July 14th 2020

The impact of the coronavirus and now the pause on various visas to the US by Donald Trump is huge. It has now been 4 months since international travel was suspended, with the effects of the virus on everybody's daily lives continuing.

At present, there is is still a ban on travel to the USA for non citizens and certain other (such as diplomats) groups. This is a ban both from the UK Government and the US Government in light of both the extended impact of Coronavirus on the USA and here in the UK. The US has been hit harder than any other country, with no immediate end in sight to the pandemic.

As such, the ban on travel remains and is expected to continue over the coming weeks.

What this means for those who have already received their visas for 2020:

• When the travel ban is lifted, if you are still registered in full time university study or within 12 months of finishing studies, we will be able to request new documents from the USA. Please note we will require confirmation and agreement on new dates from your Host Company in the USA before we do this. You will need to contact your US Host Company and then email info@istplus.com to confirm new dates
• If you are no longer within 12 months of finishing studies at the time of travel to the USA it is likely that your programme will need to be cancelled. This is because the US Government has made no exceptions to the rules on the J1 visa programmes, so if the current pandemic causes a participant to go outside the eligibility timeframes, they will no longer qualify for the programme.

If the 2nd situation applies to you, we will be in touch with you approximately one month before your travel date in order to confirm details and assess any options for you.

We're truly sorry the pandemic has caused so much disruption and disappointment to everyone this year.

The IST Plus InfoTeam

Please use the Contact Form at the bottom of this page to contact us. We will not be able to respond to enquiries via phone at this time.