Notice2024-25658
Exchange Visitor Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 5, 2024
Effective
November 30, 2024
Issuing agencies
State Department
Abstract
In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) regulations, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State, has modified certain regulatory provisions to permit Swiss citizens aged 18 to 35 who are enrolled in or have graduated from a technical, vocational (apprenticeship), or professional training program or post- secondary institution to participate in the EVP's Intern and Trainee categories. The Swiss Federal Council has established a reciprocal program for U.S. citizens aged 18 to 35 who wish to obtain further training in their field.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87927-87928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25658]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 12567]
Exchange Visitor Program
ACTION: Notice of an agreement between the Government of the United
States and the Swiss Federal Council and modification of certain
regulatory requirements.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Visitor
Program (EVP) regulations, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State, has
modified certain regulatory provisions to permit Swiss citizens aged 18
to 35 who are enrolled in or have graduated from a technical,
vocational (apprenticeship), or professional training program or post-
secondary institution to participate in the EVP's Intern and Trainee
categories. The Swiss Federal Council has established a reciprocal
program for U.S. citizens aged 18 to 35 who wish to obtain further
training in their field.
DATES: This action is effective November 30, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Pasini, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Private Sector Exchange at 2200 C Street NW, SA-5, 5th
Floor, Washington, DC 20522 via telephone: (202) 826-4364, or via email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#48222d302b2029262f2d3b083b3c293c2d662f273e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4f252a372c272e21282a3c0f3c3b2e3b2a61282039">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs has concluded an agreement between the United States and the
Swiss Federal Council in accordance with existing EVP regulations (22
CFR part 62), including regulations applying to the Intern and Trainee
categories (22 CFR 62.22). The program supports the purposes of the
Fulbright-Hays Act by increasing Swiss J-visa participants'
understanding of U.S. culture and society and enhancing U.S citizens'
knowledge of Swiss culture and society through an open interchange of
ideas. A key goal of the Fulbright-Hays Act, which authorizes the
Intern and Trainee categories, is that exchange visitors will return to
their home countries and share their experiences in the United States.
The goals of the agreement, signed on October 11, 2024, are to give
eligible Swiss and U.S. citizens the opportunity to acquire hands-on
professional experience in their field of study; improve their
knowledge of U.S and Swiss languages, cultures, and skills; and
encourage participant mobility at the start of their careers in order
to foster mutual understanding between the two countries. Permitting
Swiss
[[Page 87928]]
citizens enrolled in or graduated from technical, vocational
(apprenticeship), or professional training programs to participate in a
J-visa intern/trainee program provides an opportunity to expand the
diversity of exchange visitors and is representative of efforts to
ensure J-visa programs are more inclusive. The agreement intends to
open the EVP Intern and Trainee categories to a new demographic of
exchange visitors and educational institutions.
The Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) currently offers hundreds of
Swiss exchange visitors the opportunity to teach, study, train, and
conduct research in the United States. However, some Swiss graduates of
technical, vocational (apprenticeships), or professional training
programs are currently ineligible to participate in the Intern and
Trainee categories of the EVP. Under current EVP regulations (22 CFR
62.22(d)(2)), trainees must be foreign nationals who have either a
degree or professional certificate from a foreign post-secondary
academic institution and at least one year of prior related work
experience in their occupational field acquired outside the United
States, or five years of work experience in their occupational field
acquired outside the United States. Under current regulations (22 CFR
62.22(d)(3)), intern exchange visitors must be enrolled in an
accredited foreign degree- or certificate-granting post-secondary
academic institution or have recently graduated (within 12 months of
program start date) from such an institution.
Switzerland offers vocational education and training programs for
approximately 250 different professions. Swiss vocational education and
training are predominantly based on a dual education system: practical
training (apprenticeships) on three to four days per week at a training
institution supplemented by theoretical classes on one to two days per
week. In addition, such students attend inter-company courses. These
programs would not meet existing education and training regulatory
requirements for the Intern and Trainee categories of the EVP.
Under the agreement between the United States and Switzerland,
Swiss participants who have a technical, vocational, or professional
training (apprenticeship) or a post-secondary background may conduct a
four to 18 month-long internship or training program in the United
States under the EVP. Under the reciprocal agreement, U.S. participants
may train under a work contract in Switzerland for four and 18 months.
Under the agreement, exchange visitors in the U.S. program must be
citizens of Switzerland between the ages of 18 and 35. They must wish
to obtain training in their field in order to support their career
development through a pre-arranged placement at a U.S. private sector
or non-profit organization. Under the agreement, participants in the
Swiss program must be U.S. citizens aged 18 to 35 and wish to obtain
further training in their field through a contract of employment in
Switzerland.
Interns from Switzerland on the U.S. program must be enrolled in or
have graduated within 12 months of their program start date from a
technical, vocational, or professional training (apprenticeship)
program or post-secondary institution located outside the United
States. Trainees from Switzerland must have graduated from a technical,
vocational, or professional training (apprenticeship) program located
outside the United States and have at least one year of prior related
work experience in their occupational field acquired outside the United
States or have five years of work experience in their occupational
field acquired outside the United States. U.S. participants on the
Swiss program must be enrolled for at least two years in or graduated
from a technical, vocational, or professional training (apprenticeship)
program or post-secondary institution in the United States or have
graduated from a technical, vocational, or professional training
(apprenticeship) program or post-secondary institution in the United
States.
Scott D. Weinhold,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2024-25658 Filed 11-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-05-P
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