Steps for Reporting a Non-Returnee Announcement from USAID RO

I've sent emails in the past addressing non-returnees, those exchange visitors (often referred to as participant trainees) who come to the United States under Agency sponsorship and then decide to remain in the U.S., either permanently or past the time that USAID allows. Although previous emails have tried to emphasize the importance of selecting qualified and responsible participants who will benefit from their program, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the procedures that must be followed in the event of a non-returnee.

The first rule of thumb when an exchange visitor does not appear for their program or fails to depart the United States within three calendar days of the end of their program (seven calendar days for long term training), is to notify me, USAID's Responsible Officer, or Alternate Responsible Officers Ed Pramuk or Jamie McDonald. If you are a USAID partner organization or training provider, you should also notify the USAID Mission that is funding the exchange visitor event. Second, your organization will need to do all it can to get in touch with the exchange visitor and convey to them the consequences of being a non-returnee. While you may not be able to speak directly with them, you should try to contact them through whatever means possible (including through family members who often know exactly where they are), and inform them that USAID will terminate their status in SEVIS, thus ending their authorized presence in the United States. Linda Walker or James McDonald can assist you with the specific steps that need to be taken in TraiNet and the VCS in order to terminate an EV's status. Please make sure that the EV understands that being terminated in SEVIS can harm future efforts to apply for immigrant and nonimmigrant status, and can make future travel to the U.S. for personal or professional reasons difficult. USAID will also seek to recover all costs associated with their exchange visitor/training event, and with regard to some of USAID's long-term trainees, this can be a substantial amount of money.

You should also be prepared to provide my office with certain documents and information that we require for our own action and follow-up. At a minimum, your organization or your Mission will need to provide:

1. Signed Conditions of Sponsorship Form AID 1381-6 (08/05 or later)
2. Actual amount of USAID funds expended on the exchange visitor event
3. Actual planned dates of the exchange visitor event
4. Documentation related to the Security Risk and Fraud Inquiry
5. Copy of the missing persons report if the local jurisdiction allows you to file one

Please understand that following the steps above is not the end of your responsibility. You should make ongoing, periodic attempts to contact the individual or become aware of his/her location, and notify USAID accordingly with updates.

Linda Walker can be reached at lwalker@usaid.gov. Jamie McDonald can be reached at jmcdonald@usaid.gov. Both can be reached by telephone at 202-204-2599. Please do not attempt to terminate an exchange visitor in TraiNet or the VCS without first contacting Ed or Jamie.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. If you are no longer an R-3 Approver or R-2 Verifier and have received this email in error, please let me know so that I can remove your email address from our mailing list.

Thank you.

Jim Nindel, Responsible Officer, USAID/EGAT/ED