ALLIANCE COMMENTARY
ACPD Special Report: Exploring U.S. Public Diplomacy’s Domestic Dimensions: Purviews, Publics, and Policies
The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) released a special report exploring the role that public diplomacy plays in advancing Americans’ understanding of the domestic impact of U.S. global engagement. Exploring U.S. Public Diplomacy’s Domestic Dimensions: Purviews, Publics, and Policies examines the use of USG public diplomacy programs and resources to engage domestic audiences. The report offers key takeaways about the scope and authorities of public diplomacy’s domestic dimension, the identification of key domestic audiences, stakeholders, and potential partners, and the policy and resource implications of a focus on domestic public diplomacy.Learn more about the report and access it here.The ACPD is a bipartisan panel created by Congress in 1948 to formulate, assess and recommend policies and programs to carry out the Public Diplomacy (PD) functions vested in U.S. government entities, to include the Department of State.
Alliance Statement on Ukraine
The Alliance for International Exchange is deeply saddened by the violence in Ukraine today, and we are very concerned about the impact on the Ukrainian people and others in the region from the outbreak of war.
For many years, Alliance members have supported Americans on exchange programs in the region and have hosted visitors from there as well. Many program participants have developed strong ties across borders and even generations. Our hearts go out to these individuals as well as to our members who are from Ukraine and are being directly or indirectly impacted by these events. Today, we think about all of them and their families and hope that peace will return to Ukraine very soon.
The Alliance and its members stand committed to the goals of international exchange - to promote mutual understanding between peoples and democratic institutions worldwide. Pursuing those goals in Ukraine and elsewhere will be especially critical in the months and years to come.
House Resolution supporting BridgeUSA programs
On February 2, Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) and Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) introduced House Resolution 901, which reaffirms bipartisan congressional support of BridgeUSA programs and recognizes the importance of these programs to the United States’ economy and national interests.BridgeUSA programs, formerly known as the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, were created alongside the Peace Corps and U.S. Agency for International Development during the Cold War to promote the diplomatic and foreign affairs goals of the United States, which the State Department still advances in administering BridgeUSA as federal cultural exchange programs.In the press release announcing the resolution, Rep. Moore stated, “the message I have heard from community and business leaders alike is that these programs simply work.” Rep. Kuster added, “Small businesses here in New Hampshire and across the country rely on the BridgeUSA program — a work-and study-based exchange visitor program — to staff their operations and serve their communities.”The Alliance for International Exchange signed on as an external supporter of the resolution along with a number of other organizations and stakeholders.
Afghanistan Task Force
The purpose of this task force is to help members contribute most effectively to supporting at-risk Afghans, especially those who are involved in international education as participants or partners, including human and women’s rights activists, educators, journalists and media representatives, former government officials, non-profit leaders, and other civil society leaders. The task force adds the Alliance for International Exchange’s voice to advocacy efforts and provides members with information to navigate in their communities and with their constituencies.
Learn more and access resources on our Afghanistan Task Force webpage.
Norm Peterson: An Appreciation
We are saddened to report that Norm Peterson, the Alliance’s founding executive director, passed away recently.
In 1993, the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange was born out of a merger between The Liaison Group, led by Norm, and the International Exchange Association. The Alliance brought together for the first time the entire range of international exchange programs – from high school students to senior scholars – and grew into a significant advocacy voice for the entire community.
The Alliance has grown in size, stature, and reach since its founding. For his role in founding the Alliance and his achievements there and elsewhere, we will remember Norm as one of our field’s all-time advocacy greats.
Alliance Statement on Lift of Travel Ban
The Alliance welcomes the news that, starting November 8, the United States will lift the travel ban imposed on 33 nations and admit fully vaccinated foreign air travelers.
This is a critical step towards reinvigorating international exchange. The Alliance urges the Administration to take two additional steps. First, it should ensure that U.S. embassies in travel-banned countries are processing visas immediately. Doing so now will be critical for many program sponsors and hosts who are working to bring exchange visitors to the United States soon after the bans are lifted.
