United States: State Department Proposes Expansion of J-1 Exchange Visitor Termination Rules

The State Department has issued a proposed regulation that seeks to expand the grounds upon which a J-1 exchange visitor’s participation in a cultural exchange program can be terminated by the J-1 sponsor organization and/or by the State Department. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted for 60 days from today’s publication in the Federal Register.  

Proposed changes to sponsor’s termination rules

Under the proposed rule, a J-1 sponsor must terminate an exchange visitor's participation in their cultural exchange program if the foreign national fails to maintain the health and accident insurance coverage that is required for the J-1 and their dependent J-2 family members under State Department regulations. Under the current version of the termination regulation, failure to maintain the required insurance is only grounds for mandatory termination if the failure is deemed to be willful. The proposed change would mean that even an inadvertent failure to maintain the precise required types and amount of insurance coverage – not always a straightforward matter - would result in program termination.

The State Department also adds as a mandatory sponsor termination ground a foreign national’s falsification or failure to provide full and truthful information and documentation in their application or ongoing program. In its proposal commentary, the agency provides the examples of a foreign national’s proof of U.S. address, educational qualifications, and attendance at the exchange program activity site as information that must be accurate at all times during the J-1 application period and stay.

Proposed changes to State Department termination rules

The proposal also adds two new grounds that may serve as a basis for the State Department’s termination of a foreign national’s participation in a J-1 program. The first would provide that if a foreign national’s visa stamp is revoked with immediate effect, the State Department may terminate the foreign national’s J-1 participation. Under the proposed rule, if a visa were to be revoked with immediate effect, the State Department could terminate the J-1 nonimmigrant’s participation in their exchange program without notice and without the opportunity to challenge the termination action.

The State Department also adds as a discretionary J-1 termination ground a foreign national’s falsification or failure to provide full and truthful information and documentation in their application or ongoing program. However, under the proposed rule, if a J-1 foreign national’s program participation is being terminated because the government alleges that they engaged in unauthorized employment (already a ground for State Department termination) or that they falsified or failed to provide full and truthful information in their application or ongoing program, the foreign national must be provided notice of the termination action and must be offered the opportunity to challenge the action.

Other proposed changes

The proposal also seeks to revise certain SEVIS and program administration rules for sponsors as well as to align exchange visitor program rules with the new F/J/I nonimmigrant authorized stay regulation that is set to take effect on September 15.

What's next

After the public comment period, DOS will review the feedback and prepare to issue a final rule in the Federal Register. Some aspects of the rule could be revised based on public feedback. There is no set timeframe for publication of a final rule, but it could be issued quickly after the comment period closes.