Dear Participant,
Thank you for contacting CIEE in Portland. If you intend on traveling outside of the United States within the dates of your program, you must have your DS-2019 form signed and obtain a signed Letter of Good Standing. Approximately two to three weeks before your departure date, please send your ORIGINAL DS-2019 form along with a letter stating your dates and destination of travel as well as a prepaid return envelope that can be tracked (FedEx or UPS are strongly recommended) to our office in Portland MAINE . Make sure that you send these items via a type of mail that can be tracked. If you are sending a pre-paid envelope to CIEE for your documents to be returned back to you - you must pre-pay for the shipping method via the US Post Office/FedEx/UPS/DHL - Please do *not* send cash in the mail!
CIEE
Customer Service Center
300 Fore Street
Portland, ME 04101
**If you are traveling within the time periods listed below, once your DS2019 form has been signed with a travel signature…you do not need to resend us your DS2019 form again - you can just call in to request a new Letter of Good Standing if the 3 months has passed since that letter was first issued.**
For Internship USA/Professional Career Training USA participants:
- The Travel Validation signature on the DS2019 is valid for travel within a six (6) month period.
- The signed Letter of Good Standing is valid for only three (3) months.
- Participants can only travel outside of the United States for maximum of 30 days at any one time.
For Work & Travel (WAT) participants:
- The Travel Validation signature on the DS2019 is valid for travel within a six (6) month period.
- Participants can only travel outside of the United States for maximum of 30 days at any one time.
- The signed Letter of Good Standing is valid for only three (3) months.
Please also make sure that your J1 visa is still valid upon your reentry to the US (your DS-2019 MUST still be valid).
* This means that you cannot travel outside of the US/Western Hemisphere and reenter during your travel period.
o For more specific information please contact CIEE and request information about Travel during the Travel Period / Grace Period.
* Be sure to check that you are allowed to enter the US more than one time
o This will be indicated on your visa under the word "entries" by the letter M for "multiple".
If you are going to a country other than your home country, check their visa regulations to find out whether you will need a visa to enter that country. You can find contact information for foreign Embassies at
http://www.embassy.org/embassies/.
In order to pass through U.S. Immigration a J-1 VISA holder must have (please see attachment):
* A valid J-1 VISA in their passport (except for visitors to Canada or Mexico who are within either their DS-2019 dates or the 30 day grace period)
* Their original DS-2019 form signed by a designated Responsible Officer of their VISA program sponsor
* A recent Good Standing Letter (valid for two or three months, see above).
* Only original documents are accepted.
o If a copy of the DS-2019 or the Good Standing Letter are used, you will only be admitted by use of an I-515 form.
o When an Exchange Visitor is admitted with the I-515, they must submit both their original DS-2019 and I-94 forms to the Department of Homeland Security. This process can take up to a few months to complete, during which time you are NOT permitted to travel outside of the U.S.
A copy of the Good Standing Letter will only be issued to a participant if it is too close to the date of travel to obtain an original. This copy will not help you in avoiding the I-515 form, it will merely make your entrance into the U.S. smoother for you. Without holding an original or a copy of the Good Standing Letter, you may be held for questioning by U.S. Immigration before being admitted by use of the I-515.
For additional information, please contact our office in Portland Maine Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 1 888 268 6245.
Regards,
CIEE
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Customer Service Center
CIEE International Work & Study Programs
300 Fore Street
Portland, ME 04101 USA
Tel: 1.888.COUNCIL
Fax: 1.207.553.5272
Visit our website at
http://www.ciee.org