Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Center for International Education-CIE?
- What is “SEVIS”?
- What is a “new scholar orientation”? Do I need to attend it?
- What is a “new employee orientation”? Do I need to attend?
- Do I need to have health insurance? Can I purchase it in my home country?
- Do I need to fill out / mail back the “health insurance certification” form?
- How do I go about apartment search in Knoxville?
- Where can I find more information regarding Knoxville?
- How do I get my university I.D. card?
- What do I do if the consulate decides to do a security clearance before issuing a U.S. visa?
Answers
1. What is the Center for International Education-CIE?
CIE facilitates the visits of students and scholars to and from The University. The Scholar Services section of CIE processes paperwork related to J-1 and H-1B visas and immigration statuses. In addition, the staff of CIE is available to answer your questions and assist you and your family in any way we can before and after your arrival at The University of Tennessee. Much of our time is spent in working with U.S. immigration laws, but we are happy to answer questions related to many non-immigrant topics.
2. What is “SEVIS”?
“SEVIS” stands for the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. It is a database managed by the U.S. Government to track the arrival and location of all international students and scholars with F-1 and J-1 statuses in the U.S. as well as their F-2 and J-2 dependents. Beginning in February 2003, all DS-2019 forms issued by The University of Tennessee were issued by the SEVIS system. If you have a DS-2019 issued after that date, your name has been entered into the SEVIS database. If a Consular Officer tells you he/she cannot find your name or that one of your dependents is not in SEVIS, this means there has been a technical problem with the transfer of data to the Consulate. If this happens, please notify the Center for International Education at once (Wendy Syer at syer@utk.edu or Lee Rhea at rhea@utk.edu.
3. What is a “new scholar orientation”? Do I need to attend it?
If you are visiting United States for the first time, we ask that you attend the “New Scholar Orientation”, unless your stay at UT is for less than one month. This is a 3 hour, interactive program during which we offer information on your immigration responsibilities, tax laws in the U.S., health insurance and other relevant topics. You can schedule or reschedule your orientation by contacting our Scholar Services Office at CIE. Our phone number is (865) 974-3177. (If you are in Knoxville, you do not need to dial the area code 865).
4. What is a “new employee orientation”? Do I need to attend?
This orientation is for “Regular Employees” of The University of Tennessee only. Your host professor will be able to tell you if you are a “term” or “regular” employee, and the departmental secretary will schedule your orientation if needed. [Note: generally, a “regular” employee is one who will be employed for one year or more].
5. Do I need to have health insurance? Can I purchase it in my home country?
U.S. Laws require every J-1 scholar and their J-2 dependents to have health insurance coverage during their entire visit to the U.S. If you can find affordable, acceptable coverage in your home country, you can choose to buy it, however, your home health insurance policy must meet the minimum requirements as defined by the J-1 regulations. To make sure your insurance coverage is acceptable, please email Mr. Lee Rhea (International Scholar Advisor) at rhea@utk.edu.
If you chose to buy insurance through our office, you can do so upon arrival in Knoxville. Acceptable forms of payments are Credit Cards, (U.S. bank) Personal Checks or Money Orders (available at the Post office on Campus). Cash or travelers’ checks are NOT acceptable.
Please Note: If you are buying insurance in your home country, you need to provide us with the English translation of the policy and its coverage. If you do not have adequate insurance when you arrive in the U.S., you will be required to buy the UT student/scholar insurance from your date of arrival in the U.S.
6. Do I need to fill out / mail back the “health insurance certification” form?
NO, you can fill out this form once you arrive in Knoxville. This form is NOT needed for any part of your visa application, and is just a reminder that you have to have health insurance if you are a J-1 visiting scholar. You can fill out this form during the “New Scholar Orientation”
7. How do I go about apartment search in Knoxville?
You have a number of resources when looking for housing in Knoxville. One of the resources is through the UT housing web site. Click on uthousing.utk.edu/offcampus.shtml and make your selection. You can also search the Internet via “apartments.com” web-site, by clicking on www.apartments.com/ or via www.KnoxvilleApartment.com. Once in Knoxville, you can pick up an “Apartment Guide” at one of the Visitors’ Centers, and search upon your arrival. Please consider the above listed web-sites as suggested resources only; we do not endorse or recommend any of them.
8. Where can I find more information regarding Knoxville?
If you are still in your home country, the Internet is the easiest way to become familiar with Knoxville and vicinity. You can visit one of the following web-sites to see what Knoxville has to offer:
9. How do I get my university I.D. card?
The University I.D. card or the “Volcard” is issued by the Volcard office at UT, located at 472 South Stadium Hall; Knoxville, TN 37996. Once you are in Knoxville, your departmental secretary will provide information about you to the Volcard office, and you will be issued a card soon after. (We provide more information about the use of Volcard at the Scholar Orientation). Generally, it is best to wait until you have a Social Security Number (SSN) before getting your university I.D. If there is a delay of two weeks or more in getting your SSN, a temporary I.D. can be issued until you get your Social Security Number.
10. What do I do if the consulate decides to do a security clearance before issuing a U.S. visa?
If the Consular Officer in your home country says that the security clearance is needed, we suggest you inform the Center for International Education that there will be a delay in visa issuance. We hope that your security clearance will be completed within 30 days. If it takes longer, then notify us and we can give you further advice.