Academic Program Sponsors

Academic programs represent the largest number of sponsors of the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP), with over 1,000 Department-designated sponsors in the following academic J-1 categories: Professor, Research Scholar, Short-term Scholar, College and University Student, and Specialist. The Office of Private Sector Exchange offers the following office descriptions and contact information to assist sponsors and exchange visitors in the academic community with the routing of questions, complaints, or incident reports.

Designation

The Office of Designation Academic and Government Programs (D-AG) deals specifically with the following:

- Reviewing designation and re-designation applications

- Reviewing annual reports to acknowledge, assist, and to resolve sponsor’s issues or concerns to administer a successful program
- Assisting sponsors with J-visa related inquiries and requests for change of category, extension, reinstatements, or permission to issue

- Providing daily outreach to assist sponsors and to evaluate the effectiveness of program categories
- Reviewing program requests:

* Adding officials

* Amendments

* DS-2019 allotments

* Other matters regarding program administration

- Pay.gov

Sponsors should submit all program requests and reports electronically.

Contact: AGexchanges@state.gov

Office of Program Administration

The Office of Private Sector Exchange Administration Academic and Government Programs (OPA-AG) monitors and enforces full compliance with Department regulations and policies with a focus on exchange visitors’ health, safety, and well-being; and responds to complaints and incidents.

Sponsors must promptly (on or before the next business day) notify the Department of any investigations of an exchange visitor’s site of activity or any serious problem or controversy that could be expected to bring the Department of State, the Exchange Visitor Program, or the sponsor’s exchange visitor program into notoriety or disrepute, to include: [22 CFR 62.13(d)]