Incident Reporting

The U.S. Department of State recognizes that ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of exchange visitors on J-1 visas is of paramount importance. Therefore, they work with Exchange Visitor Program sponsors including 91´«Ă˝ to respond to incidents that may adversely affect an exchange. The Department of State  a “serious incident or controversy” as “any situation that have or could endanger the health, safety, or welfare of an exchange visitor or otherwise could be expected to bring the Department of State, the Exchange Visitor Program, or the sponsor’s [91´«Ă˝] exchange visitor program into notoriety or disrepute.”

Examples of qualifying incidents include, but are not limited to: 

  • The death, disappearance, or serious injury or illness of the exchange visitor 
  • Incidents involving the criminal justice system 
  • Sexually-related incidents or abuse 
  • Negative press involving the sponsor’s exchange visitor program 
  • Incidents where a foreign government has become involved 
  • Lost or stolen immigration documents 
  • Theft of intellectual property 
  • Violation of export controls (that is, export of sensitive technology or information) 
  • Other situations impacting exchange visitor safety 

Please review this handout for further information on . Notify your ISSS J-1 advisor if you have experienced any of the incidents or know of any that may have impacted an exchange visitor.