White House Interagency Group Seeking to Eliminate J1 Visitor Exchange Visa Program
Impact on American Business, Tourism and Diplomacy Devastating; New Study Shows Program Strengthens U.S. Economy.
International Exchange Programs Receive Unprecedented Support
It has been a busy summer for those of us who promote the growth and impact of international exchange programs. In May, the White House released a detailed budget that called for an unprecedented 32 percent cut to the Department of State, and a 55 percent cut to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), which funds and oversees a wide range of critical international exchange programs which enable people-to-people diplomacy. If enacted, these cuts would greatly damage the United States’ soft power diplomacy and put our nation at risk.
U.S. Ambassadors Urge Congress to Fund Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs
More than 160 Former U.S. Ambassadors Oppose Cutting Funding for State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Alliance Statement: Administration’s Cuba Travel Policy Hinders Public Diplomacy
Statement by Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of the Alliance for Internatioanl Exchange:
President Trump’s new policies towards Cuba includes a detrimental restriction for Americans traveling to the island for educational purposes. The administration’s argument for cancelling this travel category is the erroneous assumption that people-to-people exchanges do not help the Cuban people and instead only benefits the Cuban government.
Administration’s 2018 Budget Jeopardizes our Nation’s Public Diplomacy Efforts
For Immediate Release
Contact: 202-293-6141
Fate of Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs Rests with Congress
Washington, DC (May 23, 2017) – The budget released today by President Donald Trump proposes an unprecedented cut of 32 percent to the International Affairs budget, and a 55 percent cut to the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) specifically. ECA funds and oversees a wide range of critical international exchange programs which enable people-to-people diplomacy.
Letter to the Editor: Politico “They Think We Are Slaves”
POLITICO’s coverage of the Au Pair Program (“They Think We Are Slaves,” March 27) was surprisingly one-sided. While any report of an au pair having a less than positive stay in America is troubling, one would get the impression from your story that this is the rule rather than the exception.