J-1 Student Intern Requests

DS-2019 Request & Training/ Internship Placement Plan Available in the MyISSS Departmental Services Portal

Departments submitting DS-2019 requests for student interns must submit the DS-2019 Request (Student Intern) & Training/ Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) e-forms available in the MyISSS Departmental Services Portal.

DS-2019 Request Checklist- Student Intern 

Export Controls Processing Times

Due to personnel changes, the Office of Export Controls (OEC)  requires 5-6 weeks to review all visa Export Control clearances for visa applications.

  • Keep this in mind when submitting initial, extension, and amendment requests for DS-2019 forms (J-1 visas) and H-1B filings.
    • DS-2019 requests should be submitted 3-4 months prior to the requested start date.
    • H-1B requests should be submitted 6 months prior to the requested start date.

If there is a time-sensitive DS-2019 (J-1) or H-1B request, contact your assigned ISSS advisor.

Exchange Visitor HCM Record Requirement

Departments must add a position or in HCM (directly or with the assistance of the HR Service Center) for all incoming J-1 exchange visitor scholars and interns prior to taking any actions in the MyISSS Departmental Services Portal or submitting DS-2019 request paperwork to ISSS. 

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It is possible for faculty members to host an overseas college student in an internship at the «Ƶ under the J-1 College Student Intern Program. If all the criteria for participation are met, ISSS can issue the DS-2019 and DS-7002 immigration document for the student intern to obtain a J-1 visa under this category.

Important Notice: All DS-2019/DS-7002 request paperwork for a new Exchange Visitor Student Intern program must be submitted to ISSS 3-6 months in advance of the desired start date.

Any student who has not been awarded an undergraduate degree must come as an exchange visitor student intern on a J-1 visa.

  • Students in master's and doctoral degree programs outside the U.S. are also able to participate in exchange visitor student intern programs.

Criteria for an Exchange Visitor Student Intern (J-1 visa)

  • The internship cannot be for more than 12 months; and no less than 3 weeks (21 days).
  • The student intern is a foreign national enrolled in and pursuing a degree at an accredited post-secondary academic institution outside the U.S.
  • The student intern must be engaged full-time (32 hours/week) in the internship at CU «Ƶ that will fulfill the educational objectives for their current degree program at the home institution.
  • The student intern is maintaining satisfactory advancement towards completion of the internship program.
  • The student intern has verifiable English language skills to function in the internship environment and local community.
  • The student intern is primarily in the U.S. to engage in the intern program rather than to engage in employment or provide services to CU «Ƶ.
  • The student intern must be in good academic standing with their post-secondary institution overseas where they are enrolled in and pursuing a degree.
  • The student intern will return to his/her academic program and obtain a degree from their overseas academic institution after completion of the student intern program.
  • The student intern has adequate finances to support himself/herself and dependents for their duration of their stay in the U.S.
  • The student internship exposes participants to American techniques, methodologies, and technology and expands upon the participants' existing knowledge and skills. The internship cannot duplicate the student intern's prior experience.
  • The student intern must have sufficient health insurance coverage that meets the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Government for the entire duration of their internship program.

CU «Ƶ Host Supervisor's Responsibilities

  • Ensure that there are sufficient resources, plan, equipment and trained personnel available to provide for the specified internship program
  • Ensures the internship does not displace full or part-time temporary or permanent American workers or serve to fill a labor need
  • Ensure that the student intern is not placed in an unskilled or casual labor position, in a position that requires or involves child care or elder care, a position in the field of aviation or in clinical positions or any other kind of work that involves patient care or contact, including therapy
  • Ensures that the position the student intern fills exists solely to assist the student intern in achieving the objectives of his/her participation in a student internship program and does not involve more than 20% clerical work
  • Complete the required evaluation of the student intern's performance at the conclusion of the internship. Internships lasting longer than 6 months require a mid-point evaluation
  • Complete the Training/Internship Placement Plan (form DS-7002) which will be reviewed by ISSS and submitted to the SEVIS system.

Initial Steps for a DS-2019 Request for J-1 Student Interns

Create or Update Position/Person of Interest (POI) Record in HCM

Before completing the Add New Person e-form or initiating a DS-2019 Request in the MyISSS Departmental Services portal, departments must first add/update a position or in HCM (directly or with the assistance of the HR Service Center).

Determine if there is Already an HCM Record

Start by determining whether the prospective exchange visitor . Use the Transaction Launch page as the platform for searches; it supersedes row level security, department, and campus limitations to allow HCM searches of the entire university, and allows searches by partial data, which makes them much more powerful. 