Second, the Administration should develop vaccination exemptions for exchange visitors from countries where vaccines are not routinely available. For these visitors, the Administration should extend the current practice of requiring a negative test and a vaccination within a defined period after entry. Additionally, the Administration should exempt exchange visa holders who will receive the vaccine through their academic institution in the United States.
Alliance Supports Joint Statement of Principles on International Education
Washington, DC: The Alliance for International Exchange’s Executive Director, Ilir Zherka, issued the following statement today regarding the Biden Administration’s announcement of a first-ever coordinated national approach on international education. The below may be quoted in whole or in part.
The Alliance enthusiastically supports the Joint Statement of Principles on international education issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on July 26, 2021. The U.S. Departments of State and Education’s shared commitment to promoting international education is a welcome initiative that includes actions seeking to implement a coordinated strategy for international students studying in the U.S. and Americans studying abroad, expand access to international education opportunities, and incorporate international education as part of our recovery from the pandemic.
We also urge the Departments of State and Education to include the following recommendations as part of its strategy on international education.
The inclusion of post-secondary, accredited English language programs in the U.S., which are an important facet of international education.
The incorporation of a range of U.S. programs in which international students participate, such as Intern; Optional Practical Training; and Summer, Work and Travel.
The Alliance for International Exchange is an association dedicated to promoting the growth and impact of exchange programs and the effectiveness of its members. Since 1993, it serves as the collective public policy voice for organizations comprising the international educational and cultural exchange community in the United States.
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Open Doors 2021 Release
To kick off International Education Week 2021, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education released findings from the Open Doors® 2021 Report on International Educational Exchange. Watch the release event here with remarks by IIE CEO Allan Goodman, other IIE research staff, and Acting Assistant Secretary Matthew Lussenhop.
You can pre-order the full 2021 report here or access featured data on the Open Doors website.
Alliance sends letter to Sec. Blinken from 11 Associations
Washington, DC: The Alliance for International Exchange’s Executive Director, Ilir Zherka, issued the following statement today regarding a letter to Secretary Blinken from 11 associations. The letter urges the Department of State to consider changes regarding the level 4 travel advisory update that impacts approximately 80 percent of countries worldwide. The below may be quoted in whole or in part.
Yesterday, the Alliance for International Exchange sent a letter to Secretary Blinken cosigned by eleven associations expressing collective concerns regarding the April 19, 2021, travel advisory update that increases the number of countries at “Level 4: Do Not Travel” to approximately 80 percent worldwide.
The Alliance joins its colleagues and members in calling on the U.S. Department of State to reconsider its designation of "Do Not Travel" for 80 percent of countries worldwide. Many colleges and universities look to the Department when developing their student travel policies. It is now difficult to discern why advanced democracies that are making progress vaccinating their residents are in the same category as failing and war-torn states.
The Department should consider changes in the Level 4 advisory that acknowledge differences among those countries with that rating. They should also review the change in advisories within 30-days to determine whether states that were recently moved to Level 4 should be moved back to Level 3 and/or whether the alignment with CDC’s rankings is beneficial.
We very much appreciate the Department's strong support of international education and understand the rationale for aligning its advisories with that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But time is of the essence. Without a change, the new advisories may result in tens of thousands of opportunities for students to travel abroad being eliminated. That would likely affect the readiness of many college graduates entering the U.S. job market over the next few years and deepen the economic crisis facing organizations that administer study abroad and other travel programs.
The Alliance for International Exchange is an association dedicated to promoting the growth and impact of exchange programs and the effectiveness of its members. Since 1993, it serves as the collective public policy voice for organizations comprising the international educational and cultural exchange community in the United States.
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COVID-19 Restrictions
The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for international exchange programs due to their heavy dependence on travel and people-to-people interactions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for international exchange programs due to their heavy dependence on travel and people-to-people interactions. An estimated 6500 jobs and $303M were lost by these employers and others in related fields last year due to the pandemic. Overall, the BridgeUSA exchange community experienced $1.23 billion in financial fallout in 2020.
