(1) Patient/Client contact assignments:

Please note that the U.S. Department of State (DOS) explicitly prohibits that J visa holders (excluding “Alien Physician Program” participants – UConn is not designated to sponsor this J-1 category) to be involved in any activities that require patient/client contact or care, including any activity that would require J-1 visa holders to provide therapy, medication, or other clinical or medical care . DOS officials recently reiterated this rule and listed the following fields as examples that may have this type of activities, but they are not limited to: Sports or physical therapy, psychological counseling, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, social work, speech therapy, pharmacy, or early childhood education.

Please be mindful of this rule when you design assignments for your researchers, professors, students, or interns in J-1 status.

(2) Confucius Institutes:

DOS recently announced and issued the following guidance directive to all J-1 sponsors at the higher education level regarding Confucius Institutes. Confucius Institutes, sponsored by the Chinese government, serve to promote Chinese language, literature, and culture throughout the world. Confucius Institutes commonly partner with institutions of higher education. Colleges/Universities associated with Confucius Institute activities can no longer use their J-1 professor and research scholar designations to accommodate these scholars’ teaching/presentation activities in K-12 schools for Confucius Institute’s exchange efforts. DOS has determined that these individuals must be in J-1 status under the “Teacher” category. Those colleges/universities that hosted scholars under their J visa sponsorships in order to work on Confucius Institute related activities are now to rectify those scholars’ immigration statuses under the DOS’ guidance.

UConn is not designated by DOS in the Teacher category to support activities associated with Confucius Institutes. Also, we are not eligible to apply to be designated in this category. Therefore, please note that:
a. UConn is not eligible to issue DS-2019s on behalf of a Confucius Institute (or any other third parties).
b. J-1 visa holders at UConn whose primary objective is to work at UConn cannot be engaged in any off-site activities associated with Confucius Institute while being under UConn’s sponsorship.

Since the J-1 visa is intended to promote academic and cultural exchanges, UConn, as a leading higher education institution, may receive requests from the community members (inside or outside of Connecticut) to work with a Confucius Institute. When you receive such a request from a Confucius Institute or any other entities outside UConn, please contact our Immigration Services first to ensure the legal feasibility before you commit to the cultural exchange.