Youth Ambassadors

Benefits & funding

• The State Department describes a 3–4-week exchange; AMIGOS-administered cohorts use a three-week international training and exchange.
• The exchange is in person, with workshops, community service, team-building activities, meetings with community leaders, and stays with American host families.
• AMIGOS identifies its Youth Ambassadors cohorts as fully funded by the U.S. Department of State; applicants should check the country notice for the exact covered costs.
• Programming includes leadership development, cultural exchange, community service, and practical project design.
• Inbound cohorts may visit several U.S. locations, and World Learning states that all inbound programs include a Washington, D.C. segment.

Eligibility

• Youth applicants must be secondary-school students, generally ages 15–18, with at least one semester of school remaining after the exchange.
• Country routes may narrow the age range; AMIGOS states ages 15–17 for its student cohorts.
• Applicants must come from a participating country. The State Department lists Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
• U.S. secondary students take part through the outbound delegations, and those routes ask for U.S. citizenship together with current residency in the United States.
• Each delegation recruits locally, so applicants normally apply from, and live in, the country whose cohort they join.
• AMIGOS lists student opportunities for Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay, while other implementers manage additional country routes.
• Adult participants may be teachers, trainers, school administrators, or community leaders who work with youth; exact conditions vary by country.
• AMIGOS uses a competitive application, interview, and selection process and considers leadership, community service, financial need, and academic performance for students.

Application process

1. 1
   Open the State Department program page and choose the applicant’s home country or territory.
2. 2
   Follow the country-specific notice to the responsible embassy or implementing partner.
3. 3
   Review that route’s age, school, citizenship or residence, language, and document requirements.
4. 4
   Submit the local application by its stated deadline and complete an interview if shortlisted.

Program timeline

1. Country-specific

   Application windows, interviews, decisions, and exchange dates are set separately for each participating country.

2. AMIGOS listed the Austin host-family segment for the Paraguay cohort.

   Jan 23, 2026 to Feb 1, 2026

3. World Learning states that many three-week single- and multi-country exchanges take place in this period, with exact dates varying by country.

   June–August