The plans were put forward by the State Department last week and form part of an expected set of changes modernising the administration of America’s J-1 exchange visitor visa, replacing paper-based procedures with SEVIS workflows. “On its face, this proposal should be a standard regulatory update,” executive director of the Alliance for International Exchange Mark Overmann told The PIE News. Notably, the proposal to expand State Department termination authority meaning if a visa were to be revoked with immediate effect, the agency could terminate the J-1 visa holder’s participation in their exchange program without notice and without the opportunity to challenge the termination. It also stipulates a J-1 sponsor must terminate an exchange visitor’s participation in their program if they fail to maintain the required health and accident insurance coverage. Under the current version, failure to maintain insurance is only grounds for termination if deemed “wilful”.