Unfortunately, international exchange programs are still stymied by travel and other restrictions. The Administration’s current approach of not issuing most J-1 visas in countries where there are travel bans, as well as its decision not to prioritize these BridgeUSA programs for visa processing in countries without such a ban, will likely mean that program sponsors will go through another year without much income. That would be devastating to exchange employers and to the cultural exchange programs they run, which would in turn hurt the United States’ national security for years to come.
Learn more about the Alliance's advocacy efforts in this space on our COVID-19 Restrictions website page.
https://apnews.com/article/travel-pandemics-jamaica-boston-coronavirus-pandemic-11627ee5df0e9d2477ce13b2c3ed4546 Click to copy RELATED TOPICS Travel Pandemics Jamaica Immigration Boston Coronavirus Coronavirus pandemic AP Top News U.S. News Health Lifestyle Business Help Wanted: In pandemic, worry about finding summer workers
BOSTON (AP) — The owner of seafood restaurants on Cape Cod has eliminated lunch service and delayed the opening of some locations because his summertime influx of foreign workers hasn’t arrived yet.
More than a thousand miles away, a Jamaican couple is fretting about whether the rest of their extended family can join them for the seasonal migration to the popular beach destination south of Boston that’s been a crucial lifeline for them for decades.
As vaccinated Americans start to get comfortable traveling again, popular summer destinations are anticipating a busy season. But hotel, restaurant and retail store owners warn that staffing shortages exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic could force them to limit occupancy, curtail hours and services or shut down facilities entirely just as they’re starting to bounce back from a grim year.
The problem, they say, is twofold: The annual influx of seasonal foreign workers has stalled in places because of the pandemic. Businesses have also struggled to attract U.S. workers, even as many have redoubled their efforts to hire locally amid high unemployment.
“It’s the ‘Hunger Games’ for these employers, fighting for getting these guest workers into the country while also trying everything they can to recruit domestically,” said Brian Crawford, an executive vice president for the American Hotel and Lodging Association, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group. “It’s really frustrating. They’re trying to regain their footing after this disastrous pandemic but they just can’t catch a break.”
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden let expire a controversial ban on temporary worker visas such as the J-1 program for students and the H-2B program for nonagricultural laborers imposed by former President Donald Trump.
But American embassies and consulates remain closed or severely short-staffed in many countries. The U.S. has also imposed restrictions on travelers from countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa because of the emergence of new virus variants or rising COVID-19 cases.
Advocates for the J-1 program, which brings in about 300,000 foreign students annually, urged the State Department in a letter Thursday to exempt the applicants from the travel bans and provide other relief so they can start their summer jobs. Ilir Zherka, head of the Alliance for International Exchange, which sent the letter along with more than 500 supporting groups and companies, argued the J-1 program doesn’t just benefit local economies, but also helps strengthen national security by promoting understanding and appreciation of U.S. culture.
Supporters of the H-2B program, meanwhile, have renewed their call to overhaul the program, which is capped at 66,000 visas per fiscal year. The Biden administration, citing the summer demand from employers, said Tuesday it will approve an additional 22,000 H-2B visas, but lawmakers from New England and other regions that rely on the visas for tourism, landscaping, forestry, fish processing and other seasonal trades say that’s still inadequate.
“That’s infinitesimal. It isn’t anywhere close to the need,” said Congressman Bill Keating, a Democrat representing Cape Cod.
Cem Küçükgenç (Gem Koo-CHOOK-gench), a 22-year-old engineering student at Middle East Technical University in Turkey, is among thousands of foreign students worldwide awaiting approval for a J-1 visa.
He’s slated to work at a waterfront restaurant in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, this summer, but the U.S. Embassy in Ankara recently announced that it won’t be unable to process temporary work visas in time for the summer season.
