Exchange Visitors
All individuals traveling to the United States as beneficiaries of USAID assistance (funded in full or part with USAID funds) are considered Exchange Visitors (EVs) and must use a USAID J-1 visa. This includes invitational travel and participant training, which are both described in detail in ADS Chapter 252. There are two exceptions to this guidance: 1) co-PIs coming to the U.S. for Innovation Lab administrative business; and 2) advisory body members/evaluators. These individuals are not considered Exchange Visitors and do not have to use a USAID J-1 visa.
Training and Exchanges Automated Management System (TEAMS)
The SIIL subaward university that plans to host the EV has the responsibility to implement the TEAMS process to obtain a USAID J-1 visa for the EV. When a SIIL subaward university plans the visit/study of the EV at their institution, the following steps should be taken to begin the TEAMS process. Contact the SIIL Program Administrator Layne Davis (laynewilson@ksu.edu) for details on the enrollment of appropriate individuals into the TEAMS system. Two team members from the host university should be appointed to serve as the Initiator (R1) and Verifier (R2). After the R1 and R2 roles are established, the process can begin. If you have any questions that cannot be answered by the SIIL ME, you may also contact the TEAMS Helpdesk at teams@usaid.gov for further assistance.
Selection of Trainees
The capacity strengthening resources of Innovation Labs should continue to be offered primarily for the training and capacity building of host country partners. Thus, training opportunities should be offered to trainees from the following countries in the order presented:
1. Feed the Future focus countries
2. Aligned countries (e.g. New Alliance countries, countries targeted for other relevant USAID initiatives, etc.)
3. Other developing countries with whom the U.S. government has diplomatic relations and where USAID activities are approved by the host government and not prohibited by U.S. law (your AOR can assist you this determination).
4. USA
5. Other developed countries with whom the U.S. government has diplomatic relations, only with very good justification:
Please initiate the TEAMS process no less than 6 months prior the anticipated arrival of the EV.
Note: The training of other developed country nationals should be offered only in extremely rare cases. Such cases will be considered by the AOR when the program has documented that they have exhausted all avenues for the selection of students from the higher priority countries. We anticipate that there will be very few, if any, developed country national trainees approved.