HOSTING F-1 OR J-1 VISITING STUDENTS

• Prospective J-1 students ONLY are required to complete the Health Insurance Requirement Form as part of their application.
  
  
• Up to 30 days prior to their program start date, J-1 students must visit the UC San Diego International Student Benefit Plan Portal to either:
  • Purchase a Gallagher (formerly Garnett-Powers & Associates) health insurance plan
    
    OR
    
    
  • Purchase coverage through an alternate plan that meets the requirements indicated on the Health Insurance Requirement Form and apply for a waiver

• Note the following important points:
  • Purchasing insurance coverage or applying for a waiver via the portal prior to 31 days from your program start date is permitted; however, be aware that it may lead to minor processing delays.
  • The insurance carrier does not offer refunds. Thus, if you pay for insurance more than 31 days prior to arrival and – due to unforeseen circumstances you are unable to participate in your program (e.g., visa delays) – a refund cannot be issued.

The International Students & Programs Office at UC San Diego charges fees to departments for its services in issuing documentation for non-degree international students to pursue studies at UC San Diego (the Form DS-2019 or I-20).  The recharge fee can be paid online by completing ISPO’s Recharge Form - Aventri (below).

NOTE: These fees do not cover the cost of any visa application or visa appointment fees (DS-160 Fee and SEVIS Fee). These are expected to be paid for by the J-1 or F-1 visa applicant.

F-1/J-1 Visa Services Online Payment

The online payment process allows departments to pay the service fee and/or RUSH fee by index numbers on behalf of F-1/J-1 students. At this time, payment can only be accepted via department recharge.

Regular processing time for J-1/F-1 student applications by the International Students and Programs Office is 10 days, provided all required information/documentation has been submitted by the sponsoring department; "RUSH" fee service reduces processing time to 5 days (often fewer).
Contact ISPO if you have any questions.

To enter payment for recharges (previously department index), please be prepared to provide specific POET(AF) information, this information should be provided to you by your fiscal administrator.

STEP 1: Go to ISPO's Recharge Form.

• Note: ISPO's Recharge Form (Aventri) will time out after 30 minutes of inactivity. 

STEP 2: Department Admin will be asked to enter the following information:

• Your First Name, Last Name and UCSD email address.
• Student’s First Name and Last Name - enter their name as it appears on their passport.
• Student’s UC San Diego Home Department.
• Student’s Email Address.

STEP 3: Select the ISPO visa processing fee that is associated with the request being submitted to ISPO.

For departments paying the post-completion F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, or J-1 Academic Training fee (reminder: departments must pay processing fees for Postdoc appointments). To complete payment on the postdoc’s behalf:

1. Be sure to enter an “@ucsd.edu” email address in the Student Email field. Non-UCSD emails will not be appropriately routed to the postdoc.
2. Receive an automated email receipt along with the postdoc.
3. Postdoc will attach their receipt copy to their online OPT/STEM OPT/Academic Training request in ISPO's iPortal to complete their application.
4. Note: The postdoc will also need to attach their offer letter in their iPortal application, so please ensure this has been provided.

STEP 4: Select payment method:

• Department Recharge.
  • Select if your department will be paying using POET(AF) information (previously referred to as "index").

STEP 5: Payment page actions:

• Application Information will contain reference number associated with specific payment transactions, department and student’s contact information.
• The Transaction Type section will allow the department to enter the required POET(AF) information (For questions regarding your department's POET (AF) information, please contact your fund manager).
  • Project (always 7 characters).
  • Task (6-character max; generally, a single whole number).
  • Additional data, only required if sponsored research/grants.
    • Award (6 characters, only if sponsored research).
    • Funding Source (7 characters, only if sponsored research).
• Click Submit.

STEP 6: Confirmation page:

• An email with the transaction contents will be sent to you (departmental administrator) making the transaction and cc the student associated with the transaction.
• You will have the option to "Print Record;" allowing you to print the confirmation webpage.
• The "Receipt/Invoice" option will allow you to view a receipt for the payment as well as email a link to the receipt/invoice to yourself, the student, fund manager, or another individual.
• We highly encourage the usage of the Receipt/Invoice option as the view and print options are clearer.
• The email invoice function, will email a link to the invoice PDF. If no information is noted in the Message section, the body of the email generated will only contain a link to the receipt/invoice.