Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Home > The Exchange Visitor Program

Background and Overview

Authority for the Exchange Visitor Program derives from the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Public Law 87-256) as amended, 22 U.S.C. 2451, et. seq. (1988), also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act (or, as simply the Act). The purpose of the Act is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through educational and cultural exchanges. Activities specified in the Act are facilitated, in part, through the designation of public and private entities as sponsors of the Exchange Visitor Program.

Through the Exchange Visitor Program, foreign nationals may visit the United States temporarily to teach, lecture, study, observe, conduct research, consult, train, or demonstrate special skills. Designated sponsoring organizations facilitate the entry of foreign nationals into the United States to complete the objectives of any one of 13 program categories. At the conclusion of their program, participants are expected to return to their home countries.

Our office is organized into two divisions. The Private Sector Programs Division includes the alien physician, au pair, camp counselor, summer work/travel, and training exchange visitor categories. The Academic and Government Programs Division includes the student program category, which accommodates programs for both secondary (high school) and post-secondary (college/university students) at undergraduate and graduate levels, degree and non-degree tracks, the professor, research scholar, short-term scholar, specialist, teacher, and Government Visitor and International Visitor categories. The latter two program categories are reserved for the exclusive use of government (local, state, and federal) agencies and the Department of State, respectively.

Program regulations appear in Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 62. Regulations relevant to the general administration of all exchange programs, regardless of category, are found in Subpart A - General Provisions; regulations specific to each category are found in Subpart B. Regulations about the status of the exchange visitor are found in Subpart C. Sanctions and Program Termination and Revocation are covered in Subparts D and E, respectively. The most recently published version of the regulations may be retrieved through the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. Links to Subparts A, B, and C are available on the Resources page. Links to Subparts D and E are available through the Administration page. Note the references relevant to your needs in order to better access the regulations through the GPO retrieval site. You will need to note specific reference in order to locate it (scroll to it) within the Subpart. Citations for the specific regulation of an exchange visitor program category or administrative function appear in the relevant discussion presented in our website.

Brief descriptions about each exchange visitor category are offered through the Private Sector and Academic and Government pages. These descriptions are not intended to replace program regulations. For details about each category, refer to the program regulations at the noted reference. Additional information, specific to the category, such as sponsor lists, FAQ sheets, and links to sites of interest, may be available, and if so, accessed through the description.

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