As a reminder, please find information below related to AFS-USA policies surrounding NH21 participant travel while on program.
- Independent travel (travel without the host family and/or and AFS-USA Volunteer) is not currently permitted for USA hosted participants on the NH21 cycle.
- Similarly, visits from family members and friends are not currently permitted.
- International travel with the host family is also not currently permitted, as AFS-USA cannot guarantee that the hosted participant would be permitted to re-enter the US.
- AFS-USA will not offer Belo Tours for the 2021-22 school year. Belo Tours are optional independent travel tourism trips that incur an additional cost to participant/parent. These trips are facilitated by Belo Tours, a travel tour agency with whom AFS-USA has partnered for many years.
- School trips organized by a participant’s host school are considered part of the school program and are permitted so long as trip-related forms/waivers that require sending parent signatures are obtained (these can be obtained directly from the participant’s parents by the participant and/or host family). Note: As in previous years, an AFS-USA travel waiver is not required for school trips.
If you receive a related question from a host family, please refer them to this article available in their Global Family Tool platform.
If any changes to these policies are made in the coming weeks/months, they will be announced here and shared elsewhere as appropriate.