backward 12 months from the (future) date of requested J status, (2) determine if the Scholar was in J status for six or more months of that 12-month period.   If 6 months or more have been spent in J status, the scholar may not return until more time has passed. If the scholar has not spent 6 or more months in J status, the DS-2019 document can be issued unless the 24-month bar applies. (See 24-month bar information below.)

24-Month Bar

J-1 research scholars and professors who have completed their J program (as evidenced by the end date on their DS-2019) or who have reached the five-year limit may not extend their stay in J-1 status. They must leave the U.S. or change to another non-immigrant status. They are not eligible to return to the U.S. in J-1 research scholar or professor status for 24 months.

Once the J program has ended, this 24-month bar applies to J-1 research scholars or professors who have used less than five years of J-1 scholar status as well as to those scholars who have been here for the full five-year period. For scholars who use fewer than five years, the remainder of the five-year eligibility period is considered to be lost, and the scholar would face the 24-month bar. Therefore, scholars who will be in the U.S. for six months or fewer should consider using the short-term scholar category. The short-term scholar category is exempt from the 24-month bar.

Note: For any J visitor who was previously and most recently in the U.S. in the research scholar or professor category, it is likely that both the 12-month and the 24-month bars will apply, effectively resulting in a 24-month bar. The bars are not cumulative.