J-1 Registration/Orientation
Prior to or within 10 business days of arrival in the U.S., J-1 exchange visitors and their J-2 dependents must contact an FSIS International Scholar Specialist to schedule a mandatory registration/orientation appointment. FSIS will not register you if you do not have an appointment.
Please bring the following items for yourself and each J-2 dependent to your appointment:
- Original Form DS-2019
- Passport
- I-94 card (if received) OR I-94 printout from CBP's I-94 website and copy of admission stamp with notations
- Completed J-1 Contact Information Form
- Completed Health Insurance Requirements Compliance Form
- Documentation of adequate health insurance coverage for yourself and any J-2 dependents (if applicable - see page 2 of the Health Insurance Compliance Form)
Registration normally takes 1 hour. An FSIS International Scholar Specialist will review your immigration documents to check that you were properly admitted at the port of entry. FSIS will also give you an orientation packet containing information about the J-1 program rules, Social Security and other identification cards, and other materials to help you adjust to UH and the Hawaii community. Please feel free to bring questions to ask the FSIS scholar specialist.
Once you have completed the registration session, the FSIS scholar specialist will validate your J-1 program in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) as long as you have submitted all the required documents for registration.
If you do not register with FSIS and your program is not validated in SEVIS within 30 days of your entry to the U.S., you may be reported as a “No Show,” which will result in the violation of your J-1 status. This will make you subject to deportation and future inadmissibility to the U.S.
