The International Visitor Leadership Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State Office of International Visitors, operating under authority of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Fulbright-Hayes Act.) The International Visitor Leadership Program is one of the most effective public diplomacy activities of the U.S. Department of State.

The program seeks to build international understanding through carefully designed visits that reflect the international visitors’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the U.S. Department of State and the United States embassies around the world.

During their three to four week stay in the United States the visitors travel to a variety of communities meeting with experts in their fields of interest. They may travel individually or as part of a group. Visitors traveling in a group are sometimes all from one country or geographic region, and sometimes from different countries throughout the world. Projects focus on issues of timely importance to the U.S and the visitor’s own country. Topics include diversity and tolerance, HIV/AIDS, the rule of law, the arts, environment, national security, economic development, conflict resolution and drug abuse education.

237 former international visitors are current or former chiefs of state and heads of government. This includes Anthony C.L. Blair, Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Kim Dae-Jung, former President of Korea and Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan. This exemplifies the significance of the International Visitors Program throughout the world. The program enables foreign leaders to gain firsthand knowledge about the United States, its people, policies and culture. The impact of the program is illustrated by the lasting business, cultural, and educational relationships that are established with prominent international professionals.

The itineraries for the visitors are arranged through the cooperation of a nationwide team including the U.S. Department of State, National Program Agencies in Washington D.C. (information on the National Program Agencies can be found to the right) and at the local level by the network of councils who are members of the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV), such as IVCLA.

Below is an outline for a participant's process in The International Visitors Leadership Program, from nomination in their country of origin to the final program evaluation:

1. Participants in the International Visitor (IV) Program are nominated by a U.S Embassy Selection Committee in accordance with the U.S. Department of State (DoS) foreign policy goals and funding allocations.
2. The nomination is forwarded to the DoS Office of International Visitors. In turn, the DoS Program Officer advises the Embassy whether nomination has been approved.
3. The nominee is invited to participate in the IV Program, briefed about the trip and establishes their professional objectives in the United States.
4. The DoS IV Program Officer receives a cable with program objectives for the visitor. The IV Program Officer meets with the national program agency to discuss program themes. The Program Officer sends preliminary information about the IV to potential local councils that may be included in the program, such as The International Visitors Council of Los Angeles.
5. The IV arrives in the United States and is given information regarding his/her first appointment with the DoS IV Program Officer and the National Program Agency.
6. The DoS and National Program Agency team meet with the IV. Together they review the program and the communities where the professional resources are most suited to the IV’s objectives.
7. When notified by the National Program Agency a visitor will be traveling to the local community, IVCLA begins arranging accommodations, transportation, professional appointments, home hospitality, and cultural activities. IVCLA serves as the local contact for the IV while in Los Angeles.
8. The IV tours the U.S. for three to four weeks, stopping at selected local council communities (usually four or five communities.) As a whole the program represents the geographical balance and diversity of the U.S. population.
9. Toward the end of the trip, the IV contacts the program team to evaluate the IV program. Group projects have a formal final evaluation session.
10. Upon the visitor’s return to their home country, U.S. Embassy staff meets with the IV to discuss the trip and then sends an evaluation of the individual program via cable to the DoS IV Program Officer.

IVCLA maintains a database of our international visitor alumni and keeps in touch with their ongoing accomplishments, gaining a better understanding of how their experiences in Los Angeles and the rest of the United States, influenced their lives and impacted their decisions when they returned home.

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