Turkey has imposed a partial lockdown as the coronavirus surges there, but Küçükgenç is still holding out hope the embassy might relent if virus cases subside.
“I graduate next year,” he said. “I’m not sure when I’ll have another chance.”
In Jamaica, Freda Powell says she and her husband have secured their H-2B visas and will arrive on Cape Cod, where they’ve worked in retail stores and restaurants for roughly 20 summers now, in early May.
But the 55-year-old worries her siblings and other relatives might not be so lucky. The U.S. Embassy in Kingston has temporarily halted visa processing because of rising COVID-19 cases in her country, she says.
“In Jamaica, you can work, but it’s hand to mouth,” Powell said. “With the money you make in the U.S., you can buy a car, fix the house, send your kids to school and build savings.”
The uncertainty around international hires has forced American businesses to redouble their efforts to hire domestically, or make tough compromises until reinforcements can arrive.
In New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the Christmas-themed amusement park Santa’s Village is promising college students free housing and utilities.
In California’s Sonoma Valley, business leaders in the famous winemaking region are exploring the idea of pooling employees, among other workforce initiatives.
Mark Bodenhamer, head of the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce, said a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch could possibly share employees with one that does the majority of its business during evening hours.
“Those solutions are complicated and costly,” he said. “But at this point, it’s all hands on deck.”
In North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the tourist season is already in full swing, but staff shortages abound, according to Karen Brown, head of the beach region’s chamber of commerce.
Some restaurants have been forced to shut down once a week or halt curbside service, while in some hotels, managers are helping maids turn over rooms, she said.
“Everyone is pitching in where they can just to keep the wheels on the bus,” Brown said.
Mac Hay, who owns seafood restaurants and markets on Cape Cod, is among the business owners who have their doubts that extra efforts to hire American workers will pay off.
On a given year, he estimates about a third of his 350-person summer workforce ultimately has to come from seasonal visa workers from Mexico, Jamaica and elsewhere when the jobs aren’t filled locally.
Hay argues the foreign workers are the “backbone kitchen staff” — the line cooks, food prep workers and dishwashers — who make it possible for him to hire Americans for jobs they’re seeking, such as waiting tables, bartending and management.
“We simply won’t be able to meet demand without an increased workforce,” he said.
Business owners and experts say there are myriad reasons why U.S. citizens aren’t rushing to respond to the job boom, from COVID-19-related worries to child care issues or simply a decision to collect unemployment benefits, which have been increased and extended through the summer season in most places.
But the need for international workers on Cape Cod — where soaring housing costs have been a major barrier to generating a substantial homegrown workforce — boils down to a simple math problem, Hay said.
Provincetown, a popular gay resort community at the very tip of the cape, has just 2,200 year-round residents, yet restaurants like Hay’s employ about 2,000 workers in high season alone.
“We’re on a dead-end street up here, basically,” he said. “There’s no one else coming.”
Alliance sends letter to Sec. Blinken from over 500 Businesses
Washington, DC: The Alliance for International Exchange’s Executive Director, Ilir Zherka, issued the following statement today regarding an Alliance letter to Secretary Blinken from over 500 businesses. The letter urges the Department of State to take additional steps to process exchange visas to alleviate the economic strife affecting the international exchange community. The below may be quoted in whole or in part.
Today, the Alliance sent a letter to Secretary Blinken from over 500 signees who represent the sponsors, businesses, and industries that recruit, host, and support international exchange visitors every year.
We recognize the Secretary's very strong support of these programs and applaud recent steps taken by the Administration to enable them. Unfortunately, those steps are not enough. Most of these signees and others in the exchange community are facing an extraordinary economic crisis and for some program sponsors, the threat is existential.
The Alliance and the signees are urging the Department to take additional steps to process exchange visas, including waiving interviews for J-1 applicants, targeting resources at embassies where demand is high, and lifting travel restrictions in favor of proof of a negative COVID test or vaccination. Doing so will fulfill President's Biden promise to follow the science when fighting to end the pandemic. It would also help protect embassy personnel while supporting the American employers that administer and rely on the exchange programs.
