A message from AFS-USA President and CEO Tara Boyce-Hofmann to all volunteers.
Tag: COVID-19
As you may already be aware, AFS-USA sending participants (“outbound”) are being returned home. For the American YES Abroad and NSLI-Y students, as well as the American and German CBYX students, this direction came from the U.S. Department of State. Staff at AFS-USA worked closely with AFS partners to arrange for student return travel, where possible and safe, and where participants were fit to travel.
From all of us on the National Council, thank you for everything you are doing to assist AFS students, families, staff, and each other during this unprecedented time in the history of AFS, our country, and the world.
The following message was sent to AFS-USA school contacts regarding core hosted student’s shortened programs.
There are three critically important issues that warrant my addressing you directly about: Program Terminations, Visas, and the return of students to Italy.
Monday night, Tara Hofmann informed all of you about the decision to shorten the programs of currently hosted students in the US, aside from FLEX and YES Sponsored Programs students. This message is an update on our planned next steps.
A message from AFS-USA President and CEO Tara Boyce-Hofmann to all current students on Year and Semester programs and their host families.
The following message was sent to all host families and students (Core program only, not including YES and FLEX) to clarify information concerning the change in length of their AFS program.
As you probably know, AFS is a designated sponsor and must strictly adhere to and be compliant with the US Department of State Exchange Visitor regulations. It was necessary to consult with the Department of State, and now that we have completed consultation, we are announcing the decision to shorten AFS programs in the United States.
AFS is implementing a coordinated plan to bring home sending participants where possible and safe. We are prioritizing how we work based upon the situations in each country, and in some cases regions of a country, logistics, and availability of travel.