Summer Visa Info
From AFSWiki
Click on this link to find a summary of the intensive short summer programs that currently require visas and those that do not. Most summer visas, when required, are not especially complicated, but they can involve some fees, a little bit of legwork and, in some cases, immunizations.
Non-U.S. citizens encounter the most challenges with short programs because often more involved visas are required. Citizens of Vietnam, China, and most African countries tend to receive the most demanding requirements. This is a very broad generalization, of course, but something to look out for, especially with CBO participants.
Also, the Italy short summer program is not highly recommended for non-U.S. citizens who require a visa to enter (in the past visas have been required for students from the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and would likely be needed for those who hold passports from any African nation). The visa process is stringent, usually requires both parents to present themselves before a Consular officer to sign permission, appointments can be difficult to secure, and host family placement docs are required - the timing of this is challenging enough on the ITA yp/sm program - moreso on the short summer program.
As always, be sure to warn participants that fees and regulations are subject to CHANGE AT ANY TIME and that this is the information we have as of right now.
As a general rule, please continue to warn students that the visa process can be expensive, is the responsibility of the participant to pay for, and is not included in tuition. (Of course there may be some exceptions to this with certain scholarship students). When you discuss fundraising with students, particularly YP/SM, it will help to start preparing them to spend a few hundred dollars on the visa process and sometimes more. Even if we cannot tell them the exact visa costs yet, $300 is a good number to consider, knowing that many processes cost less than this and some (like Netherlands YP and Spain YP - due to translation of documents) cost more. Those who will spend less will (hopefully) be thrilled.