The Alliance for International Exchange is an association dedicated to promoting the growth and impact of exchange programs and the effectiveness of its members. Since 1993, it serves as the collective public policy voice for organizations comprising the international educational and cultural exchange community in the United States.
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Alliance Applauds Administration Decision re P. 10052
Washington, DC: The Alliance for International Exchange’s Executive Director, Ilir Zherka, issued the following statement today regarding the Biden Administration allowing Presidential Proclamation 10052 to expire yesterday, March 31. P. 10052 was intended to suspend the entry to the United States of certain nonimmigrant visa applicants presenting a risk to the U.S. labor market during the economic recovery following the coronavirus outbreak. The below may be quoted in whole or in part.
We applaud the decision of the Biden Administration to allow Proclamation 10052 to expire yesterday. The premise of P. 10052 was deeply flawed: International cultural exchange programs strengthen our national security, while supporting American jobs. Those were also the conclusions of the Federal Court in NAM v. DHS when it issued an injunction preventing implementation of the Proclamation.
The Alliance urges the Biden Administration to turn its attention swiftly to addressing the continuing economic crisis facing exchange sponsors in the United States. An estimated 6500 jobs and $303M were lost by these employers and others in related fields last year due to the pandemic. Overall, the exchange community experienced $1.23 billion in financial fallout in 2020. The Administration’s current approach of not issuing most J-1 visas in countries where there are travel bans, as well as its decision not to prioritize these BridgeUSA programs for visa processing in countries without such a ban, will likely mean that program sponsors will go through another year without much income. That would be devastating to exchange employers and to the cultural exchange programs they run, which would in turn hurt the United States' national security for years to come.
The Administration can help ease the current crisis by excepting J-1 visas from the travel bans and prioritizing the processing of these visas. The time is now to enable summer participation in exchange programs where possible and appropriate, and to support the American employers who sponsor those programs.
The Alliance for International Exchange is an association dedicated to promoting the growth and impact of exchange programs and the effectiveness of its members. Since 1993, it serves as the collective public policy voice for now over 90 organizations comprising the international educational and cultural exchange community in the United States.
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Senators urge rescission of Proclamation suspending J-1 visas
On March 17, Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Angus King (I-ME) sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the rescission of former-President Donald Trump’s ban on seasonal, employer-sponsored, and cultural exchange visas under Proclamation 10052.The Senate letter also calls on President Biden to “direct your consulates to resume timely processing of nonimmigrant visas.”
See the full letter here, as well as the press release from Senator Menendez here.
The Alliance thanks and congratulates all those involved in encouraging and supporting this effort. Please help increase the reach and impact of this letter by posting it on your social media.
For more information on P. 10052 and related Alliance efforts, please visit our Presidential Proclamation on J-1 Visas website page.
USGLC Report on Reports: A Roadmap for U.S. Global Leadership
In March 2021, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) released its latest Report on Reports: A Roadmap for U.S. Global Leadership – a review of over 120 reports from think tank and policy organizations across the political spectrum.
As it has done every four years dating back to the 2008 presidential election, USGLC reviewed more than 100 reports from leading think tanks and policy institutes across the political spectrum with recommendations for the Administration and Congress on foreign policy and national security. USGLC’s “Report on Reports” synthesizes these reports, looking for areas of consensus in the hopes American policymakers can find common ground.
Click here to see a brief highlight reel of the report's launch event with President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and bipartisan state and local leaders.
Action by Biden Administration needed on visas to promote diplomacy, support economy
The Biden Administration correctly ties the United States’ national security to our country’s economic health in their new Interim National Security Strategic Guidance. These goals, however, are being inadvertently undermined by unnecessary restrictions on international exchange visas. Quick action is needed by the Administration to help protect cultural exchange programs and the American jobs that depend on them.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined in a speech the role American diplomacy will play in advancing the President’s new strategy in the era of COVID-19. “President Biden has pledged to lead with diplomacy because it’s the best way to deal with today’s challenges.” Secretary Blinken also stated that diplomacy “means investing in American workers,” and pledged to deliver for the American people by creating greater economic opportunities.
