State Department Publishes New Proposed Rule Notice for SWT
Posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2017 at 10:48 pm.By Nathan Arnold, Director of Press Relations for Educational and Cultural Affairs
The Federal Register for January 12, 2007
Today, we published a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Summer Work Travel Program” to the Federal Register. Through February 27, 2017, the State Department will be taking comments on proposed changes to the regulation that governs the J-1 Summer Work Travel Program. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa
Making Peace One Exchange at a Time
Posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2016 at 9:07 pm.By Marcellin Niset, J-1 Secondary School Student from Belgium
This story was originally featured on Rotary Voices
Belgian Exchange Student Marcellin Niset in Alaska
The Italian-American author and actress Vanna Bonta wrote, “There’s no hospitality like understanding.” That quote stuck with me as a Rotary Youth Exchange student to Alaska in 2015-16. I arrived in Alaska, a wilderness filled with beauty and love, determined to make my exchange purposeful and beneficial for myself, my host community, and the world.
An exchange is not only about a student going abroad, it is about all the people that make this exchange possible, and the ones that are impacted, directly and indirectly. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
U.S. Embassies Engage J-1 Participants to Strengthen Relations
Posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2016 at 2:22 pm.
J-1 Summer Work Travel alumni and prospective participants socialize and enjoy the photo exhibit.
The State Department is serious about relationship building with our exchange participants. That’s why we support alumni networks around the world. Recently, many of our embassies have increased efforts to engage participants from J-1 privately-funded jexchanges, so that the investment participants have made in their futures can be leveraged through association with other participants. We are excited to include these participants in our long-term alumni networks and outreach, and have seen much interest from participants to stay in touch with our embassies overseas.
Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
Relationship Building: The Heart of International Exchanges
Posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2016 at 9:21 pm.
Darra Klein (right), and her lifelong friend, David Čeljuska (center) attending Baltimore’s annual Slovak festival in 2001 with another friend.
“International exchanges – especially those for young people taking the first steps of their professional lives – are strong and life changing experiences. It’s important to keep the international connections you make during an exchange alive because they have a powerful impact on your life, as well as others. Let’s face it, at the heart of it, international exchanges are about the relationships you make and maintain.”
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
The Whole Shebang for Camp Counselors in Pennsylvania
Posted on Friday, November 27th, 2015 at 5:27 pm.
Hannah Bolger, Graeme Brown, Georgia Tibke, and Leia Jones stand with Camp Hilltop’s favorite horse.
As the cold settles in here in Washington, D.C. and the Northeastern United States, I want to revisit summer. My colleague Travis Parsley made a visit to Wayne County, Pennsylvania, during summer camp season. I will let Travis take it from here. Enjoy. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
J-1 Volunteers Get Inspired by the 2015 NYC Marathon Experience
Posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2015 at 4:07 pm.
J-1 Exchange Visitors hand out water to runners during the NYC Marathon
Who needs water? During last Sunday’s grueling New York City Marathon almost EVERYONE needed water, and – especially between mile markers 17 and 22 – there was a good chance the smiling person with the extended hand offering water and Gatorade was a J-1 Exchange Visitor. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
#RouteJ1 Participants Stepping Up to Support the NYC Marathon
Posted on Friday, October 30th, 2015 at 3:38 pm.While everyone in New York at this time of year shares the sweet anticipation of the upcoming Halloween festivities, for more than 50,000 runners from 135 countries it also means gearing up for a different kind of sweet treat: the proud accomplishment of completing the NYC Marathon. Among the 10,000 volunteers helping out at the world’s largest marathon on Sunday, you will find more than 850 of our J-1 participants. Experiencing the American tradition of volunteerism first hand, they will distribute water, cheer on athletes from their home countries, and share their cultures with their fellow volunteers and the runners.
Remarks by Miriam Vadria from Pakistan, J-1 masters degree student at Columbia University
[Interviewer] What are you excited for?
[Miriam] I am extremely excited about being at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, the 1st of November. Hi, I’m Miriam Vadria from Karachi,
Pakistan. I got a J-1 Visa because of a Fulbright Scholarship from Pakistan. And I’m doing a MBA degree here from SIPA at Columbia. I’ll be
volunteering at the New York City Marathon the first of November. I’ll be at fluid mile station 16. And I’ll be handing out water to all the runners
who are going to be doing hard work! And I specifically want to wish Hamna Zubair very good luck who is running for the cause of education in Pakistan.
[upbeat background music]
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
J-1 Participants Gain Cutting Edge Experience in Silicon Valley
Posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 at 4:21 pm.Young people always dream about what they will be when they grow up. Will they bring about world peace? Will they end poverty? Will they win an Oscar for their moving documentary? Will they invent the next big thing that radically changes technology? Here in the J-1 world, we jump out of our seats and cheer each time the J-1 internship program brings those young dreamers closer to their life-changing goals. It is a noisy place around here.
I took Route J-1 to California’s Silicon Valley recently, where the world’s most innovative tech companies are hosting J-1 interns and turning dreams into action. I sat down with up-and-coming tech whizzes from all over the world at Cisco and Facebook. Through these J-1 programs, international students supply the dreams while their hosts teach them to turn their big ideas into programs and tools.
DAS Lerner meets with J-1 Interns at CISCO.
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
A Few Things to Know About Our J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program
Posted on Friday, October 9th, 2015 at 9:20 am.
J-1 exchange visitors jump for joy in the Nation’s capital
This week, I wrote a State Department blog outlining a few things you should know about the J-1 Visa program, in hope of reaching a larger audience. While the program is well known abroad and to the readers of Route J-1, many Americans are unaware of the amazing work being done by J-1 participants. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
J-1 Exchange Visitor Program in the Outer Banks
Posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2015 at 6:37 pm.Autumn begins this week, and with the change in seasons we have closed out our concentrated summer monitoring and travel for 2015. Route J-1 will continue, of course, so keep checking in. Read More ›
Categories: J-1 Visa, Participants, Program Spotlight
| About Rebecca Pasini Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange | |
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Rebecca A. Pasini joined the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchanges in July 2023. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister - Counselor, Ms. Pasini has been an American diplomat since 1997.
Ms. Pasini previously served as the Director of Public and Congressional Affairs in the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 2021-2023. Other Washington assignments have included positions in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Office of Foreign Missions, and as a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security. She has also completed multiple overseas tours, including as Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan, and as the Consular Chief in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Other tours included Mexico City and Kuwait.
A Maryland native, Ms. Pasini has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University, a master’s degree in National Security and Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University, and an undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College.
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