TraiNet and Visa Compliance System Support United States Agency for International Development

TraiNet Web & US Training FAQ

One of the most important parts of using TraiNet for US exchange visits is obtaining visas for US exchange visitors. What visa data is required in TraiNet?

According to The Complete Guide to USAID J Visa Compliance" (downloadable on our web site here) for U.S.-based training the following fields are required in order to process a DS-2019 and J visa:

Trainee Information:

  • Trainee Last Name (Note: First Name is NOT required, but First and Last Name entered in TraiNet MUST match the first and last name as they appear on the passport)
  • Gender
  • Birth Date (MUST match passport exactly)
  • Birth City (MUST match passport exactly)
  • Birth Country
  • Residence Country
  • Citizenship Country
  • Trainee US School Address
    • Line 1
    • City
    • State
    • Zip Code (must be five digits)
    • Country
  • Trainee Status
  • Return Status (upon program completion)

Trainee Information, Visa:

  • Position Code
  • Visa Category
  • Passport Number (MUST match passport exactly)
    • This is so Approvers have something to match on when they enter the passport number as validation

Program Information:

  • Field of Study
  • US Training Component Start and End Dates
  • Training provider (facility) name
  • Training provider (facility) address
    • Line 1
    • City
    • State
    • Zip Code (must be five digits)
    • Country

Program Information, Funding:

  • Budgeted Funding amount
    • Must be greater than zero

Program Information, Other Funding (non-usaid)

  • If a line exists here the amount must be greater than zero, however this is not a required field

I have entered all program, participant and visa data in TraiNet for a J visa. Now what do I do next?

First, download and read the "The Complete Guide to USAID Visa Compliance". You can find a copy here.

Once entered in TraiNet, the data on your exchange visitor must be submitted to the Visa Compliance System so that you can receive a DS-2019 form.

  1. Log into TraiNet Web.
  2. Select the hyperlink, Submit Visa Eligibility Request, or click the submit button next to the program you wish to submit to the VCS.
  3. Click the Submit button.
  4. If data is successfully submitted, you will receive a green check mark next to each of the exchange visitors for which you are acquiring a DS-2019 form. If you receive an error message it will tell you what data needs to be corrected. If you have questions, contact the Help Desk.

After data is submitted from TraiNet to the VCS, a verification and approval process takes place. Please read "The Complete Guide" and contact the J Visa Helpdesk for assistance in setting up, or explaining roles and responsibilities.

For short-term training of one or two weeks, does all "required" information need to be transmitted from TraiNet to the VCS?

Yes. There is no allowance made in any of the regulations for altering the required information based on program duration.

Is the US Contact address in TraiNet the address of the school where the student is training?

No, it is the residence address of the exchange visitor in the U.S. This is the address that will be reported to the the Department of Homeland Security. For very short-term programs, it is acceptable to use the address of the monitoring organization in the United States.

How do I enter a US Contact address for short term trips, or for a tour where the exchange visitor might stay in several hotels for only a few days at a time?

You must still enter a US Contact address in every case no matter what. If the exchange visitor never has a permanent residence address, you may be able to use the address of the monitoring organization, school, or contractor who knows of the trainee's whereabouts.

My exchange visitor moved to a new address in the US. What should I do in TraiNet?

Update the U.S. Contact Address field and resubmit the change to the VCS. The VCS process will remain the same, with the Verifier, Approver and Submitter reviewing the change. Also keep in mind, during the course of a participant's program, the following information must be updated in real-time (same day information is known) if there are changes or if errors are discovered:

  • Current U.S. Address*
  • Last Name
  • Birth Date
  • Gender
  • Country of Birth
  • City of Birth
  • Country of Residence
  • Position Code
  • Current Site of Activity [current training provider's name and address]**
  • Field of Study
  • Program Start and End Dates
  • USAID or Other funding contributions
  • Participant Completion - Update Participant Status to Completed and Return Status as appropriate.
  • Participant Termination - Update Participant Status to Terminated and update Termination Reason

*NOTE: For short-term technical training with multiple site visits, where the exchange visitor's current address will change frequently, the U.S. address of the implementer administering the training program may be used.

**If the training provider has not yet been identified at the time of initial data entry, the implementer's name and U.S. address may be used until such time as the training provider is known. Once known, training provider information should be provided as a site of activity update via TraiNet, as described above.

The Verifier cannot see the data I entered in TraiNet. What should I do?

Did you submit the data to the VCS via the Submit Visa Eligibility Request hyperlink or the Submit icon next to the program you wish to submit? U.S. training data entered or updated in TraiNet cannot be seen by the Verifier or Approver until it is submitted to the Visa Compliance System.

The Visa Compliance System is updated multiple times a day with data fed from TraiNet. Notify your Verifier that data has been sent from TraiNet to the VCS. If your Verifier does not see the data by the following day, contact the J Visa Helpdesk for assistance.

When should I update participant status, and how do I do it?

