National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) Visiting Faculty Program

NTNU faculty planning to visit UCLA must be in touch with the UCLA Asia Pacific Center (APC) at least 3 months in advance of the planned arrival date in Los Angeles, to ensure ample time for travel arrangements and appointment processing. Please ensure that you have identified a UCLA faculty member to serve as your sponsor

In most cases, scholars should not spend more than 9 days at UCLA. 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
If you plan to stay at UCLA for less than 9 days, you can consider applying for a visa waiver. Please make sure to discuss the specifics of your visit with APC in advance.

Taiwan is part of the U.S. visa waiver program. Scholars who are Taiwan nationals and whose planned stay at UCLA is less than 9 days 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 two months 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 for more than 9 days.

After discussing the specifics of your visit with the APC and it is determined that you need a J-1 visa, you will need to first obtain a DS-2019 Form issued by UCLA. Contact the APC Center Administrator to initiate the DS-2019 request. The UCLA DS-2019 Form takes 15 business days to process from the date that the complete package of documents is submitted to the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars.

You will need to send the following documents to initiate the process for a DS-2019 Form:

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
2. Scan of Your Passport Photo Page
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.

If your planned visit to UCLA is for a period of 6 months or less, the J-1 visa category that you will receive is Short-Term Scholar. Unlike most other categories, the Short-Term Scholar visa category 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 will electronically sign it and email you a link where you can download your DS-2019 form (as a PDF document). You will need to print your DS-2019 Form 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 APC Center Administrator will send detailed instructions explaining how to pay the SEVIS fee and make a visa appointment.

Please note that the AIT has two offices, one in Taipei and one in Kaohsiung. You may make a visa appointment at whichever office is most convenient. AIT Taipei is located at the following address: No. 100 號, Jinhu Rd, Neihu District, Taipei City, Taiwan 11461.

Health Insurance: If you are traveling on a J-1 visa, the U.S. government requires that you obtain health insurance. International visiting scholars on J-1 visa will need to purchase a health insurance plan that meets the university requirements. The APC will reimburse your health insurance expense and will provide additional information about how to enroll at a later time.

Housing
In most cases for short-term visits of less than 9 days, the APC will make a hotel reservation for the scholar. For longer visits of more 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