NTNU Visiting Faculty

NTNU faculty planning to visit UCLA must be in touch with the UCLA Asia Pacific Center (APC) at least 3 months (1 quarter) in advance of the planned arrival date in Los Angeles, to ensure ample time for travel arrangements and appointment processing.

In most cases, scholars should not spend more than 9 days at UCLA. This is because processing reimbursements for scholars who stay longer than this period is difficult under U.S. government regulations. In certain limited cases, in consultation with the APC and UCLA faculty, scholars may visit for longer periods, but they will most likely need to obtain a J-1 (exchange visitor) visa, requiring additional processing time and a visa interview in Taiwan. Scholars are welcome to stay in the Los Angeles area or elsewhere in the U.S. for longer than 9 days as long as their activity on the UCLA campus does not exceed 9 days.

Scholars who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents (Green Card holders) are not subject to the above restrictions.

Visa Waiver and Electronic Travel Authorization
Taiwan is part of the U.S. visa waiver program. Scholars who are Taiwan nationals should in most cases expect to enter on a visa waiver. Please register for ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) using this link. Please do not attempt to register for ESTA through any other website, as your registration will only be valid if you use the official site. We suggest that you do this at least one month before your travel date. If you are denied ESTA, you may still be able to travel to the U.S. by applying for a visa.

J-1 Visa Application
You should only apply for a J-1 visa if you are staying at UCLA longer than 9 days and have discussed the specifics of your visit with the APC.

If the APC determines that you need a J-1 visa, you will need to first obtain a DS-2019 Certificate of Eligibility Form. You will use the DS-2019 to apply for the J-1 visa at your nearest U.S. Embassy (in the case of Taiwan, the American Institute in Taiwan). The DS-2019 takes two weeks for UCLA to process (from the time of submission of the complete package of documents).

You will need to send the following documents for the DS-2019:

1. Your CV
2. Scan of the photo page of your passport
3. Proof of English language proficiency
   Note: This can be either an English language test result in the last two years - IELTS overall band score of 7 or above, or TOEFL score of 560 paper-based/87 internet-based - or a letter from your home department verifying your English proficiency. If you submit a letter from your home department, please make sure that it (a) verifies that you possess English language proficiency high enough to function daily at UCLA and within the local U.S. community; (b) is issued on letterhead in English within the past 6 months; and (c) includes the signature of a school official.

The category of DS-2019 that you received will be Short-Term Scholar. Unlike most categories of this status, Short-Term Scholar allows you to pursue another J-1 exchange program in the U.S. without restriction (there is no two-year bar). Once the DS-2019 has been prepared, a J-1 officer at the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars will electronically sign it and email you a link to your DS-2019 form. You will need to print your DS-2019 and sign the form in blue ink. The printed DS-2019 is required when applying for a J-1 visa at a U.S. embassy and when entering the U.S. You will pay the SEVIS fee of US $220 (save the receipt for reimbursement) and make a visa appointment at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The instructions included with the DS-2019 explain how to do this. Please note that the AIT has two offices, in Taipei and Kaohsiung. You may make a visa appointment at whichever office is most convenient. AIT Taipei is located at No. 100, Jinhu Road, Neihu District, Taipei 11461.

Health Insurance: If you are traveling on a J-1 visa, the U.S. government requires that you obtain health insurance. Garnett-Powers is the company that offers health insurance coverage for international visiting scholars. The APC will pay for your health insurance and will provide additional information about how to enroll at a later time.

Housing
In most cases for short-term visits (less than 9 days), the APC will make a hotel reservation for the scholar. For longer visits (greater than 9 days), you may need to find housing. The UCLA housing office maintains this website that provides information about UCLA housing and the Community Housing Office listings.

Outside of UCLA, here are some possible options. Finding affordable short-term housing in the area can be a challenge. For detailed information about neighborhoods near campus, please see the UCLA Housing Neighborhood Profiles page. Westwood, the neighborhood where UCLA is located, is usually very expensive. Popular neighborhoods in the vicinity that are a bit more affordable include West LA, Sawtelle, Palms, and Culver City, all of which have convenient bus connections to UCLA. You might also be able to find some reasonable options in parts of Brentwood, Santa Monica, and Venice. You can use these neighborhoods as search terms or search for proximity to UCLA’s ZIP code, which is 90095. Try these resources to search for housing:

• Craigslist Los Angeles: This is the link for the general housing listings. Most apartments will require a one-year lease. More specifically, you might look at the sublet listings to find housing that is available for a month. There is no fee to access Craigslist.
• Apartments.com: This site owns Westside Rentals, which has many listings for apartments on the west side of LA near UCLA. Contacting owners is free on Apartments.com, which includes many of the listings from Westside Rentals. (For Westside Rentals, you have to pay a membership fee to access owners’ contact information. A 30-day membership is $55.)
• Airbnb: While this site tends to be oriented toward travelers, there are some longer rentals listed as well. Search for Los Angeles, choose your price range, and select Entire Home as the room type. Airbnb is free to access.

Please be careful when looking for housing. Even on reputable sites, you might see scam listings that look too good to be true or demand substantial deposits in advance. If in doubt, it is better to book a hotel or Airbnb for a few days and then look for housing once you arrive in Los Angeles.

Transportation
Please refer to UCLA Transportation’s Getting to UCLA page for more information about local transit options.

Funding
UCLA Asia Pacific Center will cover up to $3,000 of travel and lodging expenses for visits up to 9 days, intended to cover items such as:

1. Round-trip airfare from Taiwan to Los Angeles (airfare cost will be deducted from the $3,000)
2. Any required visa fees (though in most cases scholars will not need a visa)
3. Housing