COVID-19 Pledge

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Written by: infoteam | Posted on: | Category: COVID19

Helping you book your programme with confidence.

We're all looking forward to things getting back to normal - but we also appreciate there are some things we just can't control at the moment. As a result of this, we've introduced our COVID-19 PLEDGE, which guarantees that our participants will receive a full refund of programme fees, minus a £75 administration fee, if you cannot participate in your booked programme due to conditions as outlined below.
Please note the following applies to Internship USA, Graduate Internship USA and Career Training USA. For Summer Work and Travel USA and Camp Exchange USA please refer to separate conditions on your programme pages

Terms and conditions

The COVID-19 Booking Promise only applies to new bookings made on or after the 1st January 2021.

  • Fulll refund minus £75 if you can’t apply for your visa within 12 months of paying your programme fees due to COVID restrictions enforced by either the UK or the US Government
  • Full refund minus £75 if you can’t travel within 12 months of getting your visa approved due to COVID restrictions enforced by either the UK or the US Government

Q: When would these refunds apply?
A: In the following situations:

  • Where COVID restrictions issued by either the US or UK government result in the closure of embassies and borders for the 12 months following issuance of your legal paperwork from CIEE (your DS2019 Certificate and insurance documentation)
  • Where COVID restrictions issued by either the US or UK government result in the closure of borders for the 12 months following approval or issuance of your visa from your local US Embassy

Q: When do these refunds NOT apply?
A: In the following situations:

Please note you will not be eligible for the COVID refund policy if any of the following applies to your booking:

  • If you cancel an approved programme that has been carried over from the 2020 season into the 2021 season
  • If the US border is open for any period during the 12 months after the issuance of your DS2019 certificate from CIEE
  • If the US border is open for any period during the 12 months after the issuance of your J1 visa from the US Embassy

Please note: Neither IST Plus nor CIEE are liable for any third party costs.
These include:

  • Cost of Police checks (if required)
  • Travel Costs (including cancellation/ changes to flights/ cost of travel to and from the US Embassy)
  • Cost of any required medical test
  • Cost of visa interview and processing from the US Embassy
  • Accommodation

Photo by Hugo Kruip on Unsplash

For the latest news and updates from the US Embassy please follow their twitter account here