Inviting a Visiting Scholar
The Exchange Visitor Program is designed to bring, among others, scholars, researchers, professors and specialists to the United States for a variety of educational and cultural exchange purposes. These individuals are often under the sponsorship of an agency or organization that has been designated as an exchange visitor sponsor by the U.S. government. SUNY Buffalo State has been granted this designation and, accordingly, is authorized to issue the Form DS-2019, the form used by the prospective Exchange Visitor to apply for their J-1 visa. The J-1 visa is set apart from all other non-immigrant visa classes by its underlying philosophy of educational and cultural exchange. Currently our school designation supports graduate level scholars.
If your department is interested in inviting a visiting scholar to Buffalo State please follow the Inviting Visiting Scholars Protocol.
1. Potential scholar makes themselves known to a potential mentor on campus.
2. Mentor determines the appropriateness of the scholar's work to their own.
3. Mentor secures approval from their dean and an invitation letter is issued.
a. Must include
i. Dean's signature
ii. Dates of visit
iii. Sponsoring department
iv. Research project and academic expectations
v. Funding source
4. Material collected for the issuance of DS-2019.
a. Biographical page from passport
b. Proof of funding ($2,000 per month)
c. Proof of English proficiency
d. CV
e. Research plan
5. DS-2019 issued and mailed to potential scholar.
6. Potential scholar meets with embassy official and J1 visa is approved or denied.
7. Scholar arrives in US and checks in with the ISSS to be registered in SEVIS.
8. Scholar meets with mentor and enacts research plan.
a. Publishable manuscript
i. Process determined by mentor and scholar
b. Audit (sit in) on class
i. Classes are chosen in conjunction with mentor and in consultation with Dean and mentor introduces scholars to professor.
International Student and Scholar Services
Some content on this page is saved in PDF format. To view these files, download Adobe Acrobat Reader free. If you are having trouble reading a document, request an accessible copy of the PDF or Word Document.
