Incidental Employment

Occasional Lectures or Consultations

Exchange visitors in the Research Scholar, Professor, and Short-Term scholar categories may be authorized to participate in occasional lectures and short-term consultations that are incidental to the exchange visitor’s primary program activities. The authorization must be obtained from ISSS in writing prior to engaging in the activity.

The occasional lectures or short-term consultations must:

  • Be directly related to the objectives of the exchange visitor program;
  • Be incidental to the exchange visitor’s primary program activities;
  • Not delay completion of the exchange visitor’s program; and
  • Be documented in SEVIS prior to the start of the lecture/consultation opportunity

Additionally, if an exchange visitor will receive any form of remuneration (payment/reimbursement) for the short-term lecture/consultation, they must act as an independent contractor (which means they will not complete an I-9 with the entity).

The regulations do not allow for an employer/employee relationship with the sponsoring entity for the incidental activity.

Obtaining Authorization for Incidental Employment

  • Obtain an offer letter from the prospective sponsoring entity:
    • On official letterhead
    • With the sponsoring entity’s signature where the opportunity will occur
    • The letter must include:
      • Your name
      • Sponsoring entity's name and address where the opportunity will occur
      • Exact start and end date of the short-term lecture/ consultation (e.g., from ___ to ___)
      • Field or subject of the short-term lecture/ consultation (e.g., Physics)
      • Detailed description of the short-term lecture/ consultation
      • Total number of hours you will engage in the short-term lecture/ consultation
      • Total payment you will receive for the short-term lecture/ consultation
      • Must indicate the opportunity will be as a short-term independent contractor (not an employee)
  • Complete the Request for Authorization to Engage in Occasional Lectures or Consultation Form (Access via the MyISSS Portal)
    • The exchange visitor will be required to upload a copy of their offer letter. The offer letter must meet the requirements listed above.
    • Your faculty sponsor will need to explain how the activity will enhance your exchange visitor program and confirm the short-term lecture/consultation is incidental, directly related to your exchange visitor program objectives; will not delay your exchange visitor program completion and is recommended by the department to enhance the exchange visitor program experience.
  • ISSS will review the form and supporting material and, if appropriate, will authorize the short-term lecture/consultation.
    • When reviewing the request to engage in an occasional lecture or consultation activity ISSS will confirm the following:
      • The request was received prior to the activity date(s)
      • The activity is not for a sustained period of time
      • The activity is truly incidental to the current exchange visitor program
        • Incidental means that the activity is accompanying but not a major part of something.
      • The activity will not negatively impact the exchange visitor program goals, objectives, or the program end date
      • The activity will enhance the J-1 program experience
    • If authorized, ISSS will update the exchange visitor’s site of activity and funding in SEVIS and issue an official letter authorizing the activity. Exchange visitors should provide this letter to the entity providing payment or reimbursement. Exchange visitors should also keep this letter in their personal immigration records as documentation of the authorized activity.

Minor Infraction

If an exchange visitor participates in activities outside of ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder without prior authorization for incidental employment from ISSS and later requests reimbursement or payment from an external entity for the activities, ISSS may address this as a "minor infraction" in the SEVIS database. The Department of State (DOS) does not consider minor infractions as a violation of the Exchange Visitor's status. These minor or technical infractions can be corrected in SEVIS by ISSS. Once corrected, it is as if the infraction never occurred. The exchange visitor must still complete the Request for Authorization to Engage in Occasional Lectures or Consultation Form and upload the required offer letter via the MyISSS Portal for ISSS to correct the minor infraction and issue an official letter authorizing the reimbursement or payment for the activity.