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All applicants for J visas must make an appointment for an interview. In Warsaw on Mondays through Thursdays 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. and at the Consulate General in Kraków they are scheduled between the hours of 11:00 am and 11:30 am, Monday through Thursday, except Polish and American holidays. They must have form DS-156 filled in on-line.
Applicants must present the documents described in Basic documents and photographs as well as form DS-2019 completed and certified by the American inviting institution and signed by the applicant.
The inviting American organization or institution, which issued the DS-2019 form, must provide the State Department with electronic evidence of the alien's acceptance at that institution before a J visa can be issued. The data contained in the DS-2019 form must be entered to the State Department SEVIS database. Applicants for J visas with DS-2019 issued on or after September 1, 2004 will have to pay an additional SEVIS registration and processing fee. This fee is $100 for students and $35 will for short-term exchange visitors (au pairs, summer work/travel and camp counselors) and must be paid before the interview with the consular officer.
The fee is charged to help the costs of administering the SEVIS program and is non-refundable. It is a one-time fee for each nonimmigrant program in which the student/ exchange visitor participates. For exchange visitors it is valid until they change their status or lose their status by being out of the program for too long.
Information on how to pay your SEVIS fee and the ability to pay the SEVIS fee online can be found at the DHS SEVIS website: www.fmjfee.com.
More information about this new fee and the SEVIS program can be found at the DHS SEVP website.
Applicants sponsored by the U.S. State Department (e.g. Fulbright scholarship holders) do not pay the visa processing fee.
Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of J-1 visa holders may apply for J-2 visas. To do so they should present the documents described in the "Basic documents and photographs", a form DS-2019 completed and certified by the American inviting institution and signed by the applicant. Derivatives (J-2) do not have to pay a separate SEVIS fee even though they will have a unique SEVIS number.
Applicants should also bring documents detailing high school and university studies in Poland. Certain J visa applicants may also be required to demonstrate availability of funds and knowledge of English.
Passports with J visas are issued together with a sealed envelope containing the DS-2019 form. This envelope must remain sealed and has to be presented with the passport to the INS officer at the first port of entry in the U.S.
» Click here for more info on Exchange Programs and SEVIS
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