Updates for Current VIEs - COVID 19
Last updated Friday, March 20th 4 PM
Business France recently communicated to all VIEs ending in March, April and May, recommending that they return home early. Current VIEs should contact Business France North America and their respective companies as soon as possible in order to anticipate a potential early return to finish their VIE mission in France. In addition, your VIE correspondent will be reaching out to you to discuss this in further detail.
For any VIEs who decide to return to France, the FACC-NY supports their decision and asks that they keep us informed, as we may need to update their program dates in the government system. At this point we are encouraging VIEs and host companies to do what they feel is best for their own safety and wellbeing.
If a VIE chooses to remain in the U.S. to finish their mission, they will still be able to remain in the country for the 30 -day grace period after their program ends. They will not be able to continue training during this time and we strongly recommend that they extend their VIE insurance if possible or purchase another insurance plan (we can provide more info about this to those interested, contact us at coordinator@faccnyc.org.)
The FACC has not received any additional information from the government regarding overstays and how someone’s record will be affected if they are unable to leave when their visa expires. If someone was truly unable to leave the country, they may be able to change their status to a tourist status (B visa). While they wouldn’t be able to continue training under this status, they would at least be able to maintain a temporary legal status. They would need to file Form I-539 with USCIS: https://www.uscis.gov/i-539. Unfortunately, the FACC cannot advise on this process or guarantee that a change in status will be granted, as this falls under the jurisdiction of USCIS.
Additional Resources:
- USCIS offices are temporarily closed to the public until at least April 1st. Staff will continue to perform duties that do not involve contact with the public and provide emergency services for limited situations.
- Business France
- USA: infovieusa@businessfrance.fr
- Canada : inforviecanada@businessfrance.fr
We will continue to keep you updated as we receive more information from the government and will let you know if anything has changed.
If you would like to modify your mission, please reach out to your account manager or coordinator@faccnyc.org. The FACC-NY Team is currently working remotely at this time and our Broadway office closed to visitors until further notice.
