[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87927-87928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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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