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INTRODUCTION to AYUSA and INTRAXWhat are AYUSA and INTRAX?AYUSA stands for Academic Year in the USA. We are a non-profit 501.c.3 educationaland cultural organization dedicated to promoting peace and personal growth throughinternational exchange. We offer students aged 15 to 18 the opportunity to live withvolunteer host families and to study in local high schools for an academic year orsemester. Since 1980, AYUSA has provided opportunities for more than 50,000students from the U.S. and around the world to live and study in another country throughour programs.We are part of a larger organization call INTRAX, which stands for International Trainingand Exchange. Through a variety of different kinds of exchange programs, includingAYUSA, INTRAX provides students, young adults, and families with dynamic exchangeopportunities to engage with the world, inspiring personal growth, mutual respect, andcultural understanding. These programs include:• English Language Schools (Chicago, San Francisco and San Diego)• A Career Training and Internship Program• An Au Pair Program• High School and University-level Outbound ProgramsFor more information, please go to the INTRAX website at www.intraxinc.com.What Is AYUSA’s Mission?It is our belief that exchange offers a unique, richly personal experience for our students,volunteer families, members of host high schools and local communities around theworld. Collectively, the AYUSA family reaches across interpersonal and internationalborders and celebrates worldwide community through the spirit, character and promiseof our youth.What Is AYUSA’s History?• AYUSA International was founded in 1980 by John Wilhelm and Takeshi Yokotawho, after many years of experience in the international citizen exchange field,saw the need for a new approach to high school exchange. AYUSA Internationalwas founded under the name Pacific American International Student Services. Thename was officially changed to AYUSA International in 1984.• Since our beginning in 1980 with the placement of thirty Japanese students,AYUSA has grown to become one of the premier student exchange organizationsand is widely recognized around the world.• More than 50,000 international and American students have participated onAYUSA programs since 1980.• The program now serves approximately 1,500 inbound academic year studentsfrom over 75 countries around the world.• AYUSA is now the 3 rd largest high school youth exchange program in the UnitedStates. For perspective, there were almost 28,000 inbound high school studentsto the United States in 2010 across all exchange programs.© 2006 by AYUSA International, 600 California Street, 10 th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108.All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted for commercialpurposes without prior written permission from AYUSA International.

What Is AYUSA and INTRAX’s Organizational Structure?We have our headquarters in San Francisco, CA, with offices in Chile, France, Germany,Japan, Korea and Peru. There are currently over 150 staff working in the San Franciscooffice to support the 8 INTRAX companies. There are 23 staff in San Francisco whowork within AYUSA’s various departments, including operations, participant services,and grant programs.Overseas PartnersThrough an extensive network of international staff and affiliates (AYUSA has over 30different international partners) students are screened and prepared for their exchangeexperience. Selection criteria include: English proficiency, above-average academicperformance, well-rounded interests, and evidence of maturity and adaptability.San Francisco StaffThe team in San Francisco is responsible for selecting, training and supporting ouroverseas partners. The team is also responsible for program administration, includingstudent admissions. All applications are mailed to the San Francisco office forprocessing and distribution. The San Francisco staff is composed of a highly dedicatedteam of people who are committed to supporting our field staff in their work.AYUSA Field StaffAYUSA maintains nine regional offices throughout the US, each headed by a full-timeRegional Manager (RM), supported by a Regional Manager Assistant (RMA). The RMsare also supported by a team of part-time Regional Directors (RDs) and CommunityRepresentatives (CRs) who recruit, interview, select, and orient host families and serveas liaisons for students, schools, and host families.What is the role of the Department of State (DOS) regardingexchange programs?• The public diplomacy goal of the DOS is to promote mutual understandingbetween the people of the United States and other countries by means ofeducational and cultural exchange.• The DOS designates sponsors (exchange student organizations, such as AYUSA)to administer individual exchange visitor programs. The DOS essentially grantsAYUSA permission to issue the documents (DS 2019) which permit a student toenter the United States on a J-1 visa (see more information on visas below). TheDOS then holds AYUSA accountable to provide program participants withhome/school placement, pre-arrival/arrival orientations and supervision while in theU.S.• AYUSA was first designated by the DOS in 1982.What is the difference between a J-1 visa and an F-1 visa?• Schools issue F-1 visas directly, and they are responsible for the well being ofparticipants. Education and cultural exchange programs issue J-1 visas and take fullresponsibility for participants.• Most American high schools host a combination of J-1 and F-1 students but may notbe aware of the core differences in the criteria and administration of these visas.© 2006 by AYUSA International, 600 California Street, 10 th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108.All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted for commercialpurposes without prior written permission from AYUSA International.

