Maintaining Initial Exchange Visitor Records

Slide #1

Welcome to the SEVIS Training for Sponsor Officials. This training will facilitate your understanding of the role of a Responsible Officer (RO) or an Alternate Responsible Officer (ARO) as related to the administration, maintenance, and management of the exchange visitor program, and exchange visitor (EV) and spouse/dependent records in SEVIS.

In this presentation we will discuss:

• How to update records in Initial Status
• We will also talk about program validation

Slide #2

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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Now we will look at the various actions that are used to maintain exchange visitor records that are in Initial status.

Slide #4

This is the Exchange Visitor Information page. It displays all biographical and program information entered when the record was created. The record is in Initial status. Notice the program begin and end dates. At the bottom of the page is the site of activity block, and the spouse/dependent block. Clicking the spouse or dependent SEVIS ID opens the spouse or dependent page. The exchange visitor, site of activity, and spouse/dependent information (if any) can be updated by clicking the Edit buttons. The Actions menu includes the Amend Program, Cancel EV, No Show, Reprint DS-2019 and Validate Program Participation links. All changes to the record are captured in the Event History.

Slide #5

Updates in Initial status are restricted after the exchange visitor obtains their visa and the visa information displays on the record. Before the visa is issued, all edits are available. After the visa information is on the record, only the category and subject/field can be edited, and a spouse or dependent can be added. If the exchange visitor’s category is Secondary School Student or Au Pair, the Residential Information can also be updated after a visa has been issued.

Slide #6

When the record is in Initial status, the sponsor official can perform the following actions:

• The first is Amend Program. It is used to update both program begin and program end dates;
• The next is Cancel EV. This action is used to change the status to Invalid. If the status is changed to Invalid, the Form DS-2019 allotment is incremented by 1 as the form is not being used;
• The RO or ARO can also use the No Show action. This action is used to change the status to No Show. This status change does not affect the form allotment because the exchange visitor used the form to enter the United States. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.
• The RO or ARO can reprint the Form DS-2019 by using the Reprint action;
• And finally, there is the Validate Program Participation action. This action is used to change the status to Active when the exchange visitor begins the program. An automatic e-mail will be sent notifying them of the status change.

We will now go through a couple of simple actions frequently used by sponsor officials, such as Amend Program and Validate Program.

Slide #7

Clicking the Amend Program link on the Exchange Visitor Information page opens the Amend Program page. Notice the Program Begin and End Dates on the page. In our case, the exchange visitor will start their program earlier, and the Program Begin Date needs to be updated. Note that the Program Begin Date cannot be changed to more than 30 days in the past. The Program End Date is not changing. However, both fields may be updated if needed. Update the Program Begin Date, enter required Remarks, and click the Amend Program button to save the changes. Amend Program is a two-step process for Intern, Trainee, and Student Intern records. After changing the program dates, the T/IPP Form DS-7002 phase dates need to be updated to correspond with the new program dates.

Slide #8

After the exchange visitor has entered the United States and is ready to begin their program, the program participation needs to be validated within 30 days of the Program Begin Date. The program cannot be validated if the I-901 SEVIS fee has not been paid unless it’s a government program. Clicking the Validate Program Participation link on the Exchange Visitor Information page opens the Validate Program page. The first step in the validation process is adding a physical address for the exchange visitor if one has not previously been entered. Click the Add Address link to open the Add Address window.

Slide #9

All U.S. addresses must be validated through a tool that verifies them against the U.S. Post Office system. To enter a U.S. Address, the RO or ARO must enter at least the street address and the zip code. The city and state may also be entered. Use the Other field to enter additional information about the address. This field is not validated. Click the Submit button to run the address validation.

Slide #10

A different Add Address window will open if the address can be validated. The validation returns a suggested address and the address entered. If the address that was entered contains a matching city, state, and zip code, the system allows you to override the suggested address. If the Override Suggested Address link is clicked, you must provide a reason for the override. The system will add a 4-digit routing code to the zip code that was entered. Click the Select button to choose the suggested address.

Slide #11

The suggested address displays on the Validate Program page. An e-mail address and the U.S. telephone number must be entered for the exchange visitor if the program is not administered by a U.S. government program sponsor. This means, that if the exchange visitor program number at your organization does not start with a G, this information is required. Clicking the Validate Program button changes the status of the record to Active. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the exchange visitor notifying them of the status change.

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Thank you for watching! For additional videos about administering your exchange visitor program please visit our website.