With a civil war raging in their home country that has already killed thousands of civilians, 31 Yemeni high school exchange students are “trapped by uncertainty” as their U.S.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter noted the importance of educational and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Germany in his remarks at a forum in Berlin on Monday. In particular, Secretary Carter spoke to the value of exchanges in preparing young citizens for success in a global economy:
In a blog post on her Route J-1 blog, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Robin Lerner remembers and pays tribute to the Irish J-1 students who tragically lost their lives, and those who were injured, in a balcony collapse in Berkeley, CA, earlier this week.
In Lerner’s words:
“Appropriate words are hard to conjure at these times; we can only share in the sadness and loss.”
An amendment adopted by the House of Representatives yesterday allows the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to provide grants to Hispanic-serving higher education institutions to offer advanced foreign language programs that would be of “immediate” interest to the intelligence community, as well as for study abroad and cultural immersion programs.
Each year, thousands of international students and professionals visits the United States on J-1 exchange visitor visas. During their stay in the U.S., these international visitors greatly enrich the American homes, schools, businesses, and communities in which they live, study, and work.
J Day is a nationwide celebration of the power of these international exchange programs and a great opportunity to raise awareness of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program (EVP).