The nomination process is open to any applicant, but some parents have complained that the program's marketing makes it appear that their child was exclusively selected or nominated to participate. The Iowa Attorney General investigated the program's operator in 2006 after an invitation was accidentally sent to a family's long-deceased child, leading the operator to slightly modify the invitation and presentation process. In another case, a family received a People to People solicitation claiming that their deceased family pet had been selected as an ambassador.