Fulbright Foreign Student
Newsletter

Message From Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs

Thomas A. Farrell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs

Dear Fulbrighters,

On behalf of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, I would like to welcome you to the United States.

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has challenged students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals to learn about other peoples and cultures, while growing personally and professionally. As one of the approximately 1,800 visiting Fulbright students beginning grants this fall, you join the 273,500 program alumni from over 150 countries for whom the Fulbright experience has been the foundation of a lifetime of leadership.

International Education Week (IEW) will be held from November 13-17 this year to build worldwide awareness and support for educational and cultural exchanges. During this week, I encourage you to organize and participate in activities highlighting the Fulbright Program in classrooms, on campuses, and in the community. For ideas and information on how you can get involved in International Education Week, visit the IEW website at http://iew.state.gov/.

We wish you success with your endeavors while on your Fulbright and encourage you to share your experiences with those you meet while in the U.S. and with your countrymen upon your return home.

With warm regards,

Thomas A. Farrell

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs

The Holiday Travel Season is Fast Approaching

The upcoming holidays and winter intersession break will present opportunities for many Fulbright students to travel both within and outside the United States. If you anticipate traveling outside the United States, it’s best to review your travel documents early and carefully, and make any necessary adjustments as soon as possible.

First, check to see if your current DS-2019 has been signed for re-entry to the United States. Look in the lower righthand corner of the DS-2019 form in the section titled, Travel Validation By Responsible Officer. When you present your DS-2019 to IIE for a travel validation signature, your file at IIE will be examined to make sure you have submitted all required reporting forms and, most importantly, that we can confirm that you are engaged full-time in academic activities or academic training. You, in turn, should ask yourself the following questions as they reflect, in our experience, some of the details that are often overlooked:

• Is your passport valid for at least six months beyond the expiration date of your DS-2019? If your passport needs to be renewed, it can be renewed at your country’s embassy or consulate in the United States prior to your departure from the United States.
• Is your U.S. visa entry stamp valid for the date you plan to re-enter the United States? U.S. visas can only be renewed at U.S. embassies or consulates abroad. IIE cannot renew your visa.
• Are you required to have a visa to enter the country you intend to visit? Check with the embassy or consulate of the country (or countries) you plan to visit to determine if you are required to have a visa to enter. Additionally, carefully review your travel itinerary to determine if you will need any transit visas for stopovers in any countries en route to your final destination.
• Do you need to apply for a new visa to re-enter the United States? Check if your current U.S. visa allowed for only one entry, which would have been used the last time you entered the United States. See 'Renewing Visas' below.

For re-entry to the United States, you are required to present:

1. a passport valid for at least six months beyond the expiration date on your DS-2019;
2. a current and validated DS-2019 that reflects your name exactly as it appears on your passport;
3. a separate DS-2019 for each of your family members traveling with you;
4. a multiple entry J-1 visa stamp in your passport that is valid through the date you are re-entering the United States.

Additionally, it is strongly recommended that you carry evidence of participation in an academic or research program (such as an official transcript of your academic record or other official proof of enrollment), evidence of your financial resources (such as a copy of your Fulbright Terms of Appointment), university award letter and/or bank statements, and the full contact information (including name) of your IIE Student Services representative.

Renewing Visas

IIE advises you to consider all options rather than try to renew your United States visas in a country other than your own. For visits to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean of 30 days or less, most students will be allowed to re-enter the United States with an expired visa under a provision called Automatic Revalidation. Many students who discover at the last minute that their United States entry visa has expired think that a quick trip to Canada or Mexico will allow them to renew their visas automatically. If you attempt to renew your United States visa during a trip of 30 days or less to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean and the application is denied, the denial will be reflected in your passport, and you will not be allowed to re-enter the United States before returning to your home country to renew your United States entry visa. Citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba are not eligible to use the Automatic Revalidation provision.

If when you first entered the United States, you were required to go through the National Security Entry-Exit System (NSEERS), you will need to follow NSEERS exit procedures -- even if you are leaving the United States at a land border crossing by car, bus or train. For more information on NSEERS, click here.

For travel within the fifty states, we recommend that you carry your valid passport, DS-2019 and I-94 card. These documents indicate to any examiner that you were properly and legally admitted into the United States. For domestic travel by air, click here for more helpful hints. For additional information, please refer to your copy of the Fulbright Foreign Fellows Handbook or click here for 'Resources for Current Grantees.'

