Introduction. In order to promote diverse opportunities for participation in educational and cultural exchange programs, the Department of State designates exchange sponsors to facilitate the entry of foreign nationals to serve as counselors in U.S. summer camps. These programs promote international understanding by improving American knowledge of foreign cultures while enabling foreign participants to increase their knowledge of American culture. The foreign participants are best able to carry out this objective by serving as counselors per se, that is, having direct responsibility for supervision of groups of American youth and of activities that bring them into interaction with their charges. While it is recognized that some non-counseling chores are an essential part of camp life for all counselors, this program is not intended to assist American camps in bringing in foreign nationals to serve as administrative personnel, cooks, or menial laborers, such as dishwashers or janitors.

Participant eligibility. Participation in camp counselor exchange programs is limited to foreign nationals who:

Are at least 18 years of age;

Are bona fide youth workers, students, teachers, or individuals with specialized skills; and

Participant selection. In addition to satisfying the requirements in § 62.10(a), sponsors shall adequately screen all international candidates for camp counselor programs and at a minimum:

Conduct an in-person interview; and

Secure references from a participant's employer or teacher regarding his or her suitability for participation in a camp counselor exchange.

Participant orientation. Sponsors shall provide participants, prior to their departure from the home country, detailed information regarding:

Duties and responsibilities relating to their service as a camp counselor;

Contractual obligations relating to their acceptance of a camp counselor position; and

Financial compensation for their service as a camp counselor.

Participant placements. Sponsors shall place eligible participants at camping facilities which are:

Accredited;

A member in good standing of the American Camping Association;

Officially affiliated with a nationally recognized non-profit organization; or

Have been inspected, evaluated, and approved by the sponsor.

Participant compensation. Sponsors shall ensure that international participants receive pay and benefits commensurate with those offered to their American counterparts.

Participant supervision. Sponsors shall provide all participants with a phone number which allows 24 hour immediate contact with the sponsor.

Program administration. Sponsors shall:

Comply with all provisions set forth in subpart A of this part;

Not facilitate the entry of any participant for a program of more than four months duration; and

Under no circumstance facilitate the entry into the United States of a participant for whom a camp placement has not been pre-arranged.

Placement report. In lieu of listing the name and address of the camp facility at which the participant is placed on Form DS-2019, sponsors shall submit to the Department of State, no later than July 1st of each year, a report of all participant placements. Such report shall reflect the participant's name, camp placement, and the number of times the participant has previously participated in a camp counselor exchange.

In order to ensure that as many different individuals as possible are recruited for participation in camp counselor programs, sponsors shall limit the number of participants who have previously participated more than once in any camp counselor exchange to not more than ten percent of the total number of participants that the sponsor placed in the immediately preceding year.