In the August 11 Federal Register, the Department of State (DOS) published a final rule related to the Exchange Visitor Program. In June of 2007, DOS had published an interim final rule that would amend portions of the Exchange Visitor Program that related to trainees and interns. The interim rule would remove the distinction between “non-specialty occupations” and “specialty occupations,” establish a new internship program and amend the selection criteria for participation in a training program.

This final rule includes some changes to the interim final rule, including the permission to use telephone interviews to screen potential participants for eligibility in a training program, removing the requirement that sponsors obtain a Dun & Bradstreet report of companies for whom participants would be placed. The final rule also clarifies regulations related to verification of Worker’s Compensation coverage for participants and the use of an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to find out if a third-party training host organization is a viable business entity. Additionally, the final rule clarifies that trainees and interns may repeat training and internship programs, in certain cases.

This final rule will be effective September 10, 2010