Before your Pre-Departure Orientation, please review the information below.
All J-1 students must participate in an international representative-led and U.S. Department of State-required Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) prior to July 15th, 2025 for August 2025 Arrivals.
The PDOs must include providing students access to all documents found on this page. All students must understand the expectations and rules of their program in the U.S. The CIEE Pre-Departure Guidelines are sent via email in advance of every PDO season, and a Pre-Departure PowerPoint presentation is also available for your use.
All students must sign an attendance log to indicate their participation in the PDO. International Representatives should use the CIEE provided attendance log to provide proof of student participation. Please include as many students per form as possible, multiple forms may be submitted if necessary. If sending multiple forms, please gather them and send in one batch to CIEE.
Additionally, all IRs must fill out and sign the following forms and email to [email protected] after the PDO and prior to the above deadlines:
Clarification note: the Acknowledgment of Program Fees and the Sample Fee Acknowledgement form are two separate forms. Please be sure to submit both. The Sample Fee form is a list of your agency's basic pricing, and should not be tied to a specific student.
All signed forms for August 2025 program students are due prior to July 15th, 2025.
The U.S. Department of State requires that students receive written information about the program regarding these regulations. Please provide each of your students and natural parents with the information on this page and explain that the USA High School Program officially begins upon arrival in country, and all program rules apply during that time. It could be helpful to translate this information for your students and natural parents as well.
The handouts include:
Other documents to provide to your students include:
Temporary ID Card /Placement Details Report* - Students must travel with this form!
*Each student’s Temporary ID card/Placement Details Report is available through Beacon as soon as a student is placed in a host family. The PDF generated serves as both the placement details report and the ID card.
To maintain our compliance with current Department of State Regulations, we continue to highlight the most recent regulation changes that took effect:
Travel & Entry into the United States
The student arrival process may include a secondary inspection at their port of entry to the US. Secondary inspection allows inspectors to conduct additional research in order to verify information. Verification is done apart from the primary inspection lines so that an individual case will not cause delays for other arriving passengers. Please advise your students to have easy access to the CIEE phone number in case their admission/participation needs to be verified. All visitors with a SEVIS record (including J-1 visa holders) may be screened for a SEVIS check as part of this updated arrival process. Students should have their visa and all relevant travel documents available (DS-2019 form) for the inspection. More information on the entry process may be found here: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors
Affordable Care Act
Per Department of State regulations, please inform the students that they may be subject to the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. As all CIEE students are provided with insurance, this document will most likely not pertain to them. More information on the Affordable Care Act may be found here https://www.healthcare.gov/
William Wilberforce Act
A PDF copy of the William Wilberforce Act is included in the files that must be shared with the students in our list on the right. Please provide each of your students with a copy.
The PDOs must include providing students access to all documents found on this page. All students must understand the expectations and rules of their program in the U.S. The CIEE Pre-Departure Guidelines are sent via email in advance of every PDO season, and a Pre-Departure PowerPoint presentation is also available for your use.
All students must sign an attendance log to indicate their participation in the PDO. International Representatives should use the CIEE provided attendance log to provide proof of student participation. Please include as many students per form as possible, multiple forms may be submitted if necessary. If sending multiple forms, please gather them and send in one batch to CIEE.
- PDO Attendance Log
Additionally, all IRs must fill out and sign the following forms and email to [email protected] after the PDO and prior to the above deadlines:
- PDO Information form
- Acknowledgement of Program Fees form
- SAMPLE Fee Acknowledgement form
Clarification note: the Acknowledgment of Program Fees and the Sample Fee Acknowledgement form are two separate forms. Please be sure to submit both. The Sample Fee form is a list of your agency's basic pricing, and should not be tied to a specific student.
All signed forms for August 2025 program students are due prior to July 15th, 2025.
The U.S. Department of State requires that students receive written information about the program regarding these regulations. Please provide each of your students and natural parents with the information on this page and explain that the USA High School Program officially begins upon arrival in country, and all program rules apply during that time. It could be helpful to translate this information for your students and natural parents as well.
The handouts include:
- CIEE SEVIS Registration Instructions
- Sexual Harassment Information
- CIEE Five Steps to Insurance
- Insurance Summary of Coverage (please ensure you are using the form that corresponds to your type of insurance)
- CIEE Program Rules
- CIEE Program Criteria
- Department of State Welcome Letter
- Department of State Telephone Number Information
- William Wilberforce Act
- USA World Fact Sheet
- Student Handbook
- Exchange Visitor Program Welcome Brochure
Other documents to provide to your students include:
Temporary ID Card /Placement Details Report* - Students must travel with this form!
*Each student’s Temporary ID card/Placement Details Report is available through Beacon as soon as a student is placed in a host family. The PDF generated serves as both the placement details report and the ID card.
To maintain our compliance with current Department of State Regulations, we continue to highlight the most recent regulation changes that took effect:
- Information on Travel and Entry into the United States
- Affordable Care Act
- William Wilberforce Act
- U.S. Department of State Telephone Number Information
- Acknowledgement of Program Fees (to be completed and returned by each sending agency)
Travel & Entry into the United States
The student arrival process may include a secondary inspection at their port of entry to the US. Secondary inspection allows inspectors to conduct additional research in order to verify information. Verification is done apart from the primary inspection lines so that an individual case will not cause delays for other arriving passengers. Please advise your students to have easy access to the CIEE phone number in case their admission/participation needs to be verified. All visitors with a SEVIS record (including J-1 visa holders) may be screened for a SEVIS check as part of this updated arrival process. Students should have their visa and all relevant travel documents available (DS-2019 form) for the inspection. More information on the entry process may be found here: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors
Affordable Care Act
Per Department of State regulations, please inform the students that they may be subject to the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. As all CIEE students are provided with insurance, this document will most likely not pertain to them. More information on the Affordable Care Act may be found here https://www.healthcare.gov/
William Wilberforce Act
A PDF copy of the William Wilberforce Act is included in the files that must be shared with the students in our list on the right. Please provide each of your students with a copy.
To conduct your Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO), you will need all of the below files
Files that must be completed and returned to CIEE after your PDO and prior to July 15th 2025 for August arrivals:
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Files that must be shared with students during the PDO:
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| CIEE Summary of Benefits - HS (with Co-Pay) |
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| Help Me I'm Lost blank form |
| PDO Guidelines For International Representatives |