August 14, 2025 – Alliance for International Exchange – OMB Moves to Cut FY25 Funding for at Least 22 ECA Programs

July 14, 2025 – We are pleased to see that the draft appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2026 includes strong support for the Fulbright Program, with $287.8 million designated for this flagship international exchange initiative. As part of the broader allocation of over $700 million for educational and cultural exchange programs, this funding reaffirms the U.S. commitment to global engagement, mutual understanding, and academic diplomacy. While this is a positive step, we must continue to #StandforFulbright to ensure the program’s future and protect its vital role in promoting peace through education and exchange.

June 11, 2025 – Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) has resigned in protest over political interference, following a proposed $700 million cut to U.S. exchange programs in the White House’s FY2026 budget. While this marks a significant shift, the Fulbright Program remains active and firmly supported by its global network of alumni, binational commissions, and the Fulbright Association. Our community continues to advocate, educate, and uphold the values that have guided Fulbright for nearly 80 years.

Please join us in writing to Congress to protect and sustain the Fulbright Program.

June 4, 2025 – Travel ban fully restricts the entry of people from 12 countries

June 4, 2025 – New attempts to restrict international students at Harvard

May 27, 2025 – Trump administration pauses new student visa interviews

May 27, 2025 – Association of International Educators warns students won’t want to come to the US

May 21, 2025 – Boozman Encourages Reforming and Strengthening Food Security, Fulbright Programs – Read more

President’s FY26 budget proposes to essentially eliminate State Department exchange programs | Alliance for International Exchange

Lessons Learned: The First 100 Days of the Second Trump Administration | Alliance for International Exchange

May 9, 2025 – Department of Education Cancels Fulbright-Hays Applications. Link to Insider Higher Ed article.

May 2, 2025 – Trump administration submits a discretionary budget for FY2026 that includes a 93% decrease in funding for Educational and Cultural Exchanges (691 million). This line item includes the Fulbright Program – The reason sited is the following: “Inspector General reports have documented insufficient monitoring for fraud and inefficient, wasteful programming at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. Foreign students receiving technical and high demand training leave to take those skills overseas, including back to near-peer rivals, having deprived American students of places to acquire those skills. This program is no longer affordable.” Link to budget document.

April 22, 2025 – The Fulbright Association updated its Ask to Congress. Check out our updated toolkit here.

April 22, 2025 – U.S. Department of State releases new organizational structure which includes Educational and Cultural Affairs (administers the Fulbright Program) – link to chart

April 21, 2025 – NY Times – Fulbright Program mentioned in  White House Assesses Ways to Persuade Women to Have More Children – “One proposal shared with aides would reserve 30 percent of scholarships for the Fulbright program, the prestigious, government-backed international fellowship, for applicants who are married or have children.”

April 16, 2025 – Alliance for International Exchange – The Department of State Memo That Leaked: Let’s Talk About the Budget Process

April 15, 2025 – Alliance for International Exchange – Exchanges Aren’t Going Anywhere: Leaked State Department Memo and What It Means for Exchanges

April 14, 2025 – Trump administration memo proposes ending the Fulbright Program

A leaked Trump administration memo proposes slashing the State Department and USAID budget by 48%, from $55.4 billion to $28.4 billion. Cuts would eliminate funding for NATO, the UN, and global peacekeeping missions, while slashing humanitarian aid and global health programs by over 50%. The Fulbright Program, international organization support, and the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations would be eliminated. The foreign service workforce and travel budget would also face major reductions. Critics, including Senator Chris Van Hollen and the American Foreign Service Association, have called the plan dangerous, warning it would damage U.S. leadership and benefit global adversaries. Link to Washington Post article, Link to The Guardian article.

