A recent White House report reaffirmed the “rich cultural experience” provided by the Exchange Visitor Program and commended the State Department for its “comprehensive approach” to the program. The report was created in response to a Presidential Memorandum issued by President Obama to examine ways of improving the U.S. legal immigration system.
More than two dozen Yemeni exchange students will be allowed to stay in the United States through December, reports The Washington Post. The students were participants in the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, sponsored by the State Department, when civil war broke out in their home country of Yemen, preventing their return.
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).
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the Summer Work Travel (SWT) program, released this afternoon, commends the Department of State on its strengthened oversight of SWT, while acknowledging the public diplomacy value of this exchange program that brings up-and-coming leaders to the U.S. for summer cultural experiences.