It is very important to update participant status during the course of processing an application for a J visa eligibility request, when the training program begins, and after program completion. The TraiNet/VCS Help Desk recommends using the following statuses in the Current Trainee Status field in TraiNet:

If you want the VCS to: Set the Participant's Status to:
Request a DS-2019 Planned
Void a DS-2019 Cancelled
Validate a Participant In-Training
Terminate a Participant Terminated (ALSO, update Return Status - see below)
Close the Program after Completion Achieved or Not Achieved (ALSO, set the Return Status to one of the following):
  • Returned: if the trainee retuned to his/her home country.
  • Non-Returnee: If the trainee did not return to his/her home country
  • In-Country: Can be used like "Returned"
  • Deceased

There are two ways to update participant status: one participant at a time, or several participants all together who are attending the same program.

To update Status for one or all participant:

  • Log into TraiNet
  • From main screen, click on the participant icon for the participant or partcipants you wish to update.
  • Select the "Edit Paricipant Status" hyperlink.
  • Follow the instructions in the blue part of the screen. You may choose to update all participants at once, or just one participant at a time.

Remember: When a program is completed or terminated, you should update two fields for each trainee attending that program: Current Trainee Status and Return Status. Refer to the table, above, for appropriate status options.

For more details on participant status, please refer to the following newsletters in our Newsletters section:

I have exchange visitors doing several U.S. trainings in a row. How do I best manage the TraiNet data?

The most important issue to consider in deciding how to record and process multiple training programs for one exchange visitor is the length of time between the end of the first program and the start of the second. Here are two scenarios to consider for making that decision:

1. Events are consecutive:

If the events in the U.S. are immediately one after the other, create one single program with as many components as events. If they are not immediately consecutive - there are gaps between the end date of one event and the start of another - contact Marina Gelles for immigration advice at jvisa@devis.com .

2. The time between events requires that the exchange visitor return to their home country and make a second trip at a later time:

Because SEVIS cannot process a second training program while the first one is still active, it is necessary to schedule the training programs to allow sufficient time between the end of the first program and the beginning of the second in order to obtain the DS-2019 and apply for the new visa.

Enter the first training program by entering all required data (see the first FAQ at the top of this page). Transfer the data to the VCS for verification, approval and submission to the SEVIS system. Once the program end date has arrived and the participant and program statuses have been updated accordingly, you may enter the second training program and transfer the data to the VCS as you did for the first one. Please notify the helpdesk at jvisa@devis.com when the second program is ready to be read into the VCS.

Remember to leave at least sufficient time between the end date of the first program and the start date of the second program so as to allow enough time for the processing of subsequent J visas.

Several people in my group are arriving in the U.S. late. Do I have to update them to In-Training them now, or should I wait until they arrive?

You should never update an exchange visitor's status to In-Training before you have confirmed that they arrived in the United States at the site of training. If people arrive at different times, you should update their status as they arrive.

How do I update return status?

Do the following:

  1. Click on the Participant icon next to the program that needs a status update.
  2. Click the Edit Participant Status hyperlink on the left side of the screen.
  3. Update the participant status as appropriate, including the return status, which TraiNet will prompt automatically once you update the Participant Status.
  4. Save your change.
  5. Return to the participant information screen. Click the Submit or Update Visa Application hyperlink on the left side of the screen.
  6. Follow the wizard prompts to complete the submission process.

Your status updates should now be successfully transferred to the VCS and all notifications should stop.

Note: this update does not need to be verified or approved. If you are using TraiNet Desktop, follow the procedure here.

I have updated Program and Participant status fields, but I continue to receive automated notifications. Why?

It is likely that you either did not update the return status or you did not submit the information after you updated the status. Do the following:

  1. Click on the Participant icon next to the program that needs a status update.
  2. Click the Edit Participant Status hyperlink on the left side of the screen.
  3. Update the participant status as appropriate, including the return status.
  4. When you return to the participant screen, click the Submit or Update Visa Application hyperlink on the left side of the screen.
  5. Follow the wizard prompts to complete the submission process.

Your status updates should now be successfully transferred to the VCS and all notifications should stop.

Note: this update does not need to be verified or approved. If you are using TraiNet Desktop, follow the procedure here.

I have exchange visitors with more than three names (sometimes as many as 6 or 7). I understand their name must print out on the DS-2019 form in the same order as the name on the passport. How do I enter their names in TraiNet?

You may choose to use either the First and Last Name fields only, or the First, Middle and Last Name fields. Keep in mind, however, that there is a limitation of 40 characters per field.

Here is an example using only the First and Last Name fields.

Name: John Robert Peter Smith

This person's name appears in the following format on his passport: Smith, John Robert Peter

You should enter the name in TraiNet in the following way:

First Name: John Robert Peter

Last Name: Smith

This works because the total number of characters in the First Name Field does not exceed 40.

Here is an example using the First, Middle and Last Name fields.

Name: Abdel Hafiz Mohamed Abdel Ibrahim

This person's name appears in the following format on his passport: Mohamed Abdel Ibrahim, Abdel Hafiz

You should enter the name in TraiNet in the following way:

First Name: Abdel

Middle Name: Hafiz

Last Name: Mohamed Abdel Ibrahim

and it would print out on the DS-2019 in the same format as it appears on the passport.