April 14, 2025 – International Student Visas Revoked

As of April 14, over 170 colleges and universities have identified 1,000-plus international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status changed by the State Department.  Link: Where Students Have Had Their Visas Revoked

April 4, 2025 – Update from The Alliance for International Exchange

Message from the Executive Director of the Alliance – Mark Overmann
In her testimony to a House appropriations subcommittee this week, World Learning CEO and former Alliance Board Chair, Carol Jenkins, encapsulated the importance of finding common ground to push forward our advocacy agenda. Carol told the subcommittee:
“We share President Trump’s commitment to making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous through exchanges involving some of our most effective and trustworthy diplomats—American citizens themselves.”

The exchange community has been relentlessly delivering a similar message to members of Congress, and that message does seem to be resonating. This was evident in the actions we know that Members on both sides of the aisle took to weigh in on the Department of State funding freeze. That this Congressional action helped to get funding flowing again is a positive sign and a step in the right direction.

This sense of optimism, however, is tempered by the concerning reports on the detentions and visa revocations of international students and scholars across the country. We support the statements of alarm about these actions from our colleagues at NAFSA and the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. We are also concerned about last week’s Department of State cable instructing consular officers to refer certain visa applicants for a mandatory social media review.

In an effort to help alleviate that anxiety on these issues, in at least one small way, we’ve created this document which provides information and recommendations your organizations may wish to share with your applicants and incoming participants to help them be prepared and safe as possible. When referencing this document, it’s important to remember that the guidance provided is solely a recommendation and should not be construed as legal advice.
Thank you for your continued fight to protect our programs and the incredible participants that make them possible.

On Wednesday, April 2, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs held a hearing for organizations to share their priorities and requests for the FY26 funding bill. Among the many leaders who spoke passionately about the importance of funding public diplomacy and international development initiatives was World Learning CEO and Former Alliance Board Chair Carol Jenkins. Carol reported on the ECA funding freeze and recent funding flow, made the case that investing in international exchange programs makes America safer, stronger, and more prosperous, and delivered the ask of no less than $741 million for educational and cultural exchange appropriations (ECE) in FY26. The Alliance also submitted written testimony to the Subcommittee on behalf of our community’s FY26 request.

U.S. college leaders condemn recent international student detentions
On Monday, March 31, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration released a statement condemning “the recent immigration enforcement actions targeting noncitizen students, faculty and staff”, and urgently “calling on the Trump Administration to respect their constitutional rights, including the First Amendment’s protection of speech and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process.” This statement comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed over 300 international student visas that have been revoked, and as news of the apprehension and detention of international students at colleges and universities across the country continues to be reported out.

What We’re Reading

• Trump Immigration Policies Increase Peril For International Students | Forbes 
• Smashing the Student Visa System | Insider Higher Ed 
• Rubio Orders U.S. Diplomats to Scour Student Visa Applicants’ Social Media | The New York Times 
• Au Pair Program Helps Amid Federal Return To Office, Fairfax County Family Says | Patch 
• Europe steps up recruitment of US scientists | The PIE News 

ECA Funding Update 

As of 3/31/2025

Provided by the Alliance for International Education

Alliance members have received over 85% of outstanding DOS payments that had been withheld due to the ongoing funding freeze. This “15-day payment pause,” in place since February 12, has still not officially been lifted – but payments began trickling through over the past 10-12 days, and really picked up steam this week. At the end of last week, members had seen ~25% of payments come through. Over the past 48 hours, that number has shot up to 85%.

This is incredibly encouraging progress, and a win for us all. A new payment process, while cumbersome, seems to be coalescing. Through that process, a rhythm of payments is slowly but surely developing.

Certainly, challenges remain. First, it will take implementing organizations some time to restabilize after the disruption caused by nearly two months without funding. Second, organizations need to have confidence that this new payment process will continue to work and that they can count on future funding. And third, many organizations are due for contractual modifications and many programs for rebids and renewals—it’s vital that these actions happen as soon as possible, for the long-term health and stability of the programs.

But even so, I want to reiterate how positive this progress is and that we couldn’t have gotten to this important moment without you and without the community’s overwhelming action.

