SEVIS REGISTRATION (Validation)
It is a mandatory requirement of your program participation to register your details in SEVIS. GEC needs accurate contact details for you at all times including your email address, home address and phone number as well as your work address and phone number.
When to register (Validate or Check-in) your details in SEVIS
Once you arrive in the U.S. you must complete your online GEC program validation (check-in) within 5 days of arriving in the U.S. You must be in the U.S. to validate your program. You cannot begin any work before your DS-2019 Form start date. If you cannot enter the U.S. and validate your program by your program start date, contact GEC immediately so that your program is not cancelled and alternate housing arrangements can be made for you. This may mean an increased housing cost for you from what has been stated on the GEC Work Agreement and program materials.
You must validate your program at least 7- 10 days before you apply for your U.S. Social Security card. If you already have a U.S. Social Security card, you are still required to validate your program.
How to register (Validate or Check-in) your details in SEVIS
To validate your program:
Log into your GEC record at www.gecworkandtravel.com/login
Once you are logged in, the validation screen will appear.
- Enter the month, day and year that you entered the U.S.
- Verify that the email address is the one you will be checking during the summer.
- Enter your housing information in the “Landlord Information” section. If you are staying in a hotel, apartment complex, hostel, etc, please enter the name of the establishment (Holiday Inn, Main Street Apartment Complex, etc.) in the “Landlord Name” and include the apartment or room number on address line #2. If you have not yet settled into a permanent U.S. address within the 5 day period, you still need to provide an address of your temporary housing (hotel, motel, hostel, etc.) Once you move out of your temporary housing, you are required to update your housing address within 5 days of the change.
- Verify that all of your work information is complete and accurate.
- Choose one of the below as your current program status:
- You have reported to the work site of activity location listed on your DS-2109 Form and have started working
- You have reported to the work site of activity location listed on your DS-2019 Form but have not yet started working
- You have reported to your work site of activity and started working, but the address location or contact name needs to be updated.
- Click “Complete Check-In”
You will receive a welcome email from GEC within 1 – 3 days after submitting your online validation. If you have arrived in the U.S. and the validation screen does not appear when you log on, please contact GEC immediately by phone at (615) 391-2924 or by email at [email protected] with a screen shot of what you see once you are logged in.
Change of SEVIS Information
All participants must report SEVIS changes to GEC for any of the following reasons:
- Your change of address – Within 5 days of any change in your U.S. home address, phone number, or email address, you must log into your GEC record and click “Change Address” to make any updates.
- Request to change or quit work – You are not allowed to accept new work or additional work other than the original Site of Activity as printed in Box 1 on your DS-2019 Form without prior written approval from GEC. Please contact GEC as soon as possible to discuss any issues that you may be having with your employer, and we will work with you to resolve any problems.
- If you leave the program and return home early, immediately contact GEC to shorten your program appropriately and update your SEVIS record.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Failure to report any of the information above within the time frames listed or providing false and/or incomplete information to GEC will result in your termination from the program. You will have to leave the U.S. immediately. This could result in you being unable to obtain a future visa to enter the U.S.
If you have questions regarding your program status or SEVIS details, please contact GEC.