International cultural exchange programs were designed precisely to meet these twin goals. Authorized by the Fulbright-Hays Act, privately funded BridgeUSA programs have been changing hearts and minds for decades. In separate studies of the Au Pair, Camp Counselor, Intern, Summer Work Travel, and Trainee programs, the research firm EurekaFacts found that on average 75% of international exchange visitors developed a more positive opinion of the U.S. They also develop lasting friendships here and ties to America that often extend to their families and future generations. EurekaFacts further found that exchange visitors on these programs contribute over $1.5 billion a year to the American economy. Even more importantly, many host families, camps, and small businesses report that they would suffer economic harm if exchange visitors were not available.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant challenges for these hosts, the costs to program sponsors and related industries has also been substantial. Collectively, the loss for these two groups is over $1.23 billion and 6500 jobs. While President Biden has pledged that vaccines will be available for every adult by late May, program sponsors and hosts see in their future severe economic hardship resulting from another summer without international exchange visitors. For many sponsors, such a scenario would be catastrophic.
The culprit? Unnecessary and inappropriate restrictions on travel by J-1 visa applicants. For example, even though J-1 applications can be processed under Presidential Proclamation 10143 (which bans travel from certain areas and countries due to COVID-19), embassies can and should still issue visas for future travel. And yet, applicants are being denied interviews in many countries. Additionally, while a Federal court has enjoined the implementation of Proclamation 10052 (which seeks to ban travel on certain types of visas), embassies routinely cite the Proclamation when denying application interviews.
The international exchange community strongly supports efforts to keep everyone involved with these programs safe, including consular affairs officers. We know, however, that safety can be balanced with enabling critical programs because the travel ban makes exceptions for international students and others. Moreover, the Administration’s requirement that visitors show proof of a negative COVID-19 test before traveling addresses the question of safety.
There are a few quick steps available to address these problems. The Biden Administration should treat exchange visitors like international students and make an exception for them under the travel ban. Additionally, the Administration should extend the Court injunction on P. 10052 to all applicants and let the Proclamation expire at the end of March.
Secretary Blinken is a strong supporter of international exchange programs, because, as he noted, “Not a single challenge that affects [our] lives can be met by any one nation acting alone.” In fact, international exchange visitors fill unique needs in our economy by allowing families to juggle work and childcare, camps to find counselors, businesses in tourist areas to fill labor shortages, rural and other schools to add much needed teachers, and businesses to offer internships to prospective employees and training for existing employees.
By directing American embassies that are open for business to start processing J-1 visa applications again, Secretary Blinken will be taking steps that could save thousands of American jobs while advancing people-to-people diplomacy. Those two goals align perfectly with the Biden Administration’s national security and domestic priorities.
Ilir Zherka is the Executive Director of the Alliance for International Exchange.
2020 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy & International Broadcasting
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The 2020 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy & International Broadcasting, released by the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) annually, assesses the major Public Diplomacy and global media activities conducted by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
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2020 Annual Conference
The Alliance held its 2020 Annual Conference virtually over the days of October 28-29. The Alliance welcomed 245 attendees, including Alliance members, supporters, and more than 50 U.S. government representatives (many from the U.S. Department of State). The conference featured remarks from keynote speaker Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Marie Royce. In her video remarks, Assistant Secretary Royce discussed the value of exchange programs during these uncertain times and BridgeUSA, the new brand identity for the Private Sector component of the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP).
Other conference highlights included: breakout sessions with ECA program staff; discussion with Alliance leadership; and content sessions on travel and 2021 and beyond. The Alliance extends its sincere gratitude and appreciation to all its members, supporters, and partners in the U.S. government in ensuring a successful conference.
Our conference in 2021 will be at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel on November 9 and 10.
