Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS)

2026-2027 CSIET Certification Status: Full

Countries Served: Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey

Number of 2025-2026 Participants: 22 J1

Not-for-Profit Organization: Established 1992

IRIS is dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding between people from around the world. It is the IRIS philosophy that greater understanding and tolerance of others develops through interaction on a personal level. IRIS offers an inbound high school academic year program, and short-term homestay programs.

IRIS operates through a network of local coordinators throughout the United States who provide support on a local level. Coordinators interview and screen host families and supervise the program during the students’ stay. Local coordinators, as well as all parties concerned, are required to submit progress reports three times a year. Local coordinators also submit monthly reports.

Academic Year Program – United States—International students ages 15 to 18 travel to the United States, attend school for one semester or ten months, and live with a U.S. host family. Students must complete an application in English, pass a language proficiency test, submit transcripts indicating above-average grades, and write an autobiographical essay. Students and parents are interviewed prior to acceptance. Students are encouraged to take English, U.S. history, and geography classes at their high school prior to departure. Upon acceptance, students are required to attend several orientations. The orientations, which are conducted in January and March, address issues such as American culture, English language, program rules, and how to make the most of the U.S. high school experience.

In addition, most IRIS students are required to attend an intensive U.S. orientation course in the United States prior to their arrival in the host community. The primary focus of the course is to acclimate students to U.S. culture, review program policies procedures and safety, and prepare them for their academic year stay.

Host families are encouraged to review several students’ applications before selecting the student who would most appropriately match their family’s lifestyle and interests. Cost to participants are currently funded through the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program.