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Welcome to the SEVIS Status Corrections Tutorial. This tutorial will help to explain how the SEVIS status of an exchange visitor’s record changed and what you can do to fix it. It will describe and explain the actions that are available to you as an RO or ARO to correct the status of exchange visitor records.
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In this tutorial, we will review the options available to you to correct the status of an exchange visitor’s record from: Invalid, No Show, Active, Inactive, and Terminated. This tutorial explains the common steps you will need to take for most exchange visitor categories.
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Disclaimer: This presentation provides guidance for using SEVIS. It does not replace the Exchange Visitor Program regulations 22 CFR Part 62. To obtain administrative guidance on the Exchange Visitor Program, the Exchange Visitor Program regulations, or program or exchange visitor issues and concerns, contact the Department of State's Office of Private Sector Exchange Designation.
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Let’s first look at correcting status from Invalid.
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The status of an exchange visitor’s record can be changed from Invalid to Initial or Active. We will look at both scenarios.
An exchange visitor’s status automatically changes from Initial to Invalid when the record has not been validated within 30 days of the Program Begin Date and there is no port of entry information on the record. The RO or ARO can also manually change the status of a record from Initial to Invalid.
If you want to change the status of an exchange visitor’s record from Invalid back to Initial because the exchange visitor has not entered the United States, you have the ability to use the Correct SEVIS Status functionality at any time if the record does not contain port of entry or change of status approval information.
If an Invalid record contains this information, or if the exchange visitor has arrived in the United States and is participating in their program, the status of the exchange visitor’s record must be changed to Active. It is okay if the record does not have a validation event. You can use the Correct SEVIS Status functionality to change the status from Invalid to Active within 30 days of the status change. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
If more than 30 days has passed, you will need to submit a Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status request. This option requires payment of a non-refundable fee, supporting documentation, and review by the Department of State.
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To correct the status of an exchange visitor, click the Correct SEVIS Status link. The link will display on an Invalid status record for up to 30 days after the status changed.
Clicking the Correct SEVIS Status link opens a confirmation window, that lets you know that you must maintain supporting documentation for this change and provide it to the Department of State upon request. Click the I Agree button.
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The Correct SEVIS Status page displays and allows you to change the status to Initial or Active. When changing the status to Initial, the Program Begin Date must be the current date or a date in the future. If the status of the record should be changed to Active, the Program Begin Date must be the current date or a date in the past. In either case, the Program End Date may also need to be updated. If the status is being changed to Active, a Physical Address is required. A valid e-mail address is required for non-government programs. Regardless of which status the record is being changed to, remarks must be entered. Click the Correct SEVIS Status button to submit the status change. An Update Successful confirmation message will display in a new window. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change. An updated Form DS-2019 can now be printed. It is good practice to print an updated Form as the program dates on the Form have changed.
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The status change takes place immediately so the exchange visitor’s record will display the corrected status after submitting the action. The status of any associated spouse and dependents will also change. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
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The Correct SEVIS Status link to change status from Invalid to Initial may be used indefinitely if there is no Port of Entry information on the record. If it has been longer than 30 days since the status changed, you have not corrected the exchange visitor’s status using the Correct SEVIS Status link, and the exchange visitor has arrived in the United States, you must use the Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status link. This option requires payment of a non-refundable fee, submission of supporting documentation, and review by the Department of State.
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The Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status page looks similar to the Correct SEVIS Status page. The U.S. physical address, e-mail address (for non-government programs), and remarks are required.
Click the Submit button to submit the request. A new window will open with the warning message that the request is not complete. Read the message and click the Return to Exchange Visitor button.
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After submitting the Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status request, the record will remain in Invalid status while the request is pending. You may cancel the request by using the corresponding link until the Department of State starts the review of the request. The Department of State will start reviewing the request after the non-refundable fee and all supporting documentation is received. The status of the record will change to Active if the request is approved. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
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This table summarizes the actions available to correct the status of the exchange visitor’s record from Invalid to Initial or Active.
If the status of an exchange visitor’s record changed to Invalid, you can use the Correct SEVIS Status action to change the status to Initial at any time if an exchange visitor has not entered the United States and there is no Port of Entry Information on the record.
If an exchange visitor has arrived in the U.S., you will be able to change status to Active using the Correct SEVIS Status within 30 days of the status change.
If it has been more than 30 days since the status changed to Invalid, you must submit a Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status request to the Department of State to get the status changed to Active.
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Now, let’s look at correcting status from No Show.
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An exchange visitor’s status changes from Initial to No Show when the record has not been validated within 30 days of the Program Begin Date, and there is port of entry information on the record. The RO or ARO can also manually change the status to No Show.
When the exchange visitor is in the United States, and the record is in No Show status, you have 30 days to use the Correct SEVIS Status functionality to change the status to Active. The Correct SEVIS Status process for correcting status from No Show is identical to the previously demonstrated process for correcting the status from Invalid. If it has been longer than 30 days since the status changed, you must submit a request for Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status. This option requires payment of a non-refundable fee, supporting documentation, and review by the Department of State.
