DS-2019 with new citizenship country? (J1 visa)
December 17, 2019 5:06 PM Subscribe
I am in the US on a J1 visa. There's been some issues and I was planning on getting a new visa, only to realize I didn't need to if I have a Canadian passport, which I do. The only thing: my DS-2019's "citizenship country" box does NOT say Canada.
I got the visa on a passport issued by my home country.
I had been living in Canada as a permanent resident for six years at that point.
Two months after I got the visa, I became a Canadian citizen and got a Canadian passport.
I recently had some issues crossing the US border-- from Canada-- with my home country passport. The passport's cover was damaged. I had gotten and travelled with a new home country passport, but the visa was in the old, damaged one. The border office told me to get a new visa.
I talked to the international exchange scholars' advisors at my work. Their advice was to apply for a new J1. So I had just started the process, only to realize maybe I could have just used my Canadian passport. I have a valid DS-2019, the only problem is that the listed citizenship country is my home country rather than Canada.
Is it possible to get a DS-2019? Is it a relatively quick process?
I will pursue this with the J1 advisors tomorrow morning, but asking here just in case anyone knows. Also I have found it difficult to trust my advisor, who does not return emails, and gave me advice I felt were somewhat sketchy ("Try to brave it and see what happens; would be a bummer to apply for a new visa, waste of money"), so I'd like to be informed before I talk to them.
I got the visa on a passport issued by my home country.
I had been living in Canada as a permanent resident for six years at that point.
Two months after I got the visa, I became a Canadian citizen and got a Canadian passport.
I recently had some issues crossing the US border-- from Canada-- with my home country passport. The passport's cover was damaged. I had gotten and travelled with a new home country passport, but the visa was in the old, damaged one. The border office told me to get a new visa.
I talked to the international exchange scholars' advisors at my work. Their advice was to apply for a new J1. So I had just started the process, only to realize maybe I could have just used my Canadian passport. I have a valid DS-2019, the only problem is that the listed citizenship country is my home country rather than Canada.
Is it possible to get a DS-2019? Is it a relatively quick process?
I will pursue this with the J1 advisors tomorrow morning, but asking here just in case anyone knows. Also I have found it difficult to trust my advisor, who does not return emails, and gave me advice I felt were somewhat sketchy ("Try to brave it and see what happens; would be a bummer to apply for a new visa, waste of money"), so I'd like to be informed before I talk to them.
Best answer: I work with J-1 stuff everyday. Your SEVIS database information needs to be updated with your new nationality, which also means your sponsor should issue a new DS-2019 form. (New forms are required for even more minor updates, like name changes or program extensions.) Do you know if your sponsor has done this already? Since you already have a Canadian passport, it really shouldn't be a huge ordeal, but it does need to be prioritized. Can you follow up in person?
posted by lesser weasel at 11:57 PM on December 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by lesser weasel at 11:57 PM on December 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: THANK YOU! I don't think my sponsor has done this-- will head in this morning to follow up.
posted by redwaterman at 5:49 AM on December 18, 2019
posted by redwaterman at 5:49 AM on December 18, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jordemort at 6:46 PM on December 17, 2019