In early March, the Alliance, along with NAFSA and The Forum on Education Abroad, launched an advocacy campaign urging Congress to restore funding to ECA program implementers. Thanks to your action, more than 24,000 letters have been sent to more than 500 Congressional offices (through both the Alliance’s and NAFSA’s letter-writing systems). This is an incredible and unparalleled response.

Just days after the launch of our campaign, 160 Alliance members went to Capitol Hill to meet with over 140 Congressional offices on Advocacy Day, delivering the same urgent message. We also generated strong media attention in major outlets like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Associated Press. 

FA Funding Update 

As of 3/26/2025

IIE has not received the funding that would be necessary to pay the FA yet but hope to in the coming weeks.  FA Chapters are guided to utilize remaining Fall funds to conduct Spring activities as available. 

ECA Funding Update 

As of 3/15/2025

Provided by the Alliance for International Education

The Department of State has still not released any information about the ongoing payment pause. Billed as a temporary 15-day pause starting on February 12, this freeze has now been in place for nearly a month and has not yet been lifted.

At the end of last week and early this week, we’ve been receiving reports that a small number of ECA payments are trickling through. This is a step in the right direction. The payments I’m aware of have been made across a variety of youth, academic, and professional programs and with no apparent pattern.

While this limited activity is a hopeful sign, our information gathering shows that ~85% of pending requests for payments across organizations have not yet been received. Only ~15% of requested payments have been received.

We launched an advocacy campaign last week on this issue in collaboration with NAFSA and the Forum on Education Abroad. As of today, more than 21,000 letters have been sent to Congress urging Members to tell the State Department to lift the funding freeze. These letters have gone to 518 House and Senate offices. This is an unparalleled response.

Also, more than 165 Alliance members went to the Hill last Thursday for more than 150 Congressional meetings, where our advocates reinforced this message about ending the freeze.

We’re currently following up on the many positive signs of support we’ve gotten from offices and working to encourage as much Congressional weigh-in on the issue as possible.

Our efforts with NAFSA, FA and the Forum have also yielded strong media coverage in several major outlets. Reporters have been most interested in the impact on Americans abroad on academic programs. We’re also pushing the story of the impact on youth, professional, and other programs, to show the breadth of impact across exchanges and across U.S. communities. We hope to get additional media coverage.

• Study abroad funding is paused, leaving some students stranded. | The New York Times
• Funding freeze leaves Fulbright and study-abroad scholars stranded | The Washington Post
• Scholars stranded in America and abroad amid funding freeze of State Department programs |The Associated Press
• Survival of study-abroad and exchange programs is threatened, advocates say | Latitudes
• US funding freeze “threatens survival of study abroad” | The PIE News
• US funding freeze affecting both American and international exchange students and major US scholarship funders | ICEF Monitor

Please continue to keep us posted with any updates, no matter how large or small: on payments you’ve received, communication from ECA, or anything else.

#StandforFulbright Advocacy Day Recap

As of 3/14/2025

Provided by Fulbright Association

Thank you for your dedication and participation in our Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. With over 100 attendees and meetings with 87 congressional offices—not to mention the many meaningful impromptu conversations with Congressional Members—we made significant progress in elevating the profile of the Fulbright Program and securing its 

future. As our Board Vice Chair Leland Lazarus said, “a perfect FA day”.  

Your leadership and commitment position you at the forefront of this movement. The ideas, conversations, and collaborations from yesterday are critical to ensuring Fulbright continues to thrive. We encourage you to stay engaged and spread the word about ways your communities and networks can get involved.

