University grad demands refund

More than four years after signing up to participate in the US J-1 Summer Work & Travel Programme for university students, Romario Barnett is yet to board a plane out of Jamaica on the account of his selected agency. This is despite the fact that he has paid over the sums of US$1,200 and $48,000 to a placement agency in Jamaica.

The work and travel programme, which is open to full-time university students, allows participants to travel to the United States during the summer for purposes of work and cultural exchange.

Barnett was a second-year student at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) when he applied in 2019. He had hopes of travelling in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted the closure of many international borders, left him grounded.

"I applied to go on the programme to assist my mother in paying for my tuition. When I did not get to go because of COVID, I deferred to the next year, and that also fell through. The agency issued jobs, but they were backlogged with the number of students to travel. By the time I got a job the summer was almost done," he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

A disappointed Barnett said he requested that the local work and travel agency, JobSeekers Placement, provide him with a refund because he needed the money to help pay tuition fees at the NCU. He said that he did not get back his money, forcing him to sit out an entire semester in 2020.

"This was definitely a step back for me and my family," he said. "It was an opportunity we invested in and still cannot reap the benefits. The worst thing is, we are in 2023 and I still haven't got my money back," said Barnett, who has now graduated from university.

Contacted by this newspaper about the matter, Pheona Wilson, CEO of JobSeekers Placement, said a myriad of issues have affected the US J-1 Summer Work & Travel Programme in recent years. She acknowledged that there are students who are still awaiting refund from her company, but said the process of making those payments has become difficult, as files have gone missing from the company's office.

Wilson said the problem began in 2019, when about 100 students were not placed by sponsors in the United States of America. Students, she said, were offered full refunds, but some opted to have their monies roll over to 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic came that year and made it impossible for students to travel.

"The two years after COVID were a little tricky because the [US visa] appointments were very challenging to acquire," Wilson said.

She told THE WEEKEND STAR that she is currently working with an accountant to determine which students are due refunds and the amount they are owed.