Checklist of information about the J Exchange Visitor

  • Please collect a copy of the bio demo page of passport.
  • Check the machine-readable strip at the bottom to verify information.
  • Use only the names that appear on the machine readable strip.

Biographical Information

Note names as they appear on machine readable strip at bottom of passport page

Last Name:
First Name:
Middle Name (if applicable):
Date of Birth: MM/DD/YYYY
Gender:

Birth City:
Birth Country:
Country of Citizenship:
Country of Permanent Residence:

Special note re: birth city for citizens of Japan and citizens of Switzerland: Both Swiss and Japanese passports note "domicile" which may not be the same as the birth city. You will need to ask the visitor for his/her birth city and, if applicable, the birth cities of any dependents.

Employment and Contact information

Position in home country:

This info is REQUIRED. Do not note N/A. Note most recent position visitor held in home country. If that position was grad student, note grad student.

Employer or school:
Email address:

It is important that you note a valid email address, and note it correctly on the Request Form as it will be used to send information about the J visa requirements to the visitor.

Foreign address including street, city, country and postal code:

Has the exchange visitor been in J status (including J student or J2) in the last two years?
If Yes, ask visitor for copies of previous DS-2019s:
J category (see section #4 of DS-2019):
Start and End dates of previous DS-2019:

Is the visitor currently in the US in a visa type other than J?
If Yes:
Visa type:
End date (for F1s on OPT, this is the end date on the EAD card):
Change of status to J by:
departure and re-entry or by mail

Is the visitor currently in the U.S. in J status?
If Yes, the record may need to be transferred.
Ask visitor for copies of most recently issued DS-2019 as well as copies of any J2 dependent DS-2019s and scan and email those copies to
J category (must be Research Scholar or Short-Term Scholar - see section #4 of DS-2019):
Start and end dates of current DS-2019: (the DS-2019 issued by the current J sponsor):
SEVIS Number on current DS-2019:

Name and email address of international scholar advisor at visitor’s current institution:
Make sure it is the name and email address of the International Scholar Advisor - person who is authorized to access SEVIS visa records - and NOT the name and email address of the visitor's PI or Faculty host
For transfers, you will also need to note on the Transfer Request Form the visitors CURRENT residence address in the U.S.

Funding information: (please use Dependent Funding Worksheet attached)

Important: independent proof of funding must be provided in an amount equal to or greater than the $43,933/year or $3662/month starting October 1, 2013. Acceptable proof of funding: letter from employer, scholarship committee, bank, or funding agency; bank statement.Unacceptable: J-1 Funding Attestation Form, letter/email from candidate.

Funding from Stanford:
Funding from home country government:

Only note funding amount in government funding field when you have evidence that the visitor's government is providing funds directly to the visitor. If you're not sure, it's best to note the name of the funding source and the amount in the Funding from Other Organizations field.

Personal funding:
Funding from Other Organizations:

Funding that’s provided DIRECTLY from an outside organization (a non-Stanford, non-government source) to the visitor should be listed under Other Organizations. The organization must be identified along with the funding amount from that source. Funding provided to the visitor by the visitor’s home country government should be listed under government funding. Note that only the amount needs to be listed for government funding. Funding amounts from the visitor’s personal or family sources should be listed under personal funding.

Number of dependentswho will come in J2 status (only the unmarried children under age 21 and the spouse are eligible for J2 status. Dependents who were born in the U.S. are generally not eligible for J2 status):

Always note names as they appear on machine-readable strip at bottom of passport page.

For each dependent:
Last Name:
First Name:
Middle Name (if applicable):
Date of Birth: MM/DD/YYYY
Gender:
Relation to J1 scholar: (spouse or child)
Birth City:
Birth Country:
Country of Citizenship:
Country of Permanent Residence
Email address: (if known)

Please provide color copies of each person’s passport as noted:

VISITOR'S PASSPORT INFORMATION

  • Obtain a copy of the biographic page of the visitor’s passport BEFORE completing the DS-2019 Application. (If there are dependents, obtain copies of their biographic passport pages as well.)
  • The name on the Request Form must match the name as noted on the machine-readable strip at the bottom of the biographic page of most passports. Any discrepancies may result in an incorrect document being issued which may cause delays in issuance of the J1 visa by the U.S. Consulate and may make it necessary for a new corrected document to be issued and sent to the visitor. Please be accurate when filling out the Request Form.
  • For Visiting Student Researchers, please also make sure the biographic information on the Registrar’s VR Application that you submit to the Registrar’s office matches the biographic information in the passport EXACTLY.

Reading the Passport:

Determine the spelling of names and the correct dates of birth by referring to the machine-readable information on the passport of your visitor and family members. (see next page)

Above (circled in red) is a graphic sample of machine-readable text. It's always located along the bottom edge of the passport picture page, regardless of country of issuance.

In the example above:

  • The passport bearer’s LAST or FAMILY name is “Traveler”;
  • His FIRST, or GIVEN name is “Happy,” and
  • His date of birth is September 16, 1956 (see second row, after USA, the number sequence 560916)

Please conform to the machine-readable version in all entries involving the visitor, so that Consular and Immigration authorities will see consistency between the passport and the visa certificate that Stanford issues. You’ll find that the machine-readable spelling is not always consistent with the way the visitor has provided name information.