There are some types of hosting situations that require additional consent from our students and their families as required by the Department of State reflected in the J-1 regulations governing the high school secondary exchange program. To secure these additional consents, prior to the program start, please contact your Regional Field Specialist (RFS) who can submit the Supplemental Paperwork Request in the Host Family Service Case Placement Detail Screen in Global Link. (Note: Consent for placements requiring supplemental paperwork are now collected via electronic signature.)
Please note that requests for placement consent should be submitted only for participants who have expressed openness to the placement type in question (e.g., Double Placement, One Member Household) or those who have not yet submitted their openness preferences (i.e., Preferences Not Received). You can learn more about finding students open to placements requiring supplemental paperwork in the Find Students article.
Please note, same-sex placements no longer require a signed consent form from the student and their sending parent(s)/ guardian(s). Students indicate their openness to a same-sex placement on their application and those open to same-sex placements may not reject one if offered. Many same-sex households host with AFS-USA each year. Female and male same-sex host parents can apply to host 1-2 female or male students.
In addition, Sponsored Programs students may require additional special consent. Read more in the Placing Sponsored Programs Students section.
Here are two scenarios that require written consent from both the student and their parent(s)/ guardian(s):
One-Member Household Placements (Formerly “Single Adult”/“Single Parent” Placements)
One-member households are comprised of one adult living alone with no one else in the home and require the consent of the hosted student and his/her sending parent/guardian through a signed consent form. While obtaining one-member household consents is a requirement of the J-1 Visa regulations, AFS policy states further that one-member households comprised of a female adult are permitted to host male or female students, while one-member households comprised of a male adult can host only male students.
In cases where a two-parent household wishes to host and one parent is expected to be absent for a substantial period of time, participant and sending parent/guardian consent for a One-Member Household Placement will be required. In these instances, determining if a two-parent household will be considered One-Member Household Placement will be evaluated by AFS-USA's Compliance Department on a case-by-case basis.
For more information about One Member Households, please see Best Practices for Screening and Supporting One-Member Household (OMH) Placements.
Double Placements
A family who wishes to host two students at the same time requires the consent of both students and their sending parent(s)/guardian(s). In addition, the students must not be from the same country or speak the same language. Consent is needed even if one student is hosted through AFS and the other student is hosted through a different program sponsor. Families cannot host three or more students unless it is for a short-term event placement.
If one of the hosted students is an F-1 student, the following must be submitted to AFS prior to the second student moving into the home:
- Student and Sending Parent(s)/Guardian(s) Consent Form – signed by the J-1 student and sending parent(s)/guardian(s)
- International Criminal Background Check for F-1 Student, only if they are 18 years or older (this requirement does not apply to AFS J-1 student)
- The local volunteer working on the placement is responsible for notifying the other organization of the placement.