The aim of this study is to determine views of academic staff who have been to the United States in order to do a research study by meansof scholarships and support programs provided by the Higher Education Council or Scientific or Technological Research Council ofTurkey about the scholarship programs. The qualitative study is carried out as a holistic multiple case study research design. The data weregathered through semi-structured interviews from 10 academic staff who participated the scholarship program. Data were analyzed withcontent analysis technique. The results indicated that application process, time and financial resources were important for the preferencesof academic staff in scholarship and support programs. The main reasons for applying the scholar program to undertake an internationalresearch study are grouped under three headings as academic, socio-cultural and foreign language improvements. The main influencingfactors behind the researchers preferences to go the United States are its level of advancements in scientific research and peer influence.Concerning the duration of a research study in abroad the participants thought that 6 months to one year is adequate time and this timedepends on the foreign language skills of the researchers, the field of study, subject and project. The main drawbacks of an internationalresearch study visit are the long waiting times for having the United States visa with no adequate support, the cost of health insurance andvisa, lack of speaking foreign language skills, and adaptation time in the first arrival. As a result, the experienced participants suggested thatthe future scholarships have to cover health insurance; the researchers have to be supported for developing their foreign language skills anddevelop a clear research agenda and project prior to going abroad. .