  • Duplicate records can cause failures in online hiring steps, create tax compliance issues, and may lead to issues accessing university portals (e.g., MyISSS Student/Scholar portal, MyCUinfo).
Record Already Exists in HCM
  • Update the prospective exchange visitor's record as necessary (, , , ) to reflect the new exchange visitor program.
    • Departments that are HRSC-supported:
      • Submit a request to HRSC to update the appointment end date update.
      • Provide the scholar's first and last name, employee ID, POI confirmation, new appointment end date, sponsoring department, and sponsor's position number.
    • Departments that are not HRSC-supported:
      • Update the end date in HCM utilizing the ‘Maintain Person of Interest’ page.
      • Contact the HRSC with questions or for assistance.
No HCM Record

If the prospective exchange visitor does not already have a record in HCM, you will have to add a record.

To collect the information required for the HCM record, have prospective exchange visitors complete the Student Intern: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Intake Form and submit a copy of their passport.

  • Departments may choose to develop their own internal form for collecting information required for the HCM record.

Departments that are HRSC-Supported

Departments that are not HRSC-Supported

  • If you will yourself, review the resource and take all necessary steps prior to adding the record in HCM.

Previous CU Student or Scholar without Employee ID

If the prospective exchange visitor is already affiliated with the University of Colorado/CU system (e.g., has a previous student or scholar program) and did not previously have an Employee ID:

  • Email the prospective exchange vistor's name, University ID from the previous program, and Employee ID from the HCM record to the ISSS advisor assigned to your department as soon as it is generated so ISSS can add it to the prospective exchange visitor’s MyISSS profile. If applicable, also include the previous student ID and OPERID.

Add a New Person in MyISSS Departmental Services (Create a MyISSS Profile)

After a position/POI is added in HCM for the prospective exchange visitor, the department administrator can submit the Add New Person e-form (to create a MyISSS profile) for prospective exchange visitors who do not already have a CU affiliation and MyISSS profile. Departments may use the Student Intern: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Intake Form to collect information (optional, departments may choose to develop their own forms and processes).

  • Do not submit an Add New Person e-form for individuals already affiliated with the University of Colorado/CU system through a previous student or scholar program.
  • If you have questions about whether or not a record exists for a prospective scholar, contact the ISSS advisor assigned to your department or institute.

Once the prospective exchange visitor has a MyISSS profile, departments can proceed with submitting the DS-2019 Request documentation to ISSS.

  • An e-form version of the DS-2019 Request for J-1 Student Interns is currently being developed.

Initiating the DS-2019 Request (Student Intern) in the MyISSS Departmental Services Portal

Add New Person (Create a MyISSS Profile)

After a position/POI is added in HCM for the prospective exchange visitor, the department administrator can submit the Add New Person e-form (to create a MyISSS profile) for prospective exchange visitor student interns who do not already have a CU affiliation and MyISSS profile. Departments may use the Student Intern: Prospective J-1 Exchange Visitor Intake Form to collect information (optional, departments may choose to develop their own forms and processes).

  • Do not submit an Add New Person e-form for individuals already affiliated with the University of Colorado/CU system through a previous student or scholar program.
  • If you have questions about whether or not a record exists for a prospective exchange visitor, contact the ISSS advisor assigned to your department or institute.

Once the prospective exchange visitor has a MyISSS profile, the department can initiate the DS-2019 Request (Student Intern) in the Departmental Services Portal.

DS-2019 Request (Student Intern)

A completed DS-2019 Request (Student Intern) and Training/Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) must be submitted in the MyISSS Departmental Services portal at least 3 to 6 months in advance of the desired exchange visitor program start date.

  • It is possible that an exchange visitor program start date may have to be delayed due to timing issues related to internal review procedures, export control licensing (if applicable), and visa acquisition.

Office of Export Controls (OEC) Review

All DS-2019 requests, including student intern requests, must be reviewed the Office of Export Controls (OEC) for export control concerns before ISSS can begin processing the request.

  • This initial review can take 5 to 6 weeks and the outcome could require additional steps that can further delay the exchange visitor program start date.

If you are submitting a DS-2019 Request (Student Intern) on behalf of a CU «Ƶ Research Institute (e.g., LASP, CIRES) that has its own internal export control review process, you will have to upload documentation of the completed internal review in the Export Control Review e-form.

The Export Control Review e-form with the internal export control review documentation will be sent to the Office of Export Controls for a final review. 

If the exchange visitor will participate in sponsored research projects, you must include complete project information and a description of the exchange visitor’s proposed project activities in the Program Information & Details e-form.

The export control review will result in one of the following outcomes:

  1. OEC determines that no export license is required for the proposed exchange visitor program.
    • OEC approves the Export Control Form, and the request is forwarded to ISSS for processing.
       
  2. OEC requires additional information from the sponsor to complete the review. Assuming OEC’s request is answered promptly, this will typically add 1 to 2 week to the review process before a final determination is made.
    • If it is determined that no license is required, OEC will approve the Export Control Form and the request will be forwarded to ISSS for processing.
    • If a license is required, the request will be processed as described below.
       
