New players to the USA’s English language sector will find themselves in a catch-22 under new accreditation regulations, finding it hard to get accredited without exhibiting prior teaching history, but unable to issue I-20 visas for international students without being accredited. Meanwhile, regulation bodies have revealed just how large the accredited IEP community now is.

Until December 2010, it was not a legal requirement for English language schools in the USA to be accredited. Since then, IEPs have had to at least begin the process, leading to a surge in demand with hundreds of new applicants. Sara Custer finds out the impact and implications of the new legally-enshrined quality landscape in the US.