What is the Council of Standards for International EducationalTravel (CSIET)?• The Council of Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) is amembership-based, non-profit organization located in Alexandria, VA.• The mission of CSIET is to identify reputable international youth exchangeprograms, to promote international youth exchange, and to provide leadership andsupport to the exchange and education communities so that youth are providedwith meaningful and safe international exchange experiences.• To this end, CSIET establishes standards for international educational travel forAmerican high school students traveling abroad and for foreign youth traveling tothe United States, and they monitor compliance of these standards as they applyto exchange/educational travel programs.• AYUSA is a founding member of CSIET and was recognized in 2004 as one ofonly five exchange programs which have received full listing (which essentiallymeans full approval) with CSIET continuously since its inception.What Programs Does AYUSA Offer?High School in the United StatesInternational students ages 15 to 18 stay with a volunteer host family and attend U.S.public high schools for either a full academic year beginning in August or for a semesterbeginning in August (Fall).Government Sponsored Academic Year ProgramsAYUSA is honored to have been selected by the US Department of State to operateseveral highly prestigious government grant programs. Students who participate arerecipients of full scholarships funded by the US Department of State. These programsare designed to build bridges of understanding and friendship with selected countriesaround the world.Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES)• In response to 9/11, the Department of State Bureau of Educational and CulturalAffairs launched a program to bring students from predominantly Muslim countriesto the United States for an academic year. This program is intended to helppromote mutual respect and appreciation between the United States and theirhome countries.• AYUSA leads a consortium of partner organizations including AMIDEAST(recognized cultural experts in the Middle East and administrators for the FulbrightProgram) and Sister Cities International in administering the YES Program.• Participants come from countries such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Israel (Arabcommunities), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar,Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. In many of these countries, AYUSA is setting up thevery first youth exchange program.• In June of 2005, 200 AYUSA YES students were invited by President Bush to theWhite House for a Rose Garden event. In the history of youth exchange, this wasthe first time that a full program of students had been invited to be addressed by aPresident of the United States. Our students were very proud to have this event© 2006 by AYUSA International, 600 California Street, 10 th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108.All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted for commercialpurposes without prior written permission from AYUSA International.

covered in their local news media, as well as through MSNBC, the ChristianScience Monitor, the Herald Tribune, and Yahoo news.• On average, AYUSA places approximately 100 YES students throughout the U.S.each year.Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX)• This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau ofEducational and Cultural Affairs, through the Secondary School Initiative of theFREEDOM Support Act of 1992.• Students ages 15 to 18 from the Eurasian countries of the former Soviet Union livewith families and attend school in the United States for the academic year.• FLEX program goals include exposure to community service, leadershipdevelopment, civil society and democracy and free-market economy.• AYUSA is honored to have worked with this program since its inception.Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX)• This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau ofEducational and Cultural Affairs, as well as the German Bundestag.• This jointly funded scholarship program has a goal of building lasting bridges ofunderstanding between the U.S. and Germany. Students attend an orientation inWashington D.C. where they have a chance to meet with members of Congress.Similarly, in Germany, civic education is integrated into the program.• AYUSA is proud to recruit American students for this fully-funded academic yearprogram to Germany in the following states: AZ, CA, CO, NM, TX, and UT.• On average, AYUSA will send 50 American students to Germany and place andsupervise 50 German students coming to the U.S. through this direct exchange.AYUSA PartnershipsOne sign of an organization’s strength is the quality of its partnerships. AYUSA ishonored to be partnered with organizations which help enhance the quality of ourparticipants’ experience, including organizations such as Kiwanis International. Formore information on AYUSA partners, please refer to the partnership section of theAYUSA website.Why Work with AYUSA?Student Diversity - AYUSA brings in students from over 75 countries around the world,more than any other high school youth exchange program. This diversity gives ourfamilies and communities wonderful exposure to the world around them.Diversity of Programs – With many different programs and scholarships, there arenumerous ways that we can give back to our local communities. For example, we havea hosting scholarship of $500.00 that can be utilized by a host sibling to participate in anAYUSA outbound program.Quality of Program – One indicator of AYUSA’s quality is our success with applying forU.S. Department of State funding. AYUSA has been requested to implement every© 2006 by AYUSA International, 600 California Street, 10 th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108.All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted for commercialpurposes without prior written permission from AYUSA International.

important United States government youth exchange program available to date and hastaken leadership roles in doing so. AYUSA is the largest recipient of DOS funding forU.S. based high school exchange programs. These selective programs allow us to bringin the highest caliber students. These programs are tightly monitored by the DOS, andonly the highest quality programs are approved for grant awards year after year.Quality of Materials and Resources - AYUSA’s training program is consistentlyrecognized as superior by youth exchange officials from the U.S. Department of State.We invest tremendous resources in materials to inform and empower our partners. TheAYUSA website and “Meet Our Students” function as an example of an innovative tool tosupport smooth operations, as well as provide high quality service to our host families.Our company database, NEMO, allows all of our field staff immediate access to studentand host family information. This robust system is an example of a “cutting edge”operational initiative and our commitment to investing resources in the long-termdevelopment and strength of the organization. Some organizations may choose toinvest more in staff incentives. While we do offer incentives, we believe strongly ininvesting in tools to elevate the quality of the program and our service to participants,host families, and schools.Quality of Support - The AYUSA Regional Manager team is an experienced,professional and talented group of leaders. With support from the San Francisco office,they provide close supervision and support to our local field staff.Commitment to the Community – AYUSA is one of the few exchange organizationsthat strongly encourages its exchange students to participate in a community serviceproject. This is a unique opportunity for students from another culture to learn about theconcept of “volunteerism” - a concept that is truly a part of America culture. AYUSAvalues community service as a cornerstone of the American way of life and,consequently, integrates service components into the exchange experience. It isimportant to make the point to host families and to schools that we are giving back to thecommunity through these service projects.© 2006 by AYUSA International, 600 California Street, 10 th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108.All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted for commercialpurposes without prior written permission from AYUSA International.