Documents Required for Status

J1 Status Documents

During your time in J-1 status in the United States, you must maintain the following documents as evidence of your J-1 status:

  • Valid Passport - your passport must remain valid all the time that you are in the United States. The general rule is that you should keep it valid at least six months into the future at all times. If your passport is within six months of expiry and you will not be traveling home within that time, please contact your country's embassy or consulate in the United States to request guidance on how to extend your passport in the U.S. Any time you receive a new or extended passport, you will need to provide International Students and Scholars with a copy.
  • Form DS-2019 - this is the document you were issued by your J-1 program sponsor, which indicates the details of your program including your site of activity, the start and end dates of your program, etc. If you have dependents accompanying you in J-2 status, they must each have a Form DS-2019 as well. The DS-2019 must not be allowed to expire before the end of your J-1 program.
  • I-94 - this is the record issued to you when you enter the United States, and which you may retrieve by going to www.cbp.gov/i94. Any time you make a new entry to the United States, please retrieve this record and provide a copy to International Students and Scholars. If you are ever given an I-94 record for J-1 status which does NOT say "D/S" or "duration of status," you must contact ISS for assistance immediately.
  • Visa - this is the stamp in your passport which allows you to request entry to the United States in J-1 status. NOTE: Unlike the other documents in this list, your visa stamp may expire while you are in the United States. An expired visa stamp is NOT a violation of status. It merely means that you must obtain a new visa stamp the next time you exit the United States, if you wish to return to the U.S. in that same status category.