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Welcome to the SEVIS Training for sponsor officials. This training is designed to facilitate your understanding of SEVIS in regards to the administration, maintenance, and management of the J-1
program information at your organization and your exchange visitor and spouse/dependent records. In this presentation we will discuss: Maintaining Spouse or Dependent J-2 records.
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Disclaimer:
This presentation provides guidance for using SEVIS. It does not replace the Exchange Visitor Program regulations found in 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 Designation, Private Sector Exchange.
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Let’s first look at updating the J-2 Spouse/Dependent Information.
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To access the Spouse/Dependent record from the Exchange Visitor Information page, click the Spouse/Dependents: Yes link on the top of the page. To add more J-2 records, use the Edit button in the
Spouse/Dependent section. To access a particular record, click the J-2’s SEVIS ID.
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The Dependent Information page displays information about the J-2 spouse or dependent. It includes the menu of available actions for the J-2 record, including Edit, Invalidate, No Show, and Reprint DS2019. Updates made to the J-2 record have no effect on the J-1 record.
Now let’s edit the J-2’s information. Clicking the Edit link opens the Edit Spouse/Dependent page.
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Note that the rules for editing the Spouse or Dependent’s biographical information are the same as those for the J-1 exchange visitor. All fields are available for editing in Initial status before the visa is
issued, and in Active status after the J-1’s record is validated. Now let’s edit the J-2’s address.
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If you checked the “Same as J-1 Physical Address checkbox” on the J-2 record to indicate that the J-2 will be residing at the same address as the J-1, and the J-1 exchange visitor’s US Physical Address has been
updated, the Spouse/Dependent address also needs to be updated. The “Same as J-1 Physical Address checkbox” is unchecked and the Spouse/Dependent record displays the previous address. Checking the “Same as J-1 Physical Address” checkbox will populate the J-2 address with the updated
address of the J-1. You can also manually update the Spouse/Dependent address by clicking the Edit Address link when the “Same as J-1 Physical Address” box is unchecked.
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Let’s talk about different ways a J-2’s status can be concluded.
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If the Spouse/Dependent record is in Initial status and you learn that the person will not be coming to the United States, the Invalidate action must be performed. Click the Invalidate link to open the
Invalidate Spouse/Dependent page.
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Enter required Remarks. Clicking the Invalidate button changes the status of the J-2 record to Invalid.
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The Exchange Visitor Spouse/Dependent Menu page shows that the J-2 record is now in Invalid status, while the J-1 and the other J-2 record remains in Initial status.
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When an exchange visitor’s program is validated, the status of all associated J-2 records in Initial status will also change to Active. If you become aware that the Active status J-2 will be leaving the United States and will no longer
accompany the J-1, the End Status function must be used.
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Clicking the End Status link will display the Dependent End of Status page. Select the End of Status reason, such as death, divorce, or other, and enter other relevant information. Clicking the End Status button will change the status of the J-2 to Inactive. Note also that the J-2’s status will automatically change to Inactive when the J-2 Dependent child turns
21 years old.
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To change the status of a spouse/dependent to Terminated, click the Terminate link on the Dependent Information page.
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On the Terminate Dependent page, select one of the following termination reasons: conviction of a crime, other, or unauthorized employment. Enter the Effective Termination Date and optional
Termination comments. Click the Terminate Dependent button. The status of the J-2 will change to Terminated on the Effective Termination Date.
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This chart summarizes the actions available to conclude the J-2’s status independently from the J-1. For example, if the current status of the J-2 spouse or dependent is Active, but you learn that the spouse
or dependent never arrived in the United States as a J-2, and is not going to, you need to conclude the J2’s status by changing it to Invalid. You can do that by using the Invalidate action.
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Now let’s talk about different ways the J-2 status can be corrected.
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When the J-1 is in Initial or Active status and the status of the J-2 is Invalid, and you learn that the spouse or dependent will accompany the J-1, you can correct the status of the J-2 to match the status of
the principal.
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On the Dependent Information page, click the Correct SEVIS status link. A Confirmation window will open informing you that you must maintain and provide supporting documentation for this change upon
request. Click the I Agree button.
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On the Correct SEVIS Status for Dependent page, enter relevant information in the required Remarks field and click the Correct SEVIS Status button. You will see the Update Successful confirmation window.
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The Spouse/Dependent status will change to correspond to the status of the J-1 exchange visitor immediately.
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This chart summarizes the actions and timeframes available for you to correct the status of the J-2
spouse/dependent separately from the J-1.
For example, if the J-2 is in Inactive status and you want to correct it to Active, the chart tells you that you can do it at any time using the Correct SEVIS Status link, as long as the status of the J-1 is Active.
Or, let’s say you invalidated the J-2 when you were informed they would not accompany the J-1. Later, after the J-1 started their program, they informed you that the J-2 is ready to come to the United States.
The chart tells you that you can correct the J-2’s status from Invalid to Active with no time limit using the Correct SEVIS Status link.
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Thank you for watching. For additional videos about administering your exchange visitor program, please visit our website.