A Unique Journey

Writing has always been my passion, and six years ago, I finally realized that my true calling was to write specifically for the small and the big screen. I earned a BS in Communications in my country’s public university and afterwards decided to apply for a Fulbright grant to study in the U.S. I was fortunate to be chosen as a Fulbrighter, and thanks to such opportunity I was able to grow both on a professional and a personal level.

Karina Abayian, 2004-2006, Uruguay

I attended Chapman University and earned an MFA in Screenwriting. Thanks to the excellent faculty members Chapman has to offer --including Academy Award winners and nominees -- I’ve been effectively trained in writing adaptations and original short and feature films as well as TV drama and comedy series, and MOWs (“Movie Of The Week”). Overall I’ve written over fifteen shorts, seven features, two TV series, and several treatments. My thesis script was nominated for the annual Cecil Film Awards at Chapman, standing as the only female writer in that category. In addition, I was the first student in my class to be signed up with a Literary Agency in Beverly Hills and assigned an agent to represent me as a writer in Hollywood, where my scripts are already being shopped around. Moreover, I was accepted as an intern at Sony Pictures’ Department of International Television, where I worked for six months. Thanks to a contact from Sony, I was later offered a job at NBC to be part of the production staff of Telemundo -- the Latin American Network that General Electric recently acquired.

These last two years have also helped me grow as an individual by interacting with scholars from many different cultures. I’ve kept in close contact with Chapman’s International Student’s Office and was invited to several activities aimed at the international community. I gave short lectures in PR and Education classes in order to share thoughts about my country, participated in International Food Fairs, and welcomed new international film students to the Chapman Community. Thanks to one of these activities, I even had the honor of meeting the General Consul of my country.

I am now ready to return home and invest all my knowledge, passion and energy in my own land. By teaching and writing, I will try to give Uruguay another helping hand to keep pushing its TV and film industry forward. Had it not been for the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Commission, along with Chapman University, the Organization Of American States -- my two other funding institutions -- I would’ve never been able to study in the U.S. I will always be grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given, and I am determined to share my experiences with my countrymen so that Uruguay can benefit as much as I have.

A Note about Country-Specific Fulbright Policies

Although it doesn’t happen very often, some Foreign Fulbrighters will find that their grants and/or other Fulbright benefits expire by the middle of the academic year.  If our records indicate that you are eligible to apply for a renewal of your grant, extension of your program -- or if our records indicate that your academic program is coming to an end -- you will receive a message from your IIE Student Services Representative. If you receive such a message from IIE, this will be the time for you to inform IIE of your plans as soon as possible. Please remember that almost all Foreign Fulbright Policy is country specific. Therefore, your eligibility for specific grant benefits will vary depending on what country you are from.  If you are completing your program and departing the United States, we will ask you for a summary of your experience, as well as your future contact information.

Here are some things to think about before submitting your paperwork to IIE:

• If you are eligible to apply for an extension, please alert your academic advisor that you will need a short summary of your academic progress to date and an estimated completion date for your academic program.  This is especially important if you are not doing formal coursework and are working independently on an academic project. 
• If you are taking coursework, please make arrangements to obtain an official comprehensive transcript or have one sent to your IIE Representative by your university.

In addition to making academic progress, proof of available funding and your ability to support yourself financially while in the United States are vitally important factors when considering your application for a grant extension. Although it may be that you are still receiving some funding from Fulbright through IIE, you will more than likely be providing some personal funds to cover your personal and program expenses in the United States. Some documents you will be asked to present  to apply for an extension of your Fulbright grant include:

• Your official bank statement (in English and in U.S. dollars) along with award letters (from your university, scholarship organizations, foundations, etc.).
• If you are receiving funding from your family, then a member of your family will need to write a letter confirming the amount that they are contributing, along with a copy of his or her official bank statement.
• If you have family members with you in the United States on J-2 visas and you plan to have them extend their stays in the United States, you will need to demonstrate that you have available funding to support them as well.  These documents, combined with the official application (all of which will be available on the website for Foreign Fulbright grantees), will constitute a complete and comprehensive application for IIE to present to your overseas program sponsors.

Depending on your country's specific policy, you may be eligible to engage in a period of Academic Training. Academic Training is not to be confused with Employment Authorization.  Although the experience may be paid or unpaid, Academic Training can be approved at the completion of an academic program only if the training is complimentary to your academic program, is recommended by your academic advisor, and is temporary in nature.  In some instances, your sponsor may limit or may not permit you to engage in Academic Training.  Please inquire with your IIE Student Services Representative before seeking opportunities. If approved, the Academic Training must fall within the time limits established by the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board for students in the United States.