Important Fulbright Foreign Student Program Reminders

Non-U.S. Student

If you are a non-U.S. citizen looking to applying for a Fulbright grant to study in the United States you will apply to the Fulbright Commissions/Foundations or U.S. Embassy in your home country.

Current U.S. Student

If you are a U.S. citizen currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program, please visit our Fulbright U.S. Student Program site.

U.S. Citizen but not a Student

If you are a U.S. citizen, hold a bachelor’s degree, and do not have a PhD degree then you could be eligible for certain awards within the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Please review the program summary for the country where you would like to apply.

U.S. Professor

If you are a U.S. citizen and a professor at a U.S. institution and are interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholar Award you will need to apply through fulbrightscholars.org.

Non-U.S. Professor

If you are a non-U.S. citizen and a professor interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholar Award in the United States you need to apply through the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy in your home country. Find out more information on the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program.
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Important Fulbright Foreign Student Program Reminders

 
Support for In-Program Activities  

For information on program requirements, policies, and timelines, please review the relevant section(s) of Foreign Fulbright Online. If you have questions that are not covered on the website, please direct all inquiries to foreignstudentadvising@iie.org. Please include your PSID, country, nature of inquiry, and critical date in the email Subject Line and strive to be as clear and concise as possible in the email. You can also review the Fulbright Advisor section of the website for more information regarding IIE Advisors.  

In terms of additional support, please refer to the Foreign Fulbright Program - Stay Safe and Healthy for resources. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, you should first call 911 and then report the emergency to IIE through the after-hours line once it is safe for you to do so. The urgent line for the Fulbright Foreign Student Program is (202) 326-7721. You must leave a message and if it is an emergency, your call will be returned. This number should be reserved for urgent matters that cannot wait for an email reply.   

 
Travel Outside the United States

As a reminder, your J-1 visa can expire while you are in the U.S., as long as you have a valid DS-2019 and are participating in approved program activity. However, if you depart the United States and your visa is expired or expires before your return, you will need to renew your J-1 visa under Fulbright sponsorship in order to continue your program activities.   

As of May 29, 2025, scheduling appointments at U.S. Embassies or Consulates for nonimmigrant visa interviews was temporarily suspended. While J-1 visa appointments have resumed, you may experience delays in renewing your visa if you travel outside the United States. As such, you must carefully consider the risks of international travel, including the possibility of not being able to return to the U.S. to resume your Fulbright program activities. Therefore, if you have an expired J-1 visa or your J-1 visa will expire soon, and your travel is non-essential, we strongly recommend that you not travel abroad at this time. 

Should you plan to travel outside the United States, and need to renew your J-1 visa, you must closely monitor any guidance and updates issued by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your home country. It is your responsibility to contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your home country to inquire about J-1 visa renewal appointments in advance of your travel. You are required to keep IIE updated about any delays in your return or changes to your travel dates. If you decide to travel, you must submit travel requests following the international travel process outlined on Foreign Fulbright Online. Please note international travel comes with risks, even if you have a valid multiple entry visa.  

If you have an urgent international travel request, please write to foreignstudentadvising@iie.org and inform us of the urgent travel request in order for your request to be reviewed urgently.