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I am an associate professor and I am going to the US for two weeks. I am going to visit a colleague who is arranging with her university a small grant for me to cover the basic expenses. According to the agreements between the US and my country, I do not need to apply for a Visa to enter the US for tourism or business reasons. However I wonder whether I will need a J-1 Visa (or any other type of visa) in order to receive the grant (I hope not, since there are only 10 days left, and my colleague has not provided me with the formal letter yet...). Thanks!

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    Are you just being reimbursed for travel expenses, or is the US institution paying you a salary?
    – Brian Borchers
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 3:39
  • Hi, thanks for the quick reply! I don't know the details since I don't have the letter yet, but the idea is to cover the expenses, although I don't know whether it will be a lump sum, or if the actual grant will imply the reimbursement of each single expense that I will make. Could you please instruct me on the different implications? Thanks a lot!
    – Researcher visiting the US
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 3:48
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    If it's just that you're being reimubrsed for travel expenses, then I don't believe that you'll need a special visa. See for example the web page at: blink.ucsd.edu/go/visa
    – Brian Borchers
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 3:51
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    Being paid to do work is different from being reimbursed for travel expenses. The answers to your question are telling you that this is probably OK if you are just being reimbursed for expenses and not being paid, but that if you are being paid to do some particular work, that could be a problem.
    – Brian Borchers
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 4:17
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    And in any case, at this stage it is probably better that I ask my colleague to verify directly with the University Research Office...
    – Researcher visiting the US
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 4:23

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If the grant is only to reimburse you for your travel expenses (airfare, lodging, meals, etc), then you should be fine with the visa waiver. You are not considered to be employed by the host institution and do not need a work visa. (Source: Personal experience - I've been responsible for arranging travel reimbursements for many visa-waiver visitors.)

You will probably need to document your expenses, so save receipts for airfare, lodging, meals, ground transportation, and so on.

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  • Thank you for the prompt answer! So you advice that I make sure with my colleague that the grant is not in the form of a lump-sum salary (she was talking about US$ 2,000) but that in order to have the reimnbursement I present all receipts?
    – Researcher visiting the US
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 4:01
  • @ResearchervisitingtheUS: Yes, that would be a good idea. Also note that unlike salary, travel reimbursements are usually not subject to income tax (at least in the US; your jurisdiction could be different).
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 4:07
  • Yes, that's another very good reason for preferring reimbursement! You and Brian Borchers - who also kindly immediately replied - have greatly helped me to clarify the issue! Thanks a lot to both!!!
    – Researcher visiting the US
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 4:10
  • @Researcher if you are satisfied with an answer, you can accept it to signal to future readers that this answer worked for you.
    – ff524
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 5:00
  • Yes, I would do it with great pleasure. Both Brian Borchers and Nate Eldredge have been very helpful. How do I signal their answers to future readers? Sorry, I am totally new to this website...
    – Researcher visiting the US
    Commented Oct 20, 2014 at 6:22

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