AFS-USA suspended independent and international travel, including Belo trips, during the NH21 and SH22 cycles due to the pandemic.

As we look ahead to NH22, to ensure volunteers can appropriately set expectations regarding policy with prospective host families during the 2022-23 cycle, we wish to share that travel opportunities are expected to be allowed during the program, with the similar permission requirements as previous years. Please see the Travel Waiver Guidelines chart in MyAFS Help and Learning which has been updated for more details.

In addition, please note that there have been some positive changes to the Independent Travel Policy process where some of the trips that previously required Independent Travel Waiver no longer require the waiver, including optional school trips and travel to stay with another AFS student.

Lastly, please note that AFS-USA cannot predict what the year will bring so the policy may be revised if conditions merit a change, but AFS-USA is optimistic that we will be able to maintain the policy reversion.