Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy

​Welcome to the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) Exchange Visitor Program.  SHRM is a designated sponsor of Exchange Visitor Programs administered by the U.S. Department of State.

This Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy, in addition to SHRM's Privacy Policy, sets forth SHRM's privacy practices regarding all Personal Information collected, used, transmitted or maintained by SHRM in order to provide services related to SHRM's Exchange Visitor Programs.  This Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy applies to Personal Information collected for the purpose of the Exchange Visitor Programs only.

"Host Organization" means the U.S. organization hosting the intern/trainee.

"Personal Information" means any and all information provided by Host Organization, its agents or employees, or the Trainee/Intern and his/her dependents, that enables us to identify the Trainee/Intern or his/her dependents, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as name, identification number, location data, online identifier or one or more factors specific to the Trainee/Intern, his/her dependents or any agents or employees of the Host Organization.

Your submission of a J-1 Visa sponsorship application and/or provision of your Personal Information to SHRM constitutes your consent to the use, storage, processing and transfer of that information in accordance with this Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy.

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions or complaints regarding this Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy, please contact us at gcoffice@shrm.org. 

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT

We will update this Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy from time to time, so please check back periodically.

If at any point updates are made, or , we will endeavor to notify you of such changes (e.g., we will post a revised Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy with a new effective date, display the word "updated" next to the Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy link on each page on the SHRM Websites, or otherwise), prior to implementing them. 

1.     What information do we collect?

As a designated sponsor of Exchange Visitor Programs, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is required to collect certain Personal Information including but not limited to: name, date of birth, gender, passport, address, email, phone, family relationships, compensation, education and work history, for each Trainee/Intern and all accompanying dependents; as well as names, titles, addresses and other contact information for supervisors, agents and other Host Organization employees involved in administering the training or internship.  

2.     Do we share information with third parties?             

Personal Information collected through the Exchange Visitor Program is generally collected and maintained solely by SHRM or its contracted vendors.  We may share Personal Information in the following ways:

a)    SHRM Employees.  SHRM will share Personal Information with employees who have a need to know such information in order to provide Exchange Visitor Program Services.  SHRM conducts background investigations of its employees as required by U.S. Department of State regulations.

b)    U.S. Government Agencies.  SHRM is required by law to share Personal Information with U.S. government agencies and their agents, which oversee and regulate Exchange Visitor Programs.

c)     Third-party Auditors.  SHRM is required by law to conduct audits of its Exchange Visitor Programs.  

d)    Third-party Software Vendors.  SHRM uses third-party software vendors to collect and process applications for Exchange Visitor program sponsorship. These vendors utilize servers located in the United States.  The third-party software vendors are ISO 27001 certified.

3.     How do we use the information we collect?

SHRM will use Personal Information collected through the Exchange Visitor Program in accordance with the terms of the SHRM Privacy Policy and the Exchange Visitor Program Policy then in effect at the time of our use.  SHRM will only process your Personal Information, including sharing it with third parties for the purpose of providing Exchange Visitor Program services pursuant to all applicable laws, rules and regulations governing Exchange Visitor Programs.

SHRM is required by law to retain all information provided (including Personal Information for a period of time following the conclusion of each program (currently such record retention period is three years). SHRM will ensure the continued confidentiality and security of the Personal Information retained by SHRM pursuant to the SHRM Privacy Policy, this Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy, and all applicable privacy laws.  SHRM shall not process such Personal Information except as required by law.

Because Interns/Trainees are located outside of the United States, and the U.S. Host Organization and SHRM are located within the United States, the provision of Exchange Visitor services necessarily involves the cross-border transfer of such Personal Information by electronic means and/or mail.

SHRM may mail a hard copy of the  Form DS-2019 ("Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status (J-Nonimmigrant)," which contains Personal Information, to the Trainee/Intern and/or the Host Organization.   Such hard copy is required for the Trainee/Intern to apply for and obtain a visa at the U.S. Consulate.

5.     How can you review and modify your Personal Information?

You have the following options for modifying or causing to be deleted Personal Information or demographic information previously provided by you to SHRM.

1. E-mail: evp@shrm.org
   
2. Send mail to the following postal address: SHRM, 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314, ATTN: Customer Care Department.
   
3. Call: 001-703-535-6365.
   

Please note, however, that due to U.S. Government regulations governing Exchange Visitor Programs, modification or deletion of Personal Information previously submitted (a) may result in termination of the Intern/Trainee program; or (b) in some cases may not be permitted, due to government record retention requirements.

6.     What kinds of security procedures are in place to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of your information?

In addition to the security measures outlined in the SHRM Privacy Policy, each Exchange Visitor application is individually passcode protected.  The unique passcode is provided to the Host Organization, who will share it with the Host Organization employee, agent or Trainee/Intern who is required to enter data, including Personal Information, into the online application.  The Host Organization employee, agent, or Trainee/Intern is responsible for the security of his/her passcode, and should not share it with others.  Personal Information may be entered into the application directly by the Trainees/Interns or by other employees or agents of the Host Organization.  All information entered into the system with respect to a particular application is viewable by all other Host Organization employees, agents or Trainee/Interns accessing the particular application as well as by SHRM.

Exchange Visitor Privacy Policy Effective October 1, 2018.