  3. OEC determines that the exchange visitor requires an export license from the U.S. government.
    • The departments decided to modify the exchange visitor’s activities so a federal license is no longer required (since it can take 3 to 6 months to obtain an export license).  
      • OEC will indicate, “The exchange visitor's proposed activities will be modified.” on the Export Control Review Form and submit the e-form to ISSS.  The DS-2019 Request will be set to Draft Status for the department to update. All the DS-2019 Request e-forms will have to be resubmitted again including the Departmental Responsibilities & Attestation e-forms. OEC will review the request again and once OEC provides approval on the Export Control Form, the DS-2019 Request will be forwarded to ISSS for processing.
    • The department requests OEC apply for the export license.
      • OEC will indicate that they will apply for the export license on the Export Control Review Form and submit the e-form to ISSS. ISSS will not process the DS-2019 Request until the license is obtained. OEC will let ISSS know when the license is obtained. The Export Control Form will be set to Draft Status so OEC can mark, “An export license has been obtained and this Export Control Review Form is approved.”

Initiating the Training/Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) in the MyISSS Departmental Services Portal

In addition to submitting a complete DS-2019 Request (Student Intern) to ISSS, the department must also submit the Training/Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) e-forms for ISSS to issue a DS-2019 for a J-1 exchange visitor student intern program.

  • Collect the Student Intern Training Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) Details (optional, departments may choose to develop their own forms and processes)
  • Initiate the Training/Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) in the MyISSS Departmental Services portal.
    • Complete the Exchange Visitor & Host Organization Information (Department Administrator) e-form.
    • Complete the Phase Information (Phase Supervisor) e-form.
      • You will enter the Phase Supervisor’s name and email address and the e-form will be sent to them for completion.
      • You must initiate a separate Training/Internship Placement Plan (Supervisor) e-form for each phase of the student's internship, if applicable.
        • Initiate additional e-forms on the Training/Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP)- Student Intern request landing page.
  • Do not initiate the Certification (Student Intern) e-form until all prior e-forms are in submitted status (including additional Phase Information e-forms if applicable).
    • Open the Certification (Student Intern) e-form, enter the name and email address of the prospective exchange visitor student intern and submit the e-form.
    • The student intern must review the complete Training/Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) and agree to it.

ISSS will issue a hard copy DS-7002 with the information from this Training/Internship Placement Plan (T/IPP) and the primary phase supervisor and student intern are required to physically sign the hard copy DS-7002 in ink. The hosting department is responsible for mailing the signed DS-7002 to the prospective exchange visitor student intern.

Immigration regulations require the university to validate the arrival of J-1 exchange visitors in the United States within 30 days of the program start date indicated on their DS-2019. To meet this requirement, scholars must complete Immigration Check-In e-forms and Online J-1 Exchange Visitor Orientation available in the MyISSS portal. Exchange Visitors will receive information about how to complete their J-1 Exchange Visitor Orientation AFTER they complete their Immigration Check-In Form. 

  • If a scholar you are hosting will arrive later than the DS-2019 start date, please contact ISSS as the scholar's SEVIS record may need to be updated.

Failure to complete the immigration check-in process with ISSS within 30 days of the DS-2019 start date will result in the automatic cancellation of a J-1 exchange visitor's SEVIS record and J-1 status in the United States.

Prior to their exchange visitor program completion (DS-2019 end date), J-1 exchange visitor student interns must submit the following e-forms in their MyISSS portal:

  • End of Program e-form
    • The host supervisor will be emailed a copy of the e-form to sign.
    • SEVIS record transfers need to be initiated 1 month before the requested transfer-out date.
      • Exchange visitor student interns who have not exceed 12 months of internship should complete the Transfer Out (Scholar) e-form (available in the exchange visitor's MyISSS portal) to initiate the SEVIS record transfer.
  • Student Intern Internship Evaluation
    • Select "End of program" as the Evaluation Period
If you have questions about hiring or supporting international scholars, contact the ISSS advisor assigned to your department or institute.

Search for Advisor By Department, Research Institute, or CU Campus

DS-2019 Processing Fee

Departments are charged a nonrefundable $100 fee for ISSS to process the DS-2019/DS-7002 request paperwork, for both new  exchange visitor requests and extensions. The CU «Ƶ hosting department must pay this fee and cannot be transferred to the exchange visitor.

This fee cannot be charged to a fund 30, 31, 35, 50, 71, 72, 73, 74, 78, 80, or 99 speedtype. Departments can pay this fee by including the department speedtype on the paperwork.

 

Student Intern DS-2019 Request Resources

DS-2019 Request Timeline

DS-2019 Request Checklist- Student Intern

Exchange Visitor Program Templates (print on department letterhead)

Exchange Visitor Program Forms (required in certain situations)

Canceling a DS-2019 Request 

HCM Resources