MCI – Dissatisfied

MCI – Dissatisfied with the Program

Standard Operating Procedure:

Every month of the program they receive an email from DEPARTMENT OF STATE VISA SPONSOR with reminder to complete their Monthly “Check In.” They complete their Monthly Check In by logging into their profile in Exchange visitor Portal. Exchange visitors will need to communicate with DEPARTMENT OF STATE VISA SPONSOR about how their program is going.

One of the questions is regarding how they are feeling about their program. If the exchange visitor responds to this question and indicates that they are dissatisfied with the program, a new ticket will be created automatically, and a notification will be sent to the Outreach Coordinator.

There is an expectation that if there is a Monthly Check In with a negative response, the exchange visitor will receive communications from the DEPARTMENT OF STATE VISA SPONSOR Support Team within 24 hours.

What to do:

When a new ticket is opened for an exchange visitor who has completed their Monthly Check In, the support team must respond to the exchange visitor and follow up with the appropriate message to help the exchange visitor stay compliant with the J-1 Program regulations.

It is important that we find out why the exchange visitor is dissatisfied with their program, and there may be a variety of reasons such as:

• Housing
• Hours
• Conditions at Host Company
• Management
• Payment
  
  

The potential reasons listed above are some of the more common reasons for exchange visitors being dissatisfied with their program. 

It is important to encourage the exchange visitor to resolve any issues themselves, as this is an opportunity for them to learn how to deal with issues and become more independent. The DEPARTMENT OF STATE VISA SPONSOR Support Team can guide the exchange visitors on the steps they need to resolve their concerns. During this process it is important to gather as much information about the exchange visitor’s concern.

If the concern raised by the exchange visitor is not getting resolved, it is necessary to escalate the concern to the Regional Account Manager (RAM) so that this can be addressed with the Management at the Host Company.

Escalation Process: 

When escalating the exchange visitors’ concerns it is important to provide the RAM with as much information as possible so that they can go directly to the Management of the Host Company and address the concerns.

After the matter is escalated the RAM will inform the Support Team Member if the matter was resolved or if there is any communication or instruction that needs to be sent to the exchange visitor.