Important Follow-Ups

To ensure we maximize our impact, please take a few moments to complete these action items:

• Submit Your Meeting Report: Fill out the Meeting Report Form for each individual meeting to help us track our advocacy efforts and strengthen future engagement.
• Send a Thank-You Note: Follow up with a thank-you email to the staffer or member you met with, using this template. Be sure to CC advocacy@fulbright.org to keep us informed.
• Complete the Advocacy Day Survey: Share your feedback on the event by completing this brief survey. Your input will help us improve our advocacy efforts moving forward.
• Submit Your Photos: Please share any photos you took during Advocacy Day by submitting them to munir@fulbright.org to help us capture the energy and spirit of the day.

What’s Next in the #StandforFulbright Campaign?

#StandforFulbright Capitol Hill Day was just the beginning. In the coming weeks, we will continue to build on this momentum through:

• Local District Meetings: Fulbright Association chapters will be meeting with their local congressional offices to reinforce the advocacy efforts initiated in Washington, D.C. Connect with your chapter to take part in these meetings and help amplify our message.
• A Letter-Writing Campaign: A national campaign to continue raising awareness and demonstrating broad support for Fulbright. The date will likely be closer to May, when the Foreign Relations Committees are slated for the FY26 budget markup.
• #StandforFulbright Night of Champions: On May 8 in Washington, D.C., we will bring together key stakeholders and advocates for an event dedicated to strengthening the Fulbright community and advancing our mission. Depending on the need at the time, we may also conduct another round of visits on Capitol Hill. Registration will be available on www.fulbright.org in the coming weeks.
• Attend the Annual Conference: Stay engaged with advocates and alumni by joining us October 24-26th, 2025 at Florida International University. The Annual Conference unites Fulbright alumni and international leaders for three days of networking, thought leadership, and collaboration. Registration will be available on in the coming weeks.

Help Amplify Our Message: Post on Social Media

Extend the impact of Advocacy Day by posting on social media. Use #StandforFulbright on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, and refer to our Advocacy Toolkit for social media guidelines and templates. Spreading awareness about the importance of international exchange programs is key to our ongoing success.

IIE Staffing Update

As of 3/13/2025

Link to the Official Staffing Update – Here An Important Update from IIE | IIE

ECA Funding Update 

As of 3/2/2025

Provided by the Alliance for International Education

As you’re aware, the Department of State has still not lifted what was described as a 15-day temporary pause of all international exchange program funding. This is effectively paralyzing ECA-funded exchange programs and not only risks the health, safety, and future of the more than 12,500 American youth, students, and professionals who are currently abroad right now or plan to be in the next 6 months, but also leaves many Alliance member organizations and higher ed institutions in a dire state of limbo and financial hardship.

So we’ll be launching an advocacy campaign on Monday morning to ask Members of Congress to demand that the Department of State lift the freeze on international exchange funding. We’ve been coordinating closely with NAFSA, who is launching a parallel campaign with the same language and ask.

As our fellow association colleagues, I would especially like to ask that you utilize your networks to spread the campaign far and wide. Here is a preview of the campaign: https://www.votervoice.net/EXCHANGE/Campaigns/122627/Respond

Embassy Staffing Update 

As of 2/14/2025

Provided by NAFSA

New Executive Order to impact embassy staffing – On Wednesday, February 12, a communication from the Department of State instructed U.S. embassies around the world to start planning for staff reductions. This communication was sent right before a new Executive Order stating, “All officers or employees charged with implementing the foreign policy of the United States must under Article II do so under the direction and authority of the President.”

ECA Program and Funding Update

As of 2/12/2025

Provided by NAFSA

 NAFSA: Association of International Educators has learned that recipients of State Department grant funding have been informed of a 15-day temporary pause on all disbursements. Our understanding is that the pause is effective as of February 12, 2025, and applies to all current and future grant payments scheduled during this period.

This sweeping pause affects time-tested and essential international education and exchange programs including the Fulbright Program, the Gilman Scholarship program, the IDEAS program, and the Critical Language Scholarship Program.

NAFSA is working closely with our partners including the Alliance for International Exchange, the Forum on Education Abroad, and the U.S. for Success Coalition to learn more about the impetus for this pause and determine the appropriate advocacy response.