On November 18, 2020, the Department of State's (DOS) Exchange Visitor Program (BridgeUSA) issued Guidance Directive 2020-01, Exchange Visitor Program - Confucius Institutes, which provides guidance on the relationship of college and university J-1 exchange programs to Confucius Institutes and associated activities at K-12 schools and universities. Confucius Institutes, sponsored by the Chinese government, serve to promote Chinese language, literature, and culture throughout the world, and they commonly partner with U.S. institutions of higher education. The Guidance identifies “areas of concern” to DOS, and seeks to “provide sponsors more clarity regarding the possible regulatory violations presented in some CI operations so they can make informed choices about sponsoring exchange visitors coming on program through CIs.” Some J program sponsors affiliated with Confucius Institute on their campuses report having received DOS requests for documents and exchange visitor records related to their Confucius Institute.