In a transfer situation, the status of a record can also change to No Show if the record is not validated within 30 days of the Effective Date of Transfer. In this case, you also will have the option to change the status back to Active using either the Correct SEVIS Status or Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status function. These actions include updating the status as well at editing additional fields on the DS-2019, such as financial and site of activity information, so the record can be complete along with the status change.
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The Correct SEVIS Status functionality for No Show status works the same as it does for Invalid status. The only difference is that you are only able to change the status to Active because the assumption is that the exchange visitor is already in the United States and is participating in the program. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
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The Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status link will become available on the Exchange Visitor Information page when it has been more than 30 days since the status changed to No Show.
This option requires payment of a non-refundable fee, submission of supporting documentation and review by the Department of State.
The status of an exchange visitor’s record can be changed directly from No Show to Active, bypassing validation, using either the Correct SEVIS Status or Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status action. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
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The chart shows that you can change the status of an exchange visitor’s record from No Show to Active. If the status changed within 30 days of the current date you can use the Correct SEVIS Status function. If the status changed more than 30 days ago, you must submit a request to the Department of State using the Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status function.
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Now we will talk about correcting status from Active to Initial.
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In cases where the record was validated in error, you can use the Correct SEVIS Status link to change the status from Active to Initial. The link will display on an Active status record for up to 30 days after the status changed.
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The status of an exchange visitor changes to Initial immediately after submitting the correction. You can now update the program dates as needed using the Amend Program link and the record can be validated at the appropriate time.
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To change the status of an exchange visitor’s record from Active to Initial, you can use the Correct SEVIS Status function. This should only be done if there is no port of entry data on the record.
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Now we will talk about correcting status from Inactive.
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The status of an exchange visitor’s record changes from Initial to Active when the record is validated. The record remains in Active status until the Program End Date at which time the status changes to Inactive. If the status should be Active, you have up to 120 days after the status changed to submit a Correct Minor or Technical Infraction to update the Program End Date and return the status to Active. If the status has been Inactive more than 120 days but less than 271 days, you will have to submit a Reinstatement request to change the status back to Active. Submission of a Reinstatement request requires payment of a non-refundable fee, supporting documentation, and review by the Department of State.
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To correct the status of an exchange visitor, click the Correct Minor or Technical Infraction link. The link will display on an Inactive status record for up to 120 days after the status changed.
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Clicking the Correct Minor or Technical Infraction link opens the corresponding page. You must select a reason and enter a new Program End Date that is in the future. Remarks are also required. Click the Correct Minor or Technical Infraction button to submit the action and update the status.
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The status of the record changes to Active. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
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The Reinstatement Request link will display on an Inactive status record if it has been more that 120 days but less than 271 days since the status change. Clicking on the Reinstatement link will open the corresponding page. You must change the Program End Date to be a date in the future. Remarks are also required. Click the Submit Reinstatement button.
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After submitting a Reinstatement request, this information page displays letting you know that the request is not complete until the required non-refundable fee is paid and supporting documentation is sent to the Department of State.
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If the Reinstatement was submitted in error, you can cancel the request by clicking the Cancel Reinstatement link. This link is available until the Department of State has begun their review, which starts after they have received the non-refundable fee payment and supporting documentation.
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If the status of an exchange visitor is Inactive and needs to be changed to Terminated, the Terminate EV link can be used.
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This table shows the two available ways to change the status of a record from Inactive to Active. If the status changed within the past 120 days, you can use the Correct Minor or Technical Infraction link. If the status changed more than 120 days but less than 271 days ago, you must submit a request to the Department of State using the Reinstatement link.
If an Inactive status record needs to be changed to Terminated, this can be done immediately, using the Terminate EV link.
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Finally, we will talk about correcting status from Terminated.
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The Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status link is available immediately after the status changes to Terminated. Submission of the request requires payment of a non-refundable fee, supporting documentation and review by the Department of State. If the request is approved, an automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
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In summary, this chart displays all of the SEVIS status corrections that have been discussed in this presentation. You have the ability to change the status from Invalid to Initial or Active. This can be accomplished using the Correct SEVIS Status or the Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status link depending on when the status changed.
You also have the ability to change the status from No Show to Active using the same links that will display in the same time periods based on status change.
You can also change the status of a record from Active to Initial within 30 days of the status change.
If the exchange visitor should still be in Active status but is currently in Inactive status, you can change the status back to Active using either the Correct Minor or Technical Infraction link or the Reinstatement link.
And finally, if the status is Terminated, it can be changed back to Active using the Reinstatement – Update SEVIS Status link. Some of these status changes take place immediately and some require review by the Department of State.
If you need a status correction that is not covered in this presentation, contact the Office of Private Sector Exchange Designation.
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Thank you for watching! For additional videos about administering your exchange visitor program please visit our website.
