Save Cultural Exchange for Filipino Participants
The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) has just released a letter instructing a complete halt of the participation of Filipinos to the U.S. Exchange Visitor Program: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ierkayu23ikldl9/Notice%20to%20agencies_Moratorium%20Philippines.pdf?dl=0
Unfortunately, a group of Filipino interns in the U.S. were affected negatively by the global pandemic when their employers closed for business. When the interns turned to the Philippine government for assistance, the Philippine government's response was to shut down the entire Exchange Visitor Program to the USA.
This drastic measure affects Filipino nationals who were hoping to participate as high school exchange students, Summer Work/Travel students, interns, trainees, camp counselors, teachers, Au Pairs and several other categories.
While this specific group of interns’ concerns are valid, they reflect the shock, disappointment, and losses that almost everyone in the world has faced due to the COVID-19 virus, NOT the overwhelming majority of Exchange Visitor experiences. We all, including the exchange community, need to make adjustments to our policies, expectations, and practices to deal with the possibility of worldwide pandemic. A complete ban on the Exchange Visitor Program is NOT the answer.
Please act today to convince the CFO to reconsider this overreaching move. The ONLY voices they are hearing right now are of those 2020 interns who were affected by COVID-19, not the overwhelming majority of you, who have enjoyed excellent, life-changing cultural and career experiences over the nearly 60 year history of the Exchange Visitor Program. The CFO needs to hear from all of us NOW so that the order can be retracted before serious damage is done.
If you care about the ability of Filipino nationals to come experience the USA, make your voice heard by taking one or more of the 3 steps we have listed below.
Meaningful actions you can take to help save cultural exchanges for Filipino participants include:
Step 1. Sign our petition at www.change.org/SaveFilipinoExchanges and forward it to your contacts.
Step 2. Post publicly on any social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Reddit, etc) about our appeal and about your positive experience with the Exchange Visitor Program. Be sure to use the hashtags #SaveJ1 #OneWithPHJ1 #J1CommunityPH #WWCEusa
Step 3. Use our template below to write an email to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the Embassy of the Philippines in the U.S.A. and the U.S. Embassy in Manila, showing your support of J1 exchange programs.
Once completed, your letter of support will look like this:
