The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the US Department of State‘s premier professional exchange program. Since its establishment in 1940, the program has brought current and emerging foreign leaders to the United States for professional meetings, site visits, and cultural exchange experiences designed to build mutual understanding between Americans and international leaders across every sector. More than 200,000 people from around the world have participated in the IVLP, and program alumni include over 500 current or former heads of state and government, countless cabinet ministers, ambassadors, senior military officers, journalists, business executives, civil society leaders, and public intellectuals.

Most Americans, including those in cities that regularly host IVLP visitors, have never heard of the program. This guide explains what the IVLP is, how it works, who participates, and how individuals and organizations in Sacramento and Northern California can become part of it.

WHAT THE INTERNATIONAL VISITOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM IS

The IVLP is administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the US Department of State. Its purpose is to introduce international leaders to American institutions, values, and professional practices by facilitating substantive engagement with their US counterparts. The underlying premise is straightforward: meaningful professional relationships between leaders across countries reduce the likelihood of conflict and increase the probability of cooperation on shared challenges.

The program is not a tourism program, a university exchange, or a cultural immersion experience in the conventional sense. It is a structured professional development program in which international leaders meet with their peers in the United States on substantive topics relevant to their work. A foreign central bank official might meet with Federal Reserve economists, Treasury officials, and private sector financial institutions. A foreign journalist might meet with newsroom editors, press freedom organizations, and journalism school faculty. A foreign mayor might meet with US mayors, urban planners, and community organizations.

HOW THE IVLP WORKS

Nomination and Selection of Participants

IVLP participants are nominated by US embassies and consulates abroad. Embassy officers identify individuals who are current leaders or have strong potential for future leadership in their fields, who would benefit from exposure to American perspectives and institutions, and whose home country relationship with the United States would benefit from the exchange. Nominations are reviewed and approved by the State Department’s ECA Bureau. Each year, the program supports several thousand international visitors.

Program Design: Professional Meetings, Home Hospitality, and Site Visits

Once selected, IVLP participants travel to Washington, D.C., and then to multiple American cities chosen for their relevance to the participant’s professional focus and the program’s objectives. The program design is developed by professional program officers at National Program Agencies (NPAs), organizations contracted by the State Department to manage the operational logistics of IVLP programs.

The itinerary typically includes professional meetings with counterpart organizations, institutions, and individuals in the participant’s field; site visits to relevant facilities, agencies, or community organizations; and home hospitality experiences, where local American families or individuals share a meal with IVLP visitors in their homes. The home hospitality component is considered one of the most valued parts of the IVLP by participants and alumni; it provides a direct, personal experience of American community life that cannot be replicated in a conference room.

Local Host Organizations and the Global Ties Network

In cities across the United States, IVLP programs are coordinated on the ground by local host organizations, many of which are members of Global Ties US, the national membership organization for organizations engaged in international exchange. These local organizations arrange professional meetings, coordinate home hospitality, provide cultural programming, and ensure that the visitors’ experience in that city is substantive and well-organized.

In Sacramento and Northern California, the local IVLP host organization coordinates with WTC Northern California and other civic and professional organizations to arrange meetings and programming for IVLP visitors whose professional focus aligns with the region’s trade, agriculture, technology, government, or civic sectors. Sacramento’s position as the state capital makes it a natural host city for IVLP groups focused on state government, water policy, agricultural trade, and environmental regulation.

WHO PARTICIPATES IN THE IVLP

IVLP participants are international professionals who are current leaders or emerging leaders in their fields. They come from every sector: government and public administration, journalism and media, civil society and NGOs, business and entrepreneurship, education, healthcare, law, environmental management, agriculture, and many others. They come from virtually every country in the world. Some are senior officials who have already reached the highest levels of their professions. Others are younger leaders identified as having significant potential for future influence.

The US host community includes the professional organizations, government agencies, universities, businesses, civic associations, and individual Americans who meet with IVLP visitors during their programs. These hosts are volunteers in a meaningful sense; they are offering their time, expertise, and, in the case of home hospitality, their homes to engage with international guests. For many American participants, hosting an IVLP visitor is among their most memorable professional experiences, precisely because the visitors bring perspectives and questions that do not often surface in domestic professional contexts.

THE IVLP’S IMPACT: NOTABLE ALUMNI

The list of IVLP alumni who went on to significant leadership positions in their countries is extensive. It includes heads of state and government from countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher participated in a predecessor program to the IVLP. Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was an IVLP alumnus. Hamid Karzai, the former President of Afghanistan, participated in the program. The list of senior ministers, chief justices, central bank governors, and media leaders who participated in the IVLP runs to thousands of names.

The impact is not measured only in famous alumni. It is measured in the professional relationships formed between American counterparts and foreign visitors who went on to shape policy, build institutions, and maintain constructive relationships with the United States at the working level of governance and civil society. The State Department’s own assessments consistently identify the IVLP as one of its most cost-effective tools for public diplomacy.

THE IVLP IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SACRAMENTO

Sacramento hosts IVLP groups regularly, particularly those focused on state and local government, water and agricultural policy, trade and economic development, and civic engagement. California’s size, governance complexity, and global economic significance make it a compelling destination for international leaders studying how major subnational governments manage their affairs.

WTC Northern California plays an active role in the IVLP ecosystem in the Sacramento region, coordinating with the local host organization and providing international trade and export expertise for IVLP groups whose professional focus includes trade policy, economic development, and commercial diplomacy. For IVLP visitors focused on trade, agriculture, or business development, meetings with WTC NorCal trade specialists provide insight into how a regional trade support organization functions and how it connects businesses to global markets.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED AS A HOST OR SPEAKER IN SACRAMENTO

Getting involved in the IVLP in Sacramento does not require any formal affiliation with the State Department. The local host organization for IVLP in the Sacramento area coordinates the ground-level logistics of visitor programs, and it regularly needs professional hosts for meetings, site visits, and home hospitality.

If you are a professional in a sector that regularly receives IVLP visitors, you can express interest in being considered as a meeting host or speaker through the local host organization or through WTC Northern California. For individuals interested in home hospitality, where you share a meal with one or more international visitors, the commitment is a few hours, and the experience is consistently reported as memorable by American hosts and international visitors alike.

WTC Northern California can provide introductions to the relevant organizations in the Sacramento IVLP ecosystem. Contact the office at (916) 447-9827 or through the website for more information on how to participate.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IVLP

• What is the International Visitor Leadership Program? – The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the US Department of State’s flagship professional exchange program, administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). It brings current and emerging foreign leaders to the United States for professional meetings, site visits, and home hospitality experiences designed to build mutual understanding between American and international leaders. More than 200,000 alumni have participated since the program’s founding in 1940.
• Who selects IVLP participants? – IVLP participants are nominated by US embassies and consulates in their home countries and selected by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Nominees are typically current or emerging leaders in their professional fields, chosen for their potential to benefit from engagement with US counterparts and their potential influence on their home country’s relationship with the United States.
• How long does an IVLP program last? – IVLP programs typically run for two to three weeks, during which participants travel to Washington, D.C. and several US cities relevant to their professional focus. The itinerary is customized to each participant or group, including professional meetings, site visits, and home hospitality experiences.
• How can I host an IVLP visitor in Sacramento? – Sacramento-area professionals can get involved in IVLP hosting through the local IVLP host organization or through WTC Northern California, which coordinates with the IVLP ecosystem in the region. Hosting opportunities include professional meetings and speaker engagements for those with relevant expertise, and home hospitality meals for individuals or families interested in welcoming international visitors into their homes.
• What is the connection between the IVLP and WTC Northern California? – WTC Northern California participates in the Sacramento IVLP ecosystem by providing trade and economic development expertise for IVLP visitor groups focused on commerce, agriculture, and trade policy. WTC NorCal can also connect Sacramento-area professionals and organizations interested in IVLP involvement with the relevant local host organizations.