Office of International
Students & Scholars
International Center
421 Temple Street
New Haven, CT 06511
USA

Phone: 203.432.2305
Fax: 203.432.7166
email: oiss@yale.edu

Short Term Visitors

Very often Yale University will invite a scholar to campus to give a lecture or participate in a seminar or colloquium. The rules about paying honorarium and/or reimbursing individuals who come to campus for this short stays are covered in Policy 3415. You must be familiar with the rules before committing to paying the visitor an honorarium. For example Yale CANNOT pay an honorarium to an individual who holds H-1B or O-1 status under the sponsor of an entity other than Yale University. In addition, it is not permissable to pay an honorarium to an individual who holds diplomatic status (A), journalist (I), religious worker (R), Trade Nafta (TN) status for an employer other than Yale or who works for a international organization (G).

Payment of Honoraria and/or Reimbursement of Expenses To Short Term Foreign Visitors in B-1, B-2, WB or WT Status

1. Can an international visitor to Yale receive reimbursements and honorarium payments?
Any visitor to Yale in a "B" visa classification who is engaged in academic activities may be reimbursed or receive payment for service. The academic activity in which the visitor is engaged can last no longer than nine (9) days. In addition, the visitor cannot accept payment of expenses and/or honorarium from more than five U.S. institutions or organizations in the previous six months. If either of these conditions is exceeded the individual may NOT receive any honorarium or honorarium plus reimbursement for expenses.

2. What does the B visa classification include?
Status includes the following classifications: B-1 visitor for business, B-2 visitor for pleasure, WB (visa waiver for business) and WT (visa waiver for pleasure.) One of these notations will be written on the visitor’s I-94 arrival/departure record, the small card that is normally stapled to the passport.

3. How does a visitor acquire B status?
If the visitor does not already have a B visa stamp in his or her passport, he or she must apply for one at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate, unless eligible for the visa waiver program. (For information about applying for visas at a particular embassy or consulate, check the Department of States Links to United States Embassies and Consulates Worldwide at (travel.state.gov/links.html.) In addition to the visa application form, the visitor should present to the consulate a letter of invitation outlining the terms of the proposed visit to Yale (sample letters attached WHERE?.)

4. What is the Visa Waiver Program?
WB, Visitor for Business, and WT, Visitor for Pleasure, are designations under the visa waiver program that is currently available only to citizens of Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. Persons in WB or WT status will have a green (rather than white) I-94 card. Eligible individuals need not apply for a visa at an American consulate or embassy, but simply present Yale’s letter of invitation to the U.S. immigration inspector at the point of entry.

5. What options exist to bring a short-term visitor to Yale for more than 9 days?
The first option applies to those visitors who are only being reimbursed for substantiated reasonable expenses and are NOT RECEIVING AN HONORARIA OR PAYMENT FOR INDEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES. This visitor may enter the U.S. in B-1 or WB status and can be reimbursed for substantiated reasonable expenses, paid in accordance with University policy, up to the expiration of their B-1 status as stated on the I-94 card.

THIS APPLIES ONLY TO HOLDERS OF B-1 OR WB STATUS. IT DOES NOT APPLY TO HOLDERS OF B-2 OR WT STATUS.

6. What option is there for bringing a short-term visitor who will be here more than nine days and who will receive an honorarium or other payment for services?
This visitor has only one option – the J-1 Short Term Scholar Status. To obtain this status, the hosting department must notify the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) by submitting the OISS Notification Form well in advance of the visit. OISS will prepare an DS-2019 to be sent to the visitor who must take the form to a U.S Consulate or Embassy to apply for a J-1 visa. This status can be valid for up to six months.

7. What about Canadian visitors?
Canadian citizens are exempt from the U.S. passport and visa requirements and may be in the U.S. without these documents and without an I-94 card. In this case, the INS considers them to have been admitted as visitors for pleasure or visitors for business. Since the Canadian visitor will not have an I-94, which states whether or not they are B-1 or B-2, the visitor must make his or her own declaration after arriving at Yale. Canadian citizen visitors to Yale should be advised to request an I-94 card from the U.S. INS inspectors in order to facilitate the reimbursement of expenses and/or the payment of honoraria. However, if a Canadian citizen does not have an I-94, but has evidence of Canadian nationality and the purpose of his or her visit to Yale, reimbursement or payment of honorarium can be made under the same provisions outlined above.

8. Do the same regulations apply to citizens of Mexico?
Not quite. A visa and a passport are not required of a Mexican national who is in possession of a border crossing card on Form I-186 or I-586 and is applying for admission as a temporary visitor for business or pleasure from a contiguous territory. Mexican citizens should be advised to request an I-94 card from the U.S. INS inspectors in order to facilitate the reimbursement of expenses and/or the payment of honoraria. However, if a Mexican citizen does not have an I-94, but has a border-crossing card, it is up to the individual to declare his or her purpose in being in the U.S. With the border crossing card and evidence of the purpose of his or her visit to Yale, reimbursement or payment of honorarium can be made under the same provisions outlined above.

Instructions on how to process the requests for payment can be found on the Yale Tax Office Web site.