Short-Term Scholar Program J-1 Visa

How Paolo created Europe’s largest recipe database and got his
Short-Term Scholar Program J-1 Visa for the United States of America

Paolo Verucci came up with his algorithm when he was only 23. With two ill parents to tend to, he and his sister Lola had their hands full. Paolo did all the housework after returning from his college programming classes, Lola cooked, even though no one would have called her the best cook under that roof. Paolo’s job was to find recipes by googling them, and then read the instructions out slowly while she followed them.

This was how Paolo realized that there were too many recipes on the planet and no way to compare any two of them. Being rather good at programming, he developed an algorithm for numerically capturing a recipe and comparing it with any other recipe to detect if it was a duplicate, a variant or an original.

Paolo became a local success story. He developed an app using his algorithm, and began to crowd-source recipes from all over Europe. His algorithm correctly tagged duplicates, variants and originals, and eventually he had one of the largest and most detailed databases of European cuisines.

Paolo had no idea how well-known his name was until he received a letter from Rutgers University Computer Department inviting him to talk about his research into recipe databases and how he developed his algorithm and also observe their database management protocols.

He eagerly accepted the invitation and was told that they would arrange for him to visit them for a two-month period as a Short-Term Scholar with a Short-Term Scholar Program J-1 Visa.

That evening, Paolo went online to search US Immigration advice on traveling to the US and sure enough, there it was — the United States Exchange Visitor Program (EVP), designed to give non-US students, academics and professionals numerous pathways to enter the United States on a so-called Short-Term Scholar Program J-1 Visa and experience its life and culture while meeting their study or professional goals.

The Short-Term Scholar Program sounded like it had been tailor-made for someone like him with specialized knowledge or skills.

Under the Short-term Scholar Program, one of 15 categories under the EVP, Paolo could enter the United States on a Short-Term Scholar Program J-1 Visa for a period from a day to no more than six months,  to participate in academic and professional activities such as lectures, participation in conferences, workshops and consultations.

Paolo, with new-found enthusiasm, began the application process. An applicant’s first — and usually most arduous — step would be to find a sponsor institution. He would have had to work through an online list of over 861 institutions that had been approved by the Department of State, and find one that would like to sponsor him. But since he already had an invitation from Rutgers University, he was taken straight into the application process, and in a matter of weeks, he had received his Short-Term Scholar Program J-1 Visa.

Paolo will tell you that his trip to the United States was one of the most exciting times of his life and he hopes to be able to revisit for a longer course of study in some years.

You can get more information on how to apply for the Short-Term Scholar Program J-1 Visa, including how to find the best sponsors, from the detailed, user-friendly visa guides you get when you buy one of our Visa Plans

If you have questions or would like clarifications, please send us an email and we’ll do our best to get back to you within 24 hours with an answer.