Last year July 2024, I got an email from the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a nomination to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). I said yes to this, not knowing whether I’ll make it or not, but worth the try eh? Filled in the nomination form and emailed it back to the ESTH officer. I didn’t think much about it right after - work and other commitments took most of the brain space. The results of 2024 U.S. presidential election reminded me of the opportunity, but at that time it all seemed so remote. With all the uncertainties of the American politics, I told myself “eh it might not happen”.

But before that, what is the IVLP?

I have to admit, the information on IVLP is scarce. All you get after Googling it is some generic 1-pager explaining what the program is about. Right now, you know the basic information:

1. It’s a premier U.S. Department of State leadership program.
2. It is the only U.S. Department of State program that you cannot apply for (unlike YSEALI, Fulbright, etc) - you need to be nominated by the Embassy for this.

Basically, how it works is that someone from the embassy will reach out to you to express their interest in nominating you for the program. You indicate interest, and fill in some basic information for them to pass to the people deciding in Washington D.C.

Fast forward seven months later, early 2025, a lot of things happened. Some U.S. foreign policy changes impacted JWM’s funding and subsequently the work. I talked about this on X - I was desperate I went online to crowdfund to at least support one or two workshops we were supposed to have earlier this year. With all the funding uncertainties, I was pretty certain that this IVLP is not going to happen. I mean, it’s a lot of money bringing people to the States for a ‘leadership program’. If they don’t have the money for actual work here, it does not make sense to bring people from all over the world in the U.S. for three weeks. That’s what I thought.

I received the selection result around March 2025. I said yes to it. A lot things happened that somehow contributed to the doubt I had saying yes, but I won’t go into detail about it. An embassy officer reached out via email to begin the formalities. Basically, you will need fill in a lengthy form online to apply for a J1 visa for this program, and they will arrange for you to attend the interview in-person at the embassy (and yes, you get to skip the line and go meet the officer who will then guide you with the process). In my case, the interview was quick - you pass your passport to them and they will return it to you with your J1 visa.

Right after the interview, I had a meeting with the Public Affairs officer to discuss about the program. If you have questions about the program, now is your time to ask. In my case though, since they were still building the program agenda at the time of the meeting, not many questions were answered but rest assured you will be fine. There’s nothing much to do on your end after this.

Closer to the departure date, you will receive a bunch of emails to confirm the flight details, etc.