AMIDEAST recommends that the Embassy and/or AMIDEAST field office offer a comprehensive pre-departure orientation for new grantees, covering issues such as culture shock, U.S. health care, academic integrity, immigration issues, diversity, and the Fulbright experience. AMIDEAST also suggests inclusion of biographical material on the late Senator Fulbright as well as additional information on the funding and sponsorship of the Fulbright Program so that grantees will be well-informed ambassadors of the program.

AMIDEAST will send the Embassy or the AMIDEAST field office orientation packets and the grantee handbook for distribution to all grantees at the pre-departure orientation. The orientation packets will provide written material that will be needed by the new grantee upon arrival in the United States, including billing authorization, introduction letters to the international and academic advisers and health insurance information. The grantee handbook is a detailed reference guide to be used throughout the grantees Fulbright Program. Topics addressed in the handbook include dependent policies, allowances, taxes, maintaining visa status, and the two-year residency requirement. The Terms of Appointment, which cover the grantees benefits and obligations, are also reviewed during the pre-departure orientation. Both the Terms and the handbook were drafted in strict accordance with FSB policies. The Embassy should also review with new grantees the contact information of their AMIDEAST headquarters advising team, including a toll-free telephone number for use once they arrive in the United States.

The pre-departure orientation is a critical early step toward academic and cultural adjustment to life in the United States.