Occasional Lecture and Consultations
Employment opportunities
Work authorization is limited for J-1 scholars. Very often the only type of work authorization that can be approved is when your hosting department wants to hire you to perform your specific program activities (research/teaching). If you have an opportunity for employment, please contact International Programs immediately. Work authorization must be pre-approved. International Programs will write a formal authorization letter and add this information to your SEVIS record.
Academic Honorarium
Sometimes a department or another university wishes to pay a J-1 scholar an academic honorarium. For example you could give a one-time talk or presentation and the institution wishes to compensate you for the activity. This is considered remuneration and needs to be pre-approved by International Programs. Please contact International Programs before you accept. International Programs will write a formal authorization letter.
Reimbursement of travel expenses
If a conference, seminar, workshop or any organization wishes to reimburse you for travel expenses please contact International Programs before you accept. This type of reimbursement of expenses isn’t usually considered remuneration, however, it can be complicated. Please contact International Programs and we can write an authorization letter so that there is no confusion about you accepting the reimbursement. Sometimes the conference or institution will require an authorization letter to release funds.
Other funding scenarios
If you have a different funding opportunity, please contact International Programs. We will determine what, if any, written authorization needs to happen before you accept the funding while you are a J-1 scholar.
Documentation for authorization letter
- Letter from faculty advisor or department head recommending the activity and explaining how the activity will enhance the scholar’s J-1 program.
- Letter from the institution/conference with terms and conditions, including street address of where the activity will take place, the duration of the activity, field or subject, amount of compensation (if any), and description of the activity.
