The Impact of the Biden Administration on Cultural Exchange

On 31 March the Presidential Proclamation 10052 expired. The Proclamation was established by former US President Trump in June 2020 and prolonged until the end of March this year banning au pairs (with only a few exemptions) as well as applicants for certain J1 and work visa categories from entering the US.

Even though it is good news that the proclamation is not in place anymore, are still be many open questions:  Will the US return to J1 visa regulations as before the proclamation? Will consulates issue visas from now on? After all COVID-19 related travel bans are still in place.
What is the general approach of the Biden administration towards Cultural Exchange programmes in general and the au pair programme in particular?

During this webinar and the following discussion, we hope to answer some of these questions, of course a lot may stay unclear as it is up to the US government’s decision what will happen now.

Meet our Speakers

We asked Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of the Alliance for International Exchange, to give us an overview of the current situation in the US and provide us with an outlook on what we may be able to expect from the presidency of Joe Biden as far as our programmes are concerned.

Read Ilir Zherka´s bio here

After his presentation, Ilir will answer some of your questions that we will collect before the webinar.

Ilir will discuss the situation with IAPA member Michael McHugh, Senior. Vice President at Au Pair USA by InterExchange. He will give participants additional information and answer questions from the perspective of a US sponsor.

Read Michael McHugh´s bio here

Our IAPA Chair Linda James will moderate the session.

Read Linda James´ bio here

This is a free webinar for IAPA member organisations.

We can offer some places to non-member organisations who are interested Please contact us at info@iapa.org to enquire and register.