Alliance Annual Conference 2020
The Annual Conference is a platform for the international exchange community to engage in programmatic and policy discussions with representatives from key government agencies, including the U.S. Department of State. The Annual Conference is also an opportunity to network with partners and to develop the strategies necessary to address the challenges and opportunities facing our community.
Alliance Virtual Conference – October 28 and 29
Registration for the 2020 Alliance Annual Conference is now closed. Thank you to our conference sponsors and speakers for helping make this event possible.
Conference attendees can access the event through this link. We look forward to seeing participants on October 28 and 29.
Au Pairs are Essential During Pandemic and Beyond
As published in Medium on September 14, 2020.
Families are managing challenges with their children going back to school in a world that certainly looks different than it did last September. Many school districts have returned to classes virtually and parents continue to work from home. Now, more than ever, families are looking for childcare solutions to meet the moment. One popular option is the U.S. State Department Au Pair program. The federal Au Pair program is a cultural exchange program that enables young people between the ages of 18 and 26 years old to experience life with an American family.
This week, EurekaFacts (an independent research firm) released one of the most comprehensive Au Pair program reports to date. EurekaFacts surveyed 10,881 au pair participant alumni and 6,452 host families to determine the impact of the program. By all objective measures, the report demonstrates the overwhelming success and positive impact of the Au Pair program. The report corroborates the very positive annual reports of program sponsors (the U.S. Department of State, which oversees the program, requires annual audits). The report confirms that: the program provides flexible and dependable childcare support for American families, while supporting economic growth; the program serves as an invaluable foreign policy tool; and au pair participants and host families are satisfied with their experience.
Ameena, an au pair host parent in Missouri explains, “As a dual-physician household, our childcare needs are unique and variable due to our work schedules and having no family in the city where we live. We considered many local childcare options and have had great difficulty in finding a solution. The Au Pair program provides a trustworthy and reliable way to provide secure childcare while at the same time broadening our children’s cultural experiences. We had a successful and extremely positive experience with our first au pair over the past year.”
The Au Pair program provides participants with broad exposure to American culture and society and fosters greater knowledge and appreciation among Americans of the participants’ home countries. According to the EurekaFact’s survey, 97 percent of au pair alumni gained a better understanding of American culture during their time in the United States.
Laura, au pair host parent in California explains, “During these unprecedented times, the Au Pair program has been such a cultural and personal blessing. Not only is my daughter, now two years old, learning about the South African culture through our exceptional au pair, I am able to care for our newborn during the uncertainty of the COVID 19 crisis. We are middle class Americans, and the Au Pair program has allowed both of us to work in a major U.S. city. Using our skills and talents to directly impact the healthcare and education industry would not be possible without our au pair.”
The EurkaFacts report demonstrates that the Au Pair program is additionally an important tool for economic growth. Au pairs spend approximately $257 million per year on items such as food, entertainment, and travel in the U.S.
Critics of the program have argued that many au pairs are not satisfied with the program. EurekaFacts, however, concludes that the criticisms of program opponents are unfounded. According to EurekaFacts, critics leverage “very little supporting data from program participants, elevate the opinions of those whose experiences are the exception, and are at odds with the vast majority of au pair experiences.” EurekaFacts finds that 90 percent of au pairs rated their experience in the U.S. as excellent or good. The program is exceedingly popular and grows largely through word of mouth. 86 percent of host families are very likely or somewhat likely to recommend becoming a host family to friends or family in the future.
The Administration through its June 22 presidential proclamation suspended issuing visas for most au pair participants through the end of December. The EurekaFacts report, however, demonstrates the critical nature of this program. With numerous challenges during these uncertain times, the Au Pair program remains a lifeline for many families including the ability for host parents to be able to work full-time. Importantly, the program also enriches international participants and creates lasting relationships with their American host families. For all these reasons, the Administration should resume issuing visas for participants of international exchange programs, including those hoping to join American families as an au pair.
Ilir Zherka is the Executive Director of